Connect20-25 minutes
Connect with your group about life in the past week, then discuss these questions.
What does forgiveness mean to you? What makes forgiveness difficult?
Reflecting on Action Steps from Last Week:
If your group decided to journal about gratitude, talk about your experience with your gratitude journals. What did you notice? What did you learn?
If you group decided to focus on the “give us this day our daily bread” line of the prayer, share a bit with your group. Did it change your perspective this week?
Learn5-7 minutes
You will watch a short clip of the message from this series to set up your group discussion. The full version of the message is also available
online to reference before or after your group meeting.
Reflect20-30 minutes
- How did you sum up last weekend’s message in a sentence? Give time for each person to share and see how your takeaways were similar or different.
- What lessons can you learn from children about receiving the love of God?
- What steps can you take to depend on God and rest in His love this week?
- Read Psalm 36:5-10, alternating readers every few lines. What attributes of God can we identify in this passage? How can this passage bring you peace as you think about the topic of forgiveness?
- Read 1 John 1:8-9. Describe a time when you experienced the power of forgiveness.
- Read Isaiah 1:18 & Colossians 1:21-22. How does God’s forgiveness change the way you view your circumstances?
Pray10-15 minutes
Ask for prayer requests and then close your time together with this prayer:
Good Father,
Thank You for Your love, faithfulness, and forgiveness. Help us slow down, listen, pray, worship, and come to You for forgiveness and new life.
Whether this is our first time trusting Jesus or another step in surrendering to Him, please guide each of us in exactly what we need. We thank You and come to You because, as it says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Action Steps5-10 minutes
Between now and next week, here are some suggestions for action steps.
Attend the Weekend Service: If you could sum up the message in one sentence, what would it be? (Write this and any other takeaways in the Pray Like This notebook and bring it with you to group.)
If you and your group want to go deeper, here are some additional action steps. With your group, select one of these to commit to this week:
Brief Prayers to Try: Kari Kristina Reeves offers up very brief yet holy and bold forgiveness prayers in her book,
Canyon Road: A Book of Prayer. Take some quiet time to come before Jesus. Try one of these simple and powerful prayers this week:
- “Uncover the things I hide.”
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“Shine your light, God, in every dark place.
I open myself fully to you, and to your power.”
- “I don’t want to control everything anymore.”
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“Forgive me for submitting to worry, forgive me for bowing to fear.
Establish your dominion, Jesus, let your peace reign; replace fear with love”
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“Forgive me for trusting my record instead of yours.”
Prayer Focus: The Examen is an ancient prayer that helps you reflect on your day with God. Pete Greig in his book
How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People suggests that you consider praying the Examen prayer in 4 parts. Here are some suggestions from him:
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Replay: Replay your day in as much detail as possible.
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Rejoice: What brought you joy today? Give thanks for those things. It could be a warm cup of tea, or an opportunity or conversation you had. If it is difficult to find joy, Pete suggests praying, “Where prayers” instead of “Why prayers.” For example, “Where were you, Lord, this difficult situation?” “Where are you now in our weariness and disappointment?” It is in those prayers that you can rejoice.
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Repent: Pete says that “In the stillness of prayer, the Holy Spirit will often highlight occasions when you were selfish, lustful, deceitful, pompous, hurtful, or unkind…in the same way you are invited to pray, ‘Cleanse me.’”
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Reboot: Pete reminds us, “As you replay your day in detail, rejoicing and repenting along the way, we turn our attention to the challenges of tomorrow, asking for God’s strength to live a little more for his glory.”