INTRO: Describe a time when your shame was lifted in your life.

READ:
Luke 8:42-48
Genesis 2:25
Mark 5:26
Isaiah 61:7
Leviticus 15:25-33

PRAY: Begin the time by praying together.

DISCUSS:

1. “The Shame Exchange” could you imagine a time when everyone would be carrying shame around for everyone to see? What would it look like?
2. Do you feel you live with more or less shame than you have previously in your life? What made the difference for you?
3. Bodily shame, cognitive shame (things you don’t know and shouldn’t know), existential shame, which shame do you struggle with most in your life or do you see more often in your daily life or in others?
4. Can you imagine getting to the point where you would reach out for healing like the woman who was bleeding in Luke 8:42-48, she tried seeking the kernel of corn and touched the edge of Jesus’ clothing? What does that look like in this day and age?
5. Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” which gave her the following two opportunities:
   (a) A chance to come out of hiding. (Career, perfectionism, busyness, etc)
   (b) The shame exchange is real (Jesus could feel his power leave and be given to someone else)
   (c) Describe an experience in your life that was similar.
6. She chose to come out of hiding to spotlight who Jesus was. What would that look like today? Do you have an experience to share?
7. When the crowd is saying “shame on you” toward the women who touched Jesus, she passed along the shame to Jesus (Leviticus 15:33). What does allowing Jesus to carry our shame look and feel like in your life?

PRAY: Thank you for taking our shame so we can be free of our sin. May we be a reflection of you as we tell others of the shame exchange we have experienced.