1. Have you ever come to the end of your rope, realizing you are just plain unable to do what you are supposed to be doing? Describe the scene. How did it feel? How did others respond?

2. Read Genesis 12:10-20. What words would you use to describe Abram’s character based on this story? What external realities influenced his actions? What internal realities (ie, heart issues) do you see at play?

3. Read Genesis 13:1-4. In the sermon today, Robb said, “these verses detail not only Abram’s geographical journey, but his spiritual journey.” What is the spiritual significance of Abram’s return to Canaan, and to the altar in particular? What role does faith play in repentance?

4. Read Genesis 13:5-7. How do the riches given by Pharaoh become a crisis in Canaan?

5. Read Genesis 13:8-13. How does Abram’s character and conduct change from chapter 12 to chapter 13? What role do the crises of those chapters play in this change?

6. Read Genesis 13:14-18. Why is it significant that the LORD speaks to Abram after Lot’s departure? What does it tell us about the heart and character of God? How does Abram’s experience of God encourage us as we face crises of our won?

1. Name someone in your life who has set a godly example of faith and obedience. What have you witnessed in their life that you would like to emulate in your own? What do you see as the outcome or fruit of their faith?

2. Read Genesis 12:1-7. In the sermon, Robb identified 3 ‘key ingredients’ in the passage, listed below. Locate each ingredient in the text, and explain how it relates to Abram’s faith and the work of God in Abram’s life.

   1. God’s heart of blessing.

   2. God’s promise of provision.

   3. God’s command to go.

3. Read Genesis 11:27-30. In light of the theme of Blessing, why is it significant that Sarai is barren (v30)? What does her barrenness tell us about God’s heart of blessing?

4. God’s command to go (v1) includes both going FROM and going TO. Why are both of these necessary in the life of faith? From where and to where has God called you to go? What is the connection between God’s command and God’s promise?

5. Which of the three ingredients is most challenging to your own faith? Why? How can you pray for one another in the week ahead?

To learn more about Pando, the giant quaking aspen:

https://www.friendsofpando.org/programs/artist-in-residency/jeff-rice-artist-in-residency/

https://www.ecosystemsound.com/pandosuite

1. Faith, like love, can be difficult to define. When did you first awaken to matters of faith? How did you understand the concept of faith early in your journey? How has your understanding changed over time?

2. Read Romans 4:1-3. What in these verses points to the unique nature of God’s relationship with Abraham? What is the difference between being justified by works (v2)and believing God for righteousness (v3)?

3. Read Romans 4:18-22. Based on Abraham’s example in these verses, how would you define ‘biblical faith’ in your own words?

4. Read Romans 4:23-25. Compare and contrast the faith of Abraham with the faith of New Testament Christians like the apostle Paul. How are the two similar? How are they different?

5. How does the gospel of Jesus intersect with the story of Abraham according to these verses? How does the death and resurrection of Jesus affect YOUR faith today?

6. How is your faith being grown or tested in this season of life? Share with one another and pray for each other.

   Consider how you will accomplish the 3-fold commitment this Fall:
   -        COMMUNION: a daily habit of communing with God with scripture & prayer

   -        COMMUNITY: Sunday worship & one smaller group (Community Group, Sunday School, etc)

   -        COMMISSION: Consider where God might be sending you, and with whom might you share the promise of grace?

1. Can you recall a time you have benefited from excellent shepherding care? Share your experience. What was the context, who was the shepherd, and why was it meaningful to you?

2. Read 1 Samuel 17:5-11. How is Goliath portrayed in these verses? What words would you use to describe him in your own words?

3. Read 1 Samuel 17:45-47. Shepherds recognize threats. The army saw Goliath as a threat to their safety, but David recognized a spiritual threat. How did Goliath pose a threat to the spiritual welfare of the Israelite troops?

4. Read 1 Samuel 17:34-36. Shepherds take responsibility. How did David take responsibility while overseeing his father’s flocks? How did that translate to his action with Goliath? What was it in God’s character that emboldened David to take responsibility for the welfare of others? Do you feel the same way about God’s character?

5. Read Acts 20:28-31. Shepherds care for the flock. What constitutes a shepherd, and what constitutes a wolf? How does David’s conduct in 1 Samuel 17 mirror Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20?

