Small Group Time
Sunday, October 17, 2021
OPENING PRAYER:
Check in: Briefly touch base with each other.
Theme: Wind
John 3:1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesusa by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”a 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.a 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘Youa must be born from above.’b 8 The winda blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
Discussion Questions:
† Today is the first day of the week. On this day God:
*Sent Spirit to “rest upon the waters” in Genesis 1.
*Sent the Spirit sounding as a rush of wind on the day of Pentecost.
† It you were to set the sails of your heart to catch this wind of God . . . where do you think it might take you?
† Or maybe you simply drift?
“I have drifted down a ways along the shoreline
I just watched these ropes give way where they were tied
I could have reached out quick
When the ropes first slipped, if I had tried.
But I was wondering where the wind was trying to take me
Overnight, if I never did resist
What strange breezes make a sailor want to let it come to this
With lines untied, slipping through my fist.
It is downhill all the way to the ocean
So of course the river always wants to flow
The river's been here longer
It's older and stronger and knows where to go
I guess I'm wondering where the river's trying to take me
Overnight, if I never did resist
What strange breezes make a sailor want to, let it come to this
With lines untied, slipping through my fist."
Song lyrics: “Slipping through my fists” by David Wilcox - Album Underneath
Closing: The Pilgrim’s Prayer
Theme: Wind
John 3:1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesusa by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”a 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.a 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘Youa must be born from above.’b 8 The winda blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
Discussion Questions:
† Today is the first day of the week. On this day God:
*Sent Spirit to “rest upon the waters” in Genesis 1.
*Sent the Spirit sounding as a rush of wind on the day of Pentecost.
† It you were to set the sails of your heart to catch this wind of God . . . where do you think it might take you?
† Or maybe you simply drift?
“I have drifted down a ways along the shoreline
I just watched these ropes give way where they were tied
I could have reached out quick
When the ropes first slipped, if I had tried.
But I was wondering where the wind was trying to take me
Overnight, if I never did resist
What strange breezes make a sailor want to let it come to this
With lines untied, slipping through my fist.
It is downhill all the way to the ocean
So of course the river always wants to flow
The river's been here longer
It's older and stronger and knows where to go
I guess I'm wondering where the river's trying to take me
Overnight, if I never did resist
What strange breezes make a sailor want to, let it come to this
With lines untied, slipping through my fist."
Song lyrics: “Slipping through my fists” by David Wilcox - Album Underneath
Closing: The Pilgrim’s Prayer
Adapted from Paul H. Lang, The Pilgrim’s Compass: Finding and Following the God We Seek (2019).