17.21 Mind

Facilitator: In advance of the session

Review today’s scripture text and the session activities to help better facilitate the discussion.
Have the Bible Background Video ready to view.
Encourage your group to listen to the Faithelement podcast ahead of the next session (Share the link via email or social media).

Start by asking:

When have you felt like God had directly told you or someone you know something – either through some vision or some supernatural occurrence?
With whom did you share that information and what was the result?
When might God have been revealed to you through more subtle means, like chance encounters, conversations, or a set of circumstances?
Why do you think God chooses to speak to us in either of these ways and why do you think people may value one way more than another?
How do you typically respond when you think God has contacted someone, even if they don’t see that in themselves, and why?
To what degree is being “contacted” by God an important aspect of faith?

Read Acts 16:9-15, then watch the Bible Background Video and ask:

Since earlier verses, like Acts 16:6-8, say that the Spirit “prevented” or “did not allow” them to work in certain areas, how and why do you think the Spirit did this?
What circumstances might have led them to this conclusion?
Why do you think Paul paid closer attention to this dream and how else might he have interpreted it?
Some scholars believe the writer of Acts, Luke, joined Paul at this point of the story, so how might this influence the way the story was told?
Why might Paul have chosen to start his work in Philippi by looking for Jews or others who already worshiped God?
Why, in a patriarchal culture, did Paul begin with women rather than men?
What can we learn about Lydia from these few verses?
Where can we sense God’s Spirit moving in this story from the more overt ways to the more subtle ways?

Continue by asking:

While in this story we see the Spirit moving through interactions, chance encounters and open hearts, in what ways do you notice God’s Spirit moving most often today?
How do you think Paul, Lydia and others in the story kept themselves open to seeing and experiencing God’s subtle work around them?
What things have you done before to nurture this kind of sensitivity, and how might we work to be more sensitive to God’s presence and guiding?
How does a congregation work to promote such sensitivity among its members?
At what points do congregations discourage this sort of sensitivity, and what sorts of messages might yours be ignoring?
Who might most be changed in your community if congregations became better listeners to God’s urging?

Close with prayer.

Writer: Jon Parks