6. Can you answer the question: Who is shepherding you? Spend some time praying for one another and for all those engaged in shepherding leadership at VBCC.

1. What does it mean to bless or be blessed? Share from your experience: when have you personally been blessed?

2. Read Psalm 41:1-3. What blessings are promised to ‘the one who considers the poor’ according to these verses?

3. Read verses 4-10. These verses are a recapitulation of the drama that unfolds in Psalms 34-40 (especially Psalms 38 & 39). How do these verses correlate to the blessings of vv1-3? More broadly, how are we to understand God’s blessing in light of our suffering (or understand our suffering in light of God’s blessing)?

4. Read John 13:18. Why is it significant that Jesus quotes this verse from Psalm 41:9, and other verses from the psalms?

5. Read Psalm 41:11-13. How does Jesus’ presence with God the Father today secure our place with God? (See also Ephesians 2:6-7)

1) Which point of posture stands out to you the most? Why might that be?

2) What are ways to develop teachability as a part of the discipleship process?

3) Read Micah 6:8. How have you seen humility enable learning a more difficult life lesson?

4) What are some normal reactions when someone steps on someone else’s ‘script’? What are godly reactions?

5) Share a moment in life where you had the opportunity to ‘experience dependency’ on God.

6) Discuss God’s goodness through Christ. What does it look like to fix our eyes on Jesus throughout our day? How do we as a spiritual family do this together?

1. Read Psalm 40:1-5. What words would you use to describe the emotional tone of this psalm? Have you ever felt this way about God because of a particular experience in your life? Share the story.

2. In v3, the psalmist talks about a ‘new song’ - a rare term that only occurs 3 times outside of the Psalms. Read Isaiah 42:10, Revelation 5::9, and Psalm 14:3. What do we learn from these verses about how the term is used? How would you describe the meaning of the term based on these passages?

3. Read Hebrews 10:1-12. How does this passage help us understand Psalm 40:6-8 in light of Jesus’ death and resurrection?

4. Read Psalm 40:12-17. These verses are almost identical to Psalm 70; most scholars believe it was added to Psalm 40 for its use in corporate worship. How do these verses contrast with the rest of the psalm? Why might this text have been added to the text of Psalm 40?

5. Pray for one another in light of Psalm 40. Pray also for the students who participated in VBS this week.

1. Think about a season of suffering in your life. What helped ease the pain in that season? Was it something in your relationship with God with others? Something else?

2. Read Psalm 39:1-6. What tensions is the psalmist navigating in these verses? What imagery does he use to express himself, and what does the imagery mean?

3. Read Psalm 39:7-13. What tensions is the psalmist navigating in his relationship with God? Have you ever felt like this psalm in your relationship with God? Explain.

4. In the sermon today, Robb spoke about suffering as a ‘journey into tension’. Briefly review Psalms 34-38. What words, phrases or themes from those passages make their way into Psalm 39? Do you sense a trajectory across the psalms? Where are we going as we read?

5. Read Psalm 40:1-4. What does the relationship between the tension of Ps 39 and the resolution of Ps 40 mirror the gospel story of Jesus’ death and resurrection?

1. What are some of the ways suffering can affect our relationship with God? Consider a time of deep suffering in your life. Did it cause you to move closer or further from God? Why do you think that is?

2. Read Psalm 38:1-9. What issues is the psalmist grappling with in his life? How might these issues be related to one another?

3. Verse 9 ends the first of 3 cycles of lament in the psalm with a personal call upon the Lord (“O LORD!”) What is the significance of these calls placed at the end of each cycle of lament (vv9, 15, 21)? Why can it sometimes be difficult to gain a glimpse of God in the midst of suffering?

4. Read Psalm 38:21. Why does the psalmist ask for God to ‘be not far off’? What is it about the nearness of God that makes him long for it?

5. Read 1 Peter 3:18. How does the suffering of Jesus intersect with our own suffering in this verse? How does the cross give us hope in the midst of suffering?

6. Spend time praying for one another, especially for those who are in a season of suffering.

   If you have time, you can click here to take a short assessment based on Gary Thomas’ book, Sacred Pathways. Thomas’ nine ‘pathways’ are below. Remember, these are not substitutes to the word, prayer, fellowship, etc. They are simply a description of habits that may help us practice the nearness of God in our everyday lives:

Activist

Activists meet God in the vortex of confrontation. They want to fight God’s battles. God becomes most real to them when they are standing up for justice or working on the frontlines to build God’s kingdom.

