Impact - End of Week 4

INTRODUCTION
The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.

OPEN QUESTIONS
Have you ever held on to something that is a souvenir or reminder of an amazing experience in your life?  If so and you’d be willing to share with the group, show the item and share the story.

HEAD

1. Read Joshua 3:17-4:7, 9, 19-20, 5:13-15, 6:1-3, 15-16, 20 together and share any wisdom, insights, or thoughts that come to you from the reading.
2. Why do you think God has to help the Israelites think of ways to remember the ways in which He’s blessed them, guided them, and cared for them in the past?
3. How significant do you think it was for Joshua to build an altar that would eventually be buried?  Do you think this helped him move on from his past?  if so, how?
4. The Isrealites seemed to face one obstacle after another, with little time to celebrate a victory of having overcome one before the next one hits (the Jordan river crossing meets the battle of Jericho).  How do you think they kept going?  How do you and I keep going when faced with one obstacle after another?
5. What significance do you think the encounter with the angel was for Joshua, who had heard of Moses’ encounter at the burning bush?
6. Do you think the Israelites were ready to march around Jericho as soon as they heard their instructions, or do you think there was pushback?  How often do we hear God’s instructions for us and think they make little to no sense?  How do we help each other trust in the Lord and move even when what we’re told to do doesn’t make sense?

HEART

1. What are some of the ways you try to remember how God has led you in the past?  If you’re willing, share about something you’ve held onto as a symbol of remembering a special moment in your faith journey.
2. Is there someone in your life that you go to for encouragement, hope, and/or help in your spiritual journey?  Are you that person for anyone else?Have you ever felt God tell you, or ask you, to do something that made little to no sense?  If so, how did it make you feel and what happened?
3. Can there be anything positive about the obstacles we face in life?  Have you ever faced an obstacle that you realized later on helped you prepare for another one?
4. I wonder if the Israelites shouting was akin to worship.  Have you ever chosen to worship, instead of sulk, in the midst of adversity?  If so, did it help, or make things worse?  Explain.

HANDS
This week, find some time to do some intentional worship.  That might be at your faith community, it might be in your prayer closet, or it might be out in nature.  But no matter what is happening in your life, and no matter how hard it may be, take time to worship.  Listen to or sing your favorite songs.  Write a psalm of praise to God for all He has done in your life.  Thank Him for creation, for those near you that you love, for the promises you hold dear.  Simply, worship Him even if life feels like it’s falling apart, and even if there are tears in your eyes.  Then reflect on what that experience was like.

LIVING WORDS FOR YOUR WEEK
“Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”
Psalms 100:1-5 NLT