Genesis 16-17 Discussion Guide
Sermon: April 2, 2023
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Here are important events that you should be aware of and praying over:
Easter Baptism Zoom Class
-April 2nd, 1pm via Zoom
Good Friday Seek Night
-April 7, 6:30-8:30pm @ Westview High School Auditorium
Easter Sunday
-April 9 Bring flowers to adorn the cross!
-WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO SERVE WITH CLK ON EASTER SUNDAY!
Please email Trish at trish@citylightbennington.church to sign up to serve at the 9am or the 10:45am!
WHY CITY GROUPS?
The point of a City Group is to help us apply God’s Word to our everyday lives through the power of the Holy Spirit, and to multiply faithful disciples of Jesus who make more disciples of Jesus. So we gather regularly to give ourselves to three basic Christian practices: sharing stories, reading the Bible, and praying.
PRAY
Ask if anyone would like to open up in prayer and ask God to bless your time together
STORY
Break the ice with a testimony..
Who has prepared their 5-7 minute story?
Who can give testimony of God’s goodness right now? (i.e. answered prayer, provision, transformation, etc.)
VISION FOR THIS DISCUSSION
Ten years have gone by since our last discussion, and Abram has started to consider the fact that Sarai has not conceived and was at the point of being too old to have children. So he agrees to Sarai’s plan to sleep with his wife’s maidservant, Hagar, to “help” God fulfill his promise. Ten years, after all, is quite a long time to wait on something you’re waiting to see come true in your life. What Abram doesn’t know is that it will be another 15 years before he and Sarah have Isaac – the child of the promise. Twenty-five years of waiting makes it easy to understand that it’s a true statement when someone says, “Waiting on God is hard!”
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGE
Read Genesis 16 aloud as a group. What are some initial observations that caught your attention?
What do you notice about Abram’s character in chapter 16? Sarai’s?
What do you notice about God’s character as He interacts with Hagar?
QUESTIONS FOR APPLICATION
1. Would your family and friends consider you to be a patient person?
As you are growing in your relationship with the Lord,
-Would you say that you are more patient today than you used to be?
-What are some of the reasons why you still might be having difficulty?
-What would you say is the number one “secret” to being patient?
2. Spend time talking about times when you’ve run ahead, so to speak, of the Lord.
-How did it work out when you took things into your own hands?
-Why did you feel as though you needed to jumpstart things and “help” God out?
3. Read and discuss these quotes from Corrie ten Boom, a strong Christian woman who lost survived the Holocaust after being freed from a concentration camp where she lost many of her family members, and then went on to help nearly 800 Jews escape from the Nazis:
“Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.” – Corrie ten Boom
-Are there any concerns right now that you are worrying about more than praying about?
“I have learned to hold all things loosely, so God will not have to pry them out of my hands.” – Corrie ten Boom
“When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer. ” – Corrie ten Boom
-Are there any things you’re holding onto right now that you don’t quite fully trust God with? Are there any things God is telling you to let go of and surrender or “resurrender” as you wait?
-How do you think God sees you and this situation right now? What do you think He is saying to you as you wait?
PRAYER
Feel free to ask the group for any pressing prayer requests that would be good to pray over together.
Use the TACOS acronym to let the text you studied pray for you:
Thanksgiving - “Father, thank you…”
Adoration - “Father, You are…”
Confession - “Father, I confess…”
Others - “Father, I pray for…”
Self - “Father, please help me…”
*If size or group dynamics seem to hinder prayer, consider dividing into groups of men/women or groups of 3-4 to reduce barriers to praying out loud.