Sermon Based Small Group Questions
SBSG Questions for Table Talk
Ice Breaker: Are you a coffee drinker? If so, how do you drink it? If not, what is your drink of choice when you are sitting and visiting with friends? Is it different in the winter versus the summer? Is this making you thirsty?
Note to the Leader: Before you dive into the questions below take some time to ask your group what their impressions were from the message. Did they have questions? Did they write any highlights in their notes?
Share an experience where you felt you had a spiritual conversation – soul to soul. You don’t have to share the details of the conversation nor tell who it was with, but what made this conversation so unique? How did it make you feel?
Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-8 slowly together as a group – maybe even have it read in several versions. Talk through how we provide comfort (give empathy) to those struggling – how does our own experience play into this? (Think through what Paul himself had experienced – eg. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, and how it allowed him to minister to the Corinthians).
Explain what it means to encourage someone to see the Larger Story. Read 2 Corinthians 1:9-11. To what hope is Paul pointing them to? Look at Romans 8:17-39. See also 2 Kings 6:1-17 for a picture of seeing with eyes of faith.
Which half of an enlightening conversation “It is horrible to sin, but it is wonderful to forgive” do you tend to err toward? Compare how the writer of Hebrews exposes sin – Hebrews 3:12-13 – then grace – 3:14. Look also at Hebrews 4:12-16: power of the Word of God to expose evil (12-13), then focus on grace (14-16).
With the mindset of empowering, read Hebrews 10:24-25. Do you see “provoking” (spur in NIV) as a part of your church life? How could you “fan into flame” (2 Timothy 1:6-7) the work of God in someone’s life? Will you?