Ascetic

Ascetics meet God internally. They prefer to shut out the world and meet God in solitude and austerity. For ascetics, the best environment for personal worship is a quiet place with a rather orderly environment, and they usually don’t like the distractions of group worship. They are often advocates of all-night prayer vigils and many of the classical disciplines, such as fasting and meditation.

Caregiver

Caregivers love God by loving others. Providing care or meeting needs in Jesus’ name spiritually energizes caregivers and draws them closer to the Lord.

Contemplative

Contemplatives are marked by an emotional attachment and surrender to God. They are God’s lovers, and they want to spend their time in God’s presence — adoring Him, listening to Him and enjoying Him. They often find benefit in journal writing, where they can explore their heart’s devotion.

Enthusiast

Enthusiasts like the excitement and celebration of group worship and probably buy more praise CDs than books. They feed off the enthusiasm of other believers and typically revel in God’s mystery and supernatural power. Their exuberance tends to lead them to embrace creative forms of worship.

Intellectual

Intellectuals really like books — even the reference kind — and live in the world of concepts. They want to come out of their devotional time with new understanding. If their mind isn’t engaged, their heart may feel cold.

Naturalist

Naturalists’ hearts open up to God when they get outdoors. God seems more real to them when they’re hiking under a big expanse of sky or at least sitting under a tree.

Sensate

Sensates are more aesthetically inclined. These are the artistic types, and they prefer creative and original music or even good architecture to open their hearts to God’s presence. Their worship is about seeing, hearing, feeling, touching and even tasting God’s presence.

Traditionalist

Traditionalists find great meaning by worshiping God according to set patterns — their own or historical ones. They may organize their life around scheduled times of prayer and may even choose to carefully observe the Christian calendar, aligning themselves with centuries of faith. Traditionalists often make good use of Christian symbols.

1. Read Psalm 36:1-4. In this portrait of “life under the influence of sin” the psalmist employs a number of vivid images. What imagery strikes you the most? What is the psalmist conveying with the imagery about life under the influence of sin?

2. In vv1-2, there are two references to the eyes. What does sin do to our spiritual vision? Why is this an important strategic move on the part of the enemy?

3. Read Psalm 36:5-9. This is a second, contrasting portrait, illustrating life under the influence of God’s love. How is the imagery different than verses 1-4? What words describe how these verses make you feel, compared to the first 4 verses?

4. Verse 9 says, In your light we see light. In the Bible, spiritual enlightenment is the supernatural, miraculous work of God in a person’s life (see Ephesians 1:18ff, 2 Corinthians 4:6). What has been your experience of spiritual sight, personally? How would you explain it to someone unfamiliar with the Bible?

5. Read Psalm 36:10-12. Do you identify with this sober prayer for safekeeping? How do we maintain this posture of humility and dependence on Christ in our daily lives? Spend time praying for one another and thanking God for his steadfast love.

1. Read Psalm 37:1-11 aloud as a group. What stands out to you as you hear these verses recited? What does it make you feel or think?

2. List the negative commands (ie, fret not, be not envious, etc) and positive commands (ie, trust, dwell, etc) in Psalm 37:1-11. How do these parallel commands shed light on what it means to ‘delight in the Lord’?

3. Verse 3’s ‘dwell in the land’ is shorthand for living within God’s blessing under the Abrahamic covenant (see Exodus 32:13 for clarification). You will find similar language in vv 9, 11, 22, 27, 29, 34 . “The land/inheritance” language represents not just the land but all the covenant blessings of God. How does this relate to verse 4’s “he will give you the desires of your heart”? In other words, how does the language of covenant in v3 shape the way we understand the promise of v4?

4. Read Matthew 5:5. Here, Jesus uses the language of Psalm 37:11 to pronounce a blessing on his New Covenant kingdom citizens. How is the blessing different under Jesus than under Abraham? How is it the same?

5. What gets in the way of delighting in the Lord in your personal life? How can you pray and encourage one another to prioritize delighting in Him?

1. Read Psalm 35:1-10. How do you envision David’s physical posture as he prays this prayer (standing, sitting, kneeling, etc)? What emotions does this psalm evoke for you?

