Genesis 31 Discussion Guide
Sermon Date: July 16, 2023
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Seek Night - Thursday, August 3rd, 6:30pm, Westview High School - childcare is not provided, but kids are welcome. Join us as we examine the character of God and worship Him together through song, spiritual gifts, and prayer.
Baptism Class - July 30 or August 6, 1:00-1:30pm, Zoom - learn what baptism is, why it matters, and how we do it here at CLB to prepare us for our Citylight Family Baptism Aug 13, 2023 down at the Gene Leahy Mall!
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
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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.)
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VISION FOR THIS DISCUSSION
Jacob has fleed from Esau, 20 years have passed, and he has two wives, two maid servants, eleven sons, and a daughter as he works for his manipulative and deceptive uncle Laban. His circumstances have greatly changed, and he is about to receive a word from the Lord. His wives, Rachel and Leah, have never been to Canaan.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGE
Read Genesis 31:1-10 aloud as a group.
What are some initial observations that caught your attention? Who are the characters and what is happening in this plot? We need to understand this ‘setting’ before we continue.
Read Genesis 31:11-13 aloud as a group.
David Guzik comments: “God tells Jacob to go back to Bethel, back to the place where he first encountered the LORD in a personal way. It is good to remember times and places where the LORD did great works for us and has met us in wonderful ways. As we remember them, God reminds us He is still the same God who met our needs then and wants to meet our needs now.
Charles Spurgeon comments: “You remember, some of you, perhaps, the first time when pardoning love was revealed to you — when you were brought to see the love of God in the great atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Well, to-night, the Lord says to you, ‘I am the same God as you have ever found me. I have not changed. I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed, even as your father Jacob was not consumed; for I was even to him the selfsame God.’”
A few notes to fill in the plot:
Jacob would let Rachel & Leah know of his plans, and secretly flee from Laban with his family, livestock, and property.
Laban would learn of Jacob’s departure, pursue him with a group of kinsmen, and overtake Jacob. The only reason he doesn’t bring him harm is because God comes to Laban in a dream and warns him to be careful in his dealings with Jacob.
Rachel would steal household gods from her father as they departed, but Jacob likely didn’t have knowledge of this. Yes, this is a messy story.
Read Genesis 31:36-42 aloud as a group.
What observations can you make about Laban’s mistreatments? What about Jacob’s final statement in verse 42 about God? Does this shape your opinion of Jacob in new ways?
Jacob & Laban would make peace and commit their relationship and future to God (verses 49-50, 53). Jacob would even, for the first time, build an altar in worship to God (verse 54), demonstrating his increasing recognition of the God of Abraham & Isaac.
APPLICATION
Read Revelation 2:4-5 aloud as a group.
How can we interpret Jesus’ charge to the church at Ephesus? What was His issue with them? How do we ‘forget’ our first love today? In what ways has God ministered to us, helped us, or met us in the past, but we aren’t believing He’s the same today?
Assign different group members to the read the following verses aloud:
Malachi 3:6
Numbers 23:19
Isaiah 40:8
Psalm 102:25-27
Psalm 90:2
In what areas, right now, do we need renewed faith that God is who He says He is and who He’s always been?
How can you mature in your belief that God is with you, for you, and will keep His promises to you, even in the midst of mistreatment, unplanned trials, conflict, etc.?
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.