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GROUP MEMBER DISCUSSION GUIDE

Has your life ever been turned upside down . . . on purpose?

You’re in good company. From the first to the twenty-first century, people have heard Jesus’ words and had their directions reversed, perspectives altered, and lives dramatically changed. Through Inverted you’ll encounter eight of Jesus’ extraordinary parables and think about how to reflect his unique perspectives by choosing to be . . .

• Grateful • Faithful

• Compassionate • Authentic

• Forgiving • Perceptive

• Gracious • Vigilant

The eight sessions in this small group discussion guide feature creative ways to engage the truth of God’s Word. During opening activities group members will get to know each other better. Then you’ll study Jesus’ unexpected words through relevant and interactive discussion questions—and learn how to live out the truths in your own faith journey. Each session includes great ideas for your small group’s service to others.

Inverted is perfect for . . .

• individual study • adult Bible fellowships

• small group studies • adult elective classes

To get the most out of group discussions, every member should read Inverted, the book. Order from your local Christian retailer or go to www.standardpub.com.

Tom Ellsworth

has been the preaching minister at Sherwood Oaks Christian Church in Bloomington, Indiana, since 1981. He is the author of four books, including Beyond Your Backyard and the It’s Your Move small group series. Tom enjoys spending time with his wife, Elsie, their two married daughters, and granddaughter.

Nancy Karpenske

has been involved in women’s ministry and adult Bible studies for over three decades at LifeBridge Christian Church in Longmont, Colorado.

RELIGION / Christian Life / General ISBN 978-0-7847-2926-7

9 780784 729267 025445111

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GROUP MEMBER DISCUSSION GUIDE

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Published by Standard Publishing, Cincinnati, Ohio www.standardpub.com Copyright © 2011 by Standard Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in reviews, without the written permission of the publisher.

Also available: Inverted, ISBN 978-0-7847-2925-0, copyright © 2011 by Standard Publishing Printed in: United States of America Acquisitions editor: Dale Reeves Project editor: Laura Derico Cover design: Thinkpen Design Inc., www.thinkpendesign.com Interior design: Dina Sorn at Ahaa! Design All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (The Message) are taken from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked (NASB® ) are taken from the New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman .org). All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.

All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NKJV™) are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Contents How to Use This Guide............................................................. 4 session 1 Be Grateful............................................................. 7 The parable of the whiny workers Matthew 20:1-16

session

2

Be Compassionate........................................... 14

3

Be Forgiving......................................................... 21

4

Be Gracious......................................................... 28

5

Be Faithful............................................................. 35

6

Be Authentic......................................................... 42

7

Be Perceptive...................................................... 50

8

Be Vigilant............................................................. 57

The parable of the roadside rescue Luke 10:25-37

session

The parable of the shocking servant Matthew 18:21-35

session

The parable of the warmest welcome Luke 15:11-32

session

The parable of the master’s money Luke 19:12-26

session

The parable of the pompous and pious prayers Luke 18:9-14

session

The parable of the street-smart steward Luke 16:1-13

session

The parable of the bewildered bridesmaids Matthew 25:1-13

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How to Use This Guide This guide is designed for small group use with the companion book, Inverted. It will help your group discuss the ideas from Inverted and apply them in your lives.

This happens best in groups that are growing together in real friendships, real faith, and real fun!

True to the Bible The aim is not to study a book however. It is to study God’s Word, using Inverted as a launching pad. We have designed this guide, like all the Standard Publishing products you’ve come to trust, to be true to the Bible.

True to Life We designed this guide also to be true to life—life in the real world of friends, spouses, disappointments, kids, jobs, bills, and other everyday circumstances. We want this guide to help your faith intersect with other aspects of your life so you will live the life that Jesus promised: life to the full!

A number of features make this guide distinctive:

> It is designed for busy people. You will not need to spend hours preparing for meetings, whether you are the leader or another member of the group. However, reading the companion book, Inverted, is highly recommended to help you get the most out of this study.

> It is designed for people at various maturity levels. You do not need to be a Bible scholar to facilitate or participate in these studies. The companion book will provide the teaching for each session. Your job is to discuss the truths from God’s Word and apply them to your life.

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> It is designed to develop community. Your group—whether you are a Sunday school class, Bible study, or small group—will grow closer to one another as you share your stories, study the Word, and serve together. The optimal number of participants in a group is usually about three to ten, depending on a variety of circumstances.

But larger groups can still be very effective. We suggest you subgroup if your group is larger than twelve. You may want to break into several groups of three to six during the Study and Apply sections, for instance, for deeper discussion and more authentic application.