2. In the sermon today, we discussed the 5 elements of imprecatory psalms (and other laments). Can you identify each of them in these verses? How about in the 2nd and 3rd stanzas (vv 11-18 and 19-28)?

   • Invocation - direct address to God.

   • Complaint - announcing the problem

   • Petition - asking for the resolution

   • Trust - declaring faith in God’s faithfulness

   • Praise - proclamation or promise of praise and adoration

3. Read Matthew 5:44 and Romans 12:19. How do we reconcile these verses with imprecatory (cursing) psalms like Ps 35? Do you think that New Testament believers can and should continue to pray these psalms in Christian worship? Why or why not?

4. Read 1 Samuel 24:1-12. How would you describe David’s conduct toward Saul? How does his conduct compare/contrast with what we read in Psalm 35?

5. In the sermon today, Robb suggested 4 theaters in which believers can pray through the imprecatory psalms. Have you ever prayed in any of these ways? How else might we utilize the imprecatory psalms in our spiritual lives?

   • Pray as you encounter personal injustice

   • Pray for the persecuted global church

   • Pray against spiritual enemies

   • Pray through the goodness of God as seen in the imprecatory psalms

6. Spend time sharing with one another ways to be praying for each other in the week ahead.

1. Can you remember when you first ‘tasted’ the goodness of God for yourself? Share the story with your group.

2. Read Psalm 34:1-6. What is David’s aim in these verses? Who is he addressing in the psalm, and what is he hoping will happen? How is he going about achieving his aim?

3. In his sermon today, Robb spoke about the importance of both telling and hearing stories of God’s goodness. Why is this habit important to a spiritual community? What are some contexts in which we can practice hearing and telling?

4. Read verses 7-10. What does it mean to fear the LORD? What is the relationship between the fear of the LORD and tasting/seeing the goodness of the LORD?

5. Read verses 15-17. Note the ‘body language’ used to describe the LORD in these verses (eyes, ears, face, etc). What is David communicating with this kind of language?

6. Read verses 19-22. In the sermon this morning, we saw how Jesus fulfilled v20 on the cross (John 19:30-36). How else does the life, death and resurrection of Jesus fulfill these verses?

1. How have you experienced mercy-shaped community in your own life? Share an example of how your community has been shaped by God’s mercy.

2. Read Jonah 3:6-10. Rehearse the 3 marks of mercy-shaped community we discussed in the sermon:

   • The Word moves in power.

   • Corporate confession & repentance.

   • Mercy-shaped people (individuals).

   Explain how each of these marks is represented in the text. What other marks of mercy, if any, ought we to expect to see in a healthy Christian community?

3. What happened when Jonah spoke the Word to Nineveh (Jonah 3:4-5)? Why is it so important to speak God’s word to one another? What hinders us from speaking God’s word? How can we help one another overcome those hinderances?

4. What did corporate confession and repentance look like for the Ninevites? How do you think it ought to look for us? What keeps Christians from this life-giving practice in our context?

5. In the sermon this morning, Robb noted that the work of God in Nineveh (chpt 3) began with a work of God in Jonah (chpt 2). How can we as individual Christians prepare our own hearts for the movement of God in our community?

1. Describe a time in your life when you sought a word from the Lord? What were you after (an answer, forgiveness, clarity of direction)?

2. Read Jonah 3:1–5.

   What is the Lord’s word to Jonah? How does the Lord’s message offer divine mercy and demand human responsibility? How does Jonah respond to the word of the Lord, the second time?

   What is the Lord’s word to Nineveh? How does the Lord’s message offer divine mercy and demand human responsibility? How does Nineveh respond to the word of the Lord?

3. Read John 1:1–18. What does it mean that Jesus is the Word? How is Jesus—fully God, fully human—the fullest expression of God personally addressing his people?

4. Read 2 Timothy 3:14–4:5. Why does it make a difference to “know from whom you have learned it” (v. 14)? How does understanding God’s Word as a personal address to you change the way you think about teaching ministries, as a teacher and as a recipient?

5. Where do you need your community to speak God’s mercy and your responsibility into your life?

1. What memory helps you appreciate the joys and/or challenges of motherhood? Tell a ‘mom story,’ either of your own mother or of your experience as a mother.

2. Read Jonah 1:17. Try to imagine Jonah’s experience in this verse. What physical sensations might he be experiencing? What emotions?

