Before the Session
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.
- Have any selected video or music clips ready to show
- Encourage your group to listen to the Faithelement Podcast ahead of the next session (Share the link via email or social media)
Intro
Texas Flooding
Say: Heavy rains in the Spring of 2015 brought deadly flooding to parts of Texas. (Show the following 2 clips. The first clip provides an overview of the situation, and the second clip shows a particular rescue of stranded motorists).
After viewing the videos, encourage discussion with questions like these:
- Have any of you ever experienced flooding like this? If so, what was it like?
- It’s easy to feel distant from such events, but these are real people caught in terrible circumstances. What sort of feelings do you think the two stranded motorist had while clinging to the truck?
- How do you think their families felt?
- What thoughts and feelings do you think the rescue workers were having?
Content
Read together Psalm 107:1-3,23-32 and watch the Bible Background Video.
Say: The passage is full of plural pronouns: we, us, etc. Sailing is a group effort, and the sailors in this passage would survive or perish together. The Psalm itself is considered to be a hymn, sung together in a worship service. In the podcast for this session, some wondered if our tendency to think in “individualistic” terms made it hard for us to speak in “we” and “us” perspectives. Do you agree or disagree? What does God hope for us: to deal with tough times as individuals or to provide support as a group… as a community? Explain.
Show the following video. It contains three segments, each humorously showing the benefits of working together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9j3-ghRjBs
After viewing, ask questions like these:
- What was the message these videos were trying to give?
- Do you think it’s a true message or just something silly in these videos? Why?
- What are places in your experience where you work together to accomplish something?
- These videos not only showed the value of working together, but they were protecting each other. Do you find that there is protection in groups? How do the groups you are part of take care of each other?
Thanksgiving
Read again Psalm 107:28-31:
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;
29 he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
Lead a time of prayer, giving thanks to God for the times God has brought us through perils in life.