2 Corinthians 4:5-15
We cannot approach the topic of “church hurt” from only one end of the
“hammer.”
To move forward from “church hurt,” you must make a distinction
between Jesus and His fallen followers.
You can’t repair a broken vessel with more hammers. _
SMALL GROUP GUIDE
Welcome
Weekly Vision Casting Over the past month, we heard some great challenges during the Disciple-making Culture series. Would anyone like to share a next step they have taken since then to apply some of what we studied? Let’s celebrate together!
Small Group Guidelines Click here to view guidelines
Warm Up Question
Study: Head, Heart, and Hand Questions
Personal Prayer Requests
SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS
WARM UP QUESTION
Go around the room and share one fun fact… that you know about the person on your left.
HEAD: These questions help us examine the Word.
1. Dr. McNall described “church hurt” as someone “hurting you in the name of God”. During Paul’s life, how would he have been both a perpetrator and victim of church hurt?
2. Read 2 Corinthians 4:5-15. How does the metaphor of “jars of clay” relate to church hurt?
3. Read 2 Cor 4:9-12. How is it that our suffering and pain can cause the “life of Jesus” to be revealed all the more? How does this relate to church hurt?
HEART: These questions help us wrestle with what we believe.
[CAUTION: As we get more personal about church hurt, use discretion as you share. Let it be a time of honest sharing and reflection, but if possible, avoid naming names in the group setting so that we can focus the discussion more on what God might want to teach us, and less on specific churches or people.]
4. What does it feel like to experience church hurt or to be “hurt in the name of God”?
5. Did this experience cause you to deconstruct or to question your faith entirely?
6. How has Jesus met you in your church hurt or revealed Himself all the more?
HAND: These questions help us bring truth and beliefs into our everyday life.
7. Is there someone that you need to be reconciled with either by a) sharing how they hurt you or by b) seeking forgiveness from them for how you hurt them?