3. In what ways is the great fish an example of God’s great mercy in Jonah’s life?

4. Read Jonah 2:1-9. Which words or phrases note Jonah’s downward descent away from God’s presence? Which words or phrases mark the upward motion of God’s redeeming grace?

5. How does Jonah’s experience ‘in the belly’ help Christians today to endure with patience their own lonely experiences of suffering?

6. Are you in the belly of suffering and solitude? Share with one another and ask God to meet your brothers and sisters in the midst of trying circumstance with his great salvation.

1) VBCC’s core value of ‘Reaching Out’ states: “We will take Christ’s message of grace to the lost and disconnected people in our community and to those parts of the world where the local church is weak or nonexistent, and we will use every available Christ-honoring means to pursue, reach and mature them.” Where have you seen this happen since you’ve been at VBCC?

2) In light of Scripture and today’s sermon, how would you describe God’s presence in this world?

3) How important is it that a believer feels the presence of God in their life? Where does Scripture give us the assurance of God’s presence with us?

4) Identify areas in your life where God may be giving you opportunity to extend grace with a foreigner/share the Gospel with an unbeliever.

5) What are ways the enemy can try to neutralize our witness?

6) What has been your experience with racial divisions and with racial reconciliation?

7) How might God be leading you/your Connect Group to help VBCC continue to carry out the core value of Reaching Out? Would you pray for this Summer’s Sunday School class called The Engagement Project as well as VBJ1 ministry to international students?

1. If you could be anywhere, doing anything right now, where would you be? Why? What does your answer say about your vision of the ‘good life’? Are there any correlations between that vision and the things that cause you to feel anxious or worried?

2. Read Matthew 6:25-34. How many times does Jesus use a term like ‘anxious’ or ‘worry’? What does this kind of worry/anxiety look like practically in life? What other actions would you associate with the idea?

3. Look again at verses 32-33. Here Jesus shifts from anxious/worry language to ‘seek’ language. What is the relationship between seeking and being anxious?

4. In v32, Jesus says, “The Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them all.” What is Jesus referring to with the words, ‘all these things’? If you were to make an ‘all these things’ list for yourself, what would be on it?

5. This morning Robb said, “anxiety is a symptom of seeking.” What does that mean? What does the ‘ringing bell’ of anxiety tell us about what’s going on in our hearts?

6. CS Lewis says, “I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that country and to help others to do the same.” Practically speaking, what are some ways we can do this? How do we keep our hearts calibrated toward God?

1. What is your earliest memory of feeling anxious? Does the memory relate at all to the things that make you feel anxious in your life now? In what way[s]?

2. Read Matthew 6:25, 31, & 34. These three verses mark the beginnings of three sections of instruction about anxiety. Summarize each section’s content. What reasons does Jesus give to lay aside worry?

3. In v25, Jesus repeats three times ‘what you will’. These words represent good things taken to a bad future via anxiety. Do you have a ‘what you will’ issue in your life? What is it?

4. In the sermon this morning, Robb said, “Jesus replaces the WHAT with a WHO.” Who does Jesus offer to meet us in our anxiety (v26, 30, 32)? What do we learn about this person from verses in Matt 6?

5. Review the Worship/Worry Seesaw below. Have you found this principle to be true in your own life? How can we use this simple tool to help us when we face anxiety on a day-to-day basis?

Dr Burchett says, “As worship goes up, worry goes down. Worry tends to dethrone God and elevate problems. Worship magnifies God and refuses to allow molehills to become mountains.”

1. What is your favorite treasure hunting story? Why do you think we tell stories about searching for buried treasure?

2. Read Matthew 6:19-24. What stands out to you in this passage? How are these verses connected to verse 1: “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven”?

3. Jesus is using three different illustrations or metaphors (verses 19-21, 22-23, & 24) in this text. What do you think he is describing? How would you summarize what these three metaphors mean?

4. Jesus concludes this section by saying, “You cannot serve God and Money.” Besides Money, what are the alternative masters that compete with God for your service?

5. Read Matthew 13:44. What makes the Kingdom of Heaven like a buried treasure to you? Why is it an act of joy to sell everything and buy the field?

6. What is one action step you can take this week in order to apply this passage to your life? Pray for one another toward this step.