For the Leader You are in a vital position to help people grow in their relationships with God. The best leadership comes out of the overflow of a godly leader’s heart. The Leader Preparation section and other leader helps are included to feed your heart first— to equip and encourage you before you lead your

> It is designed to help you grow spiritually. Real, lasting life change is the primary goal. The Holy Spirit will transform you as you allow him to work through God’s Word and other group members to encourage, support, admonish, and pray for one another. Your group will employ Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom.”

group.

God has called you to shepherd this small group of people that he has entrusted to your care. We want to provide whatever support and resources we can to help you carry out this vital ministry to which God has called you. We have several resources

How Each Session Is Organized

available to help meet your needs. Please visit

Leader Preparation: This section is designed to prepare the leader’s heart and mind for the meeting. To maximize opportunities for spiritual growth in your group, take time to read and reflect. Also use this time to pray for group members.

www.standardpub.com to learn more about our small group help guides.

Bible Study Agenda: This study is designed to help participants discover truth from God’s Word through group interaction rather than having the leader just tell them what it says. Participants will observe, contemplate, wrestle with, and take action on Scripture. Use the questions to facilitate lively interaction among group members.

This will lead people to aha moments—when they get it. Ask follow-up questions to keep a good discussion moving. Keep the group on track with strong yet gentle encouragement and guidance.

How to Use This Guide

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> Connect: Utilize the Connect activities to help group members share about what they know best—themselves—and to get them actively involved in the discussion. Take advantage of these creative learning activities. The main question here is “What is your story?”

> Study: These discussion questions are arranged to help members first observe and examine the Bible text, then understand and discern what the Scripture means and how they relate to it personally. The question here is “What is God saying to you in this passage?”

> Apply: This is the most important meeting element. Make sure you move the group toward this part of the process. Here they will relate God’s Word to their own everyday lives and decide what they will do with it. The question here is “How will I respond?”

> Inversion—Going Beyond Discussion: Each session ends with a challenge for your group to take an action step that lives out the particular focus for the day.

Some of these service opportunities are relatively simple, and others will take some additional planning. The question here is “How are we going to reach others with God’s truth in a practical way?”

Before the Next Meeting: All group members should read the next chapter in Inverted for the upcoming meeting. They may also look up Scripture passages if they like, but they do not need to do any other homework.

Leader’s Between-Meeting Shepherding Ideas: A healthy, life-changing small group is more than just what happens during the meeting time. The leader should set an example by staying in contact with participants between meetings though phone calls, visits, e-mail, and personal letters or cards. The best groups are like close families who care for one another 24/7.

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Inverted

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Be Grateful The parable of the whiny workers Matthew 20:1-16

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Key word: g enerous—adjective meaning magnanimous, openhanded, liberal in giving

Antonyms: tightfisted, miserly The Bottom Line: God can be as generous as he wants to be, because he is the owner of all. The truth is, God is more generous than we can imagine.

The Goal of This Session: To identify the single strand of truth in this parable. We will discover why fairness is not the focus and explain why the landowner could be “unfair” in his payment of his workers. We will select ways in which we can show our gratefulness by imitating God’s generosity.

Leader Preparation Read Matthew 20:1-16, and Matthew 19:16-30 for setting the stage for this parable.

Read chapter 1 in the book Inverted by Tom Ellsworth.

Choose the activities and questions that best fit your group’s style. Don’t feel like your group must discuss every question.

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Bring some kind of chocolate for the winner of the Gratitude Quotient opening activity.

Prepare name tags, stickers, or note cards—one for each person in your group. Write on each tag one of these starting times: 6 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm. (You may have multiples of the different times, depending on the number of people in your group.) Bring play money (such as money from a board game) to be distributed (in equal amounts) as payment to the “workers” in the Study exercise.

Pray that your group will get a glimpse of the magnitude of God’s generosity and be compelled to emulate that attitude in their own lives.

Connect My Experiences with Generosity Choose one of these questions to answer and share with the group: • Tell about a time when someone was unexpectedly generous toward you. How did that make you feel?

• Tell about how you learned to be a grateful person. Did you learn from a parent, a teacher, or from someone else? Did you have a good model or a not-sogreat model of what it means to be grateful?

• Have you ever agreed to do a job, but you didn’t know how much you were being paid? When you received the payment, were you pleased or disappointed?

Why? Would you take on a job where the wage was uncertain? Why or why not?

• How would you categorize your reaction when someone extends generosity to you? Which one of the following statements are you most likely to think? a. Wow, I must be special! b. I didn’t deserve that. c. I should look for a way to bless someone else the way I was blessed.

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Inverted

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Gratitude Quotient “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder” (G. K. Chesterton, A Short History of England).

How grateful are you? Give yourself a point for each of the statements below that are true for you: I thanked a coworker today.

