Connection Group Discussion Guide | Week 3 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10
Connect (5 to 10 minutes) Come together to build relationships through fellowship and sharing about this week’s worship. • Take a few minutes to share your thoughts about worship this week. – What aspects of worship did or did not connect with you? – What story or illustration made an impact on you? • Icebreaker: When someone says to you, “Tell us about yourself,” what is the first thing you say and why?
Context (30 to 40 minutes) Dig deeper into the videos and scripture for this week through questions and discussion. Watch the video for this session on your Connection Group DVD or online. Ask the following questions and allow for free response, or invite group members to make lists of identities from others and from themselves, then invite them to share their lists with the group. • Share about some identities that others have given to you, both good and bad. What do these identities mean to you? • Share some of the identities you have given to yourself, both good and bad. What do these identities mean to you? • Share about a time in your life when God was trying to teach you something about an experience in your life. Optional follow up questions: – What did you learn? – How did you find meaning in this experience? • Do you struggle to talk about the brokenness we experience within ourselves more than others? How do you feel about being vulnerable in this way?
Read John 10:7-15 • How do the identities you named earlier line up with your identity as a disciple of Christ, part of Jesus’ flock? Optional follow up question – Which ones are in conflict with your faith and why? • Do you feel that your identity as a Christian defines who you are in a significant way? Why or why not? Optional follow up question – How does your identity in Christ change what you do every day? • Name some “hired hands” in your life. Why do you think we depend on these, rather than depending on God? • When has there been a time you have struggled to recognize Jesus’ identity as savior, the good Shepherd, or Lord in your life? What was preventing you from doing so?
Consider what specific elements make up the identity of a Christian. What traits does a disciple of Christ have? Remember that an identity in Christ is who we are. It is not limited to what we do.
Jesus speaks in this section about being the good shepherd, but the beginning of John 10 is actually an explanation of everything that happened in John 9. It is the theological basis for Jesus’ actions.
• Do you identify more with the blind man in John 9, tied to a negative identity, or more with the Pharisees, too attached to a positive identity (by the worlds standards)? Why? • How does this impact your relationship with Christ? Pass out copies of the following from our baptism liturgy for the group to read together. Through baptism you are incorporated by the Holy Spirit into God’s new creation and made to share in Christ’s royal priesthood. We are all one in Christ Jesus. With joy and thanksgiving we welcome you as members of the family of Christ. • Ask group members to go through this reading and underline “new identities” we are given in Christ. • Afterwards, ask them to share why they underlined different phrases with the group, and what these phrases mean to them personally.
Call (10 minutes) We believe that God not only shows us who God is but invites us to participate in God’s ministry by answering unique calls in our own lives. Join together in discovering how we can actively respond to scripture and God’s presence. • When do you struggle with assigning identities to others? – How can you begin to see them as a child of God instead? • What part of your new identity as a disciple of Christ do you struggle with the most? – How can you begin to embrace this more fully?
Closing (5 minutes) God calls us into community by sharing our joys and concerns together in prayer and supporting one another in our walks with Christ. As we share testimony and stories of our lives, let us listen to where God is working within our community and how we can build each other up in Christian love. • Share joys and concerns with one another. • Close in prayer, either by inviting a group member to pray or by using the prayer provided below. Closing Prayer Gracious God, we come to you admitting that we struggle with our identities as disciples of Christ, and we forget that the core identity of other people is beloved children of God. So many times, we choose to assign identities to ourselves and others that are wrong and even harmful. Help us to fully accept the idea that you give us completely new identities through the gift of baptism. Let us see others through your eyes, and bring healing to the brokenness within ourselves. Amen.