The Fourth Wall - End of Week 3

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

OPENING QUESTION(S)
Have you ever had a moment that was hard to believe even with your own eyes?  Or someone told you about something so amazing that you said you wouldn’t be able to believe unless you saw it for yourself?

HEAD

1. Read 2 Kings 6:24-7:11 together and share any wisdom, insights, or thoughts that simply come to you from the reading of the Word.
2. If food was sparse, and other supplies needed to sustain life were dwindling, what different emotions do you think the people of Samaria were feeling?  How do you think they reacted to those emotions?
3. Verse 30 says the king tore his clothes in despair at what the two women shared about their children.  Do you think the king blamed himself for their behavior?  Do you ever find yourself blaming yourself for others bad behavior?
4. In verse 33, the king said that all their misery was from God. Do you believe that God causes misery?
5. Spend some time considering how hard it would be to think their circumstances would change so quickly from horrific, to plentiful, from scarcity to abundance.  Can you identify with the people having a hard time believing Elisha?
6. Isn’t it amazing how the lepers were willing to share their good fortune with others?  They were outcasts with those others while they were sick, but when given a chance, they happily shared the good news with others.  What can we learn from this story about sharing good news with others even when our lives aren’t going so great?

HEART

1. Think of the course of your life.  If you’re willing to share, what was one of the toughest moments that you thought would never get better and you hard a hard time seeing your way out of?  What ended up happening?
2. It seems that so often in life, we’re traveling at such a fast pace that we only have time to react to a moment (often emotionally and/or not in the best way possible), versus responding thoughtfully.  What are some ways we can orient our lives to live less reactionary, and more in response to what God is doing in us and in the world around us?
3. We live in a world driven by scarcity, but we say we serve a God of abundance.  How do we live into God’s promises, trust in His goodness, even when what we see with our eyes tells a different story?

HANDS
When I think of abundance, I think of joy.  I think we serve a God who loves us more than enough, who gives us more than enough, and serving a God like that gives me joy.  How can we love on another person this week while leaning into abundance?  Can we share a blessing we’ve been given with someone else, be that blessing good news, or a resource, or something?

WORDS TO REMEMBER
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
John 10:9-10, ESV