I thanked a waiter/waitress today.

I wrote a thank-you note this month. (Give yourself an extra point for each note you wrote.)

I called someone to say thanks this week.

I thanked a family member this week.

I thanked a store clerk or person who bagged my groceries this week.

Give yourself ten points if this is true for you: I helped someone or gave something specifically because someone else had helped me.

Total your points and share your result with the group. The leader of the group can award a pat on the back (and some chocolate!) to the person with the highest gratitude quotient.

Study

1.

e leader should begin by distributing the name tags or cards. A volunTh teer should read Matthew 19:30–20:16. When each start time is mentioned during the reading of the Bible story, the person(s) with that corresponding tag should stand up and stay standing. (Use 6 am as the “early in the morning” start time, the “third hour” is 9 am, the “sixth hour” is 12 pm, and so on.) After the reading, all group members should receive their pay from the leader. Then each “worker” can tell how he feels about the wage received.

2.

eview the following phrases in the story describing the landowner. What R can we learn about him from the text?

Be Grateful

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• He set up a payment arrangement with the first crew.

• He promised to pay later workers “whatever is right.”

• He delegated to the foreman the task of distributing the payments.

• He instructed the foreman to start with the last ones hired.

• He called the protester “friend.”

• He explained his right to pay whatever he wished to whomever he wanted.

What conclusions could you draw about the character and personality of the landowner? Who does the landowner represent?

Leader’s Notes Here is some helpful background information concerning this parable.

When: Jesus told this story immediately following his encounter with the rich young ruler, and immediately before the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the week before his death.

Who was in the audience: most likely his close disciples (see Matthew 19:23, 25, 27).

Why Jesus told this story: the disciples were astonished when Jesus told them it was nearly impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven. (The rich young ruler had just rejected Jesus.) Jews equated riches with God’s favor. If the rich couldn’t get in, who could?

Other Gospels where this parable is recorded: none.

Other Gospels where Jesus says, “The last will be first, and the first will be last”: Mark 10:31; Luke 13:30.

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Inverted

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3.

I n Matthew 19:30 this statement preceded the parable: “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” Jesus concluded the parable with, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last” (20:16). Why do you suppose that Jesus reversed the order of who got paid first?

4.

hat would you choose as the single strand of truth that Jesus is comW municating in this parable? Why?

5.

ompare these translations of the last part of Matthew 20:15. Which one C makes it most clear for you? Why? • “Or is your eye evil because I am good?” (NKJV ) (“Is your eye evil?” is an idiom for jealousy or stinginess.)

• “Or are you envious because I am generous?” (NIV ) • “Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?” (NLT ) • “Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?” (The Message)

6.

J esus wasn’t concerned in this parable with fairness in pay, or the quality of labor. Based on the disciples’ question to Jesus in Matthew 19:25 and Peter’s question in 19:27, what do you think Jesus was illustrating with his parable?

Apply

7.

hat part or parts of this parable would you classify as inverted—the W unexpected twist that gets the attention of the audience?

Be Grateful

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8.

I magine you are hearing this parable told for the first time. What part of it would bother you the most? Why?

9.

I n the book Inverted, author Tom Ellsworth listed some benefits of generosity (see p. 23). Generosity encourages, heals, and surprises. How have you personally experienced the benefit of generosity in one of these ways?

What other benefits might result from generosity?

10.

e opposite of generosity is stinginess. How does an attitude of gratiTh tude help overcome stinginess? What practical ways have you discovered for dealing with our natural tendency to hold on to our resources?

11.

e following quotation is attributed to John Wesley (1703–1791), the Th founder of Methodism: Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.

How is the landowner in Jesus’ parable a good example of this quote?

What things do we need to work on so that we can better emulate this attitude in our lives?

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Inverted

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inversion > Going Beyond Discussion “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has” (Epictetus, from The Discourses).

Let’s revisit the Gratitude Quotient activity with which we began this session. Which of the following will you accomplish during the coming week?

I will thank a coworker, or my boss for something specific.

I will thank a waiter/waitress/clerk for something they are expected to do.

I will write a thank-you note to someone.

I will call someone on the phone to say thanks.

I will thank a family member for something I often take for granted.

Other: .

“We are a clear reflection of our Father when we share what we have been given” (from Inverted, p. 23). Brainstorm practical ways your group could start a “wave of generosity” flowing through your community. Discuss how you could surprise a neighbor with • a generous gift of flowers; • food; • an offer to watch their kids; • a secret lawn-mowing service; • an undercover car-washing operation.

Before the next meeting read chapter 2 in Inverted. Review the principles for understanding parables in the introduction of Tom Ellsworth’s book.

Be Grateful

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