Small Group Time
Friday, October 15, 2021
OPENING PRAYER:
Check in: Briefly touch base with each other.
Exercise: Holy Listening - Sand
Prayer: O God, we want to walk with you and with your people, but we don’t know how to do it. Help us now as we look back at the day you have given us. Give us eyes and ears and hearts to see what gifts you gave us. Then let us share those with each other, expectantly and respectfully. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who came and walked with us. Amen.
Prayer (alternative): Almighty God, you have created the heavens and earth and made us in your own image: teach us to discern your hand in all your works and your likeness in all your children; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns supreme over all things, now and forever. Amen.
Listen to your day: Listen with your heart, not just your head. Look for something in the day that felt like a gift from God -- a “sacred moment”. It may have been something that seemed very small. We often miss God’s Word to us because we don’t slow down enough to notice. Pay attention to how that sacred moment feels as you remember it.
(5 – 10 minutes)
Share your “sacred moment.” Take turns. As you share, be aware of what it is like to speak of this moment.
Respond: As you listen to someone else’s story, don’t speak at all, but just be Christ’s presence for them, soaking it up and lifting what you hear up to God in silent prayer.
After each person speaks, allow a minute for silent prayer and then pray as a group: “Thank you, God, for Your presence and Your word to person’s name.”
Thanksgiving: When everyone has finished, allow time to share a sentence or two of gratitude for the privilege of sharing these sacred moments with each other. Trust that God will honor and use this time of sharing without you having to do anything else.
Closing: The Pilgrims Prayer
Exercise: Holy Listening - Sand
Prayer: O God, we want to walk with you and with your people, but we don’t know how to do it. Help us now as we look back at the day you have given us. Give us eyes and ears and hearts to see what gifts you gave us. Then let us share those with each other, expectantly and respectfully. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who came and walked with us. Amen.
Prayer (alternative): Almighty God, you have created the heavens and earth and made us in your own image: teach us to discern your hand in all your works and your likeness in all your children; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns supreme over all things, now and forever. Amen.
Listen to your day: Listen with your heart, not just your head. Look for something in the day that felt like a gift from God -- a “sacred moment”. It may have been something that seemed very small. We often miss God’s Word to us because we don’t slow down enough to notice. Pay attention to how that sacred moment feels as you remember it.
(5 – 10 minutes)
Share your “sacred moment.” Take turns. As you share, be aware of what it is like to speak of this moment.
Respond: As you listen to someone else’s story, don’t speak at all, but just be Christ’s presence for them, soaking it up and lifting what you hear up to God in silent prayer.
After each person speaks, allow a minute for silent prayer and then pray as a group: “Thank you, God, for Your presence and Your word to person’s name.”
Thanksgiving: When everyone has finished, allow time to share a sentence or two of gratitude for the privilege of sharing these sacred moments with each other. Trust that God will honor and use this time of sharing without you having to do anything else.
Closing: The Pilgrims Prayer
Adapted from Paul H. Lang, The Pilgrim’s Compass: Finding and Following the God We Seek (2019).
Adapted from Cindy Schwartz, Soul Friends (July, 2018).
Alternative prayer from Common Worship: Daily Prayer. The
Adapted from Cindy Schwartz, Soul Friends (July, 2018).
Alternative prayer from Common Worship: Daily Prayer. The