By Cameron Silsbee
Begin with prayer
Gather together as a Community in a comfortable setting. Take a moment in silence, in the presence of Jesus and each other. Have one person read 2 Corinthians 1v3-5 over the group and then pray to ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide your time together.
Debrief the most recent teaching and discuss the following prompt
- What did you take away from the teaching, and what has God been doing in your life this past week because of it?
- Think back to a previous season of life that included suffering and reflect for a moment on how you dealt with it. Share with your Community the ways you have and haven’t grown in how you deal with suffering.
- What’s something meaningful that God has taught you through a season of suffering?
Talk over this coming week’s Practice:
Over the next two weeks, set aside time to read through the entire book of Ruth at least once. It can be read in small chunks utilizing Lectio Divina, whole chapters at a time, or all in one sitting. Discuss as a group what day and time each person plans on reading Ruth.
Optional Practice for Parents:
This summer, as our church makes its way through the Scriptures in teachings and Practices, parents are invited to engage their children with the Scriptures by reading with them. Feel free to use age-appropriate Bibles or Bible stories for your kids. If you already have a rhythm, consider how you can add something to it – if your rhythm is to read with your child(ren) in the evenings, consider one morning in the week you could read a Bible story with them. If you don’t currently have a routine, think about one time a week you could read the Scriptures with them.
Close in prayer
End by having someone read this prayer from Isaiah 49 over the group:
Shout for joy, you heavens;
rejoice, you earth;
burst into song, you mountains!
For the LORD comforts his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me.”
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.
Your children hasten back,
and those who laid you waste depart from you.
Lift up your eyes and look around;
all your children gather and come to you.
As surely as I live,” declares the LORD,
“you will wear them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride.
Isaiah 49v13-18