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Sketches of Leadership - students3.indd
SKETCHES
of Leadership o o o o >
D @
oers of the Word
James 1:18-27
In fulfi llment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we
would become a kind of fi rst fruits of his creatures.
19 You must understand this,
my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for
your anger does not produce God's righteousness.
21 Therefore rid yourselves of all
sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted
word that has the power to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not
merely hearers who deceive themselves.
23 For if any are hearers of the word and
not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror;
24 for they look at
themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.
25 But those
@
How does James describe the word of God?
who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers
who forget but doers who act--they will be blessed in their doing.
26 If any think they
are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is
worthless.
27 Religion that is pure and undefi led before God, the Father, is this: to care
for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
What does your unbridled tongue tend to
produce?
What would it take to bridle it?
In what specifi c circumstances will you need
Jesus' help to do so this week?
Response that pleases God
·
Be real avoid superfi cial, fake, or overly
simple responses like "I learned I just need to
trust God."
·
Be specifi c avoid general responses that
Where do we fi nd today's "orphans and
any nice person could do even if he or she
widows"?
weren't a Christian.
What are some of the problems with caring
·
Be risky choose responses that cause you
for them?
to need God, not to just exercise will power.
What is it about caring for them that is so
·
Be prayerful Ask regularly, "God, what are
central to God's heart?
you wanting to say to me?"
How are we changed in the process?
How would you like to move towards the
needy this month?
INTERVARSITY
Sketches of Leadership #33
Encounter Discern R
@
SKETCHES
of Leadership o o o o >
espond
Goal: to come to wisdom and understanding about the meaning of the text for the
original audience and for those studying today.
L
@
eading into Response
What makes a Bible study
rather than merely comforting, cathartic, or informative? Without
and
application, it is too easy to be "like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror... and at once forgets what he
was like." (James 1:23-24) If we are not doers of the word, the power of the word does not impact and change us, and we deceive ourselves.
Helping a group enter into transformative
Characteristics of good Response questions:
application is a leadership skill. You must
start with where the group connected to
> Flow from the study
Ask yourself,
the scripture intellectually or emotion-
> Appropriate to the group
1. What does the author
ally, and then move them from general to
> Immediate
want you to do?
specifi c. It is not enough to say that, "Jesus
> Concrete
2. What is your sense of
addresses our fears." Students of the word
> Realistic but pressing
the group's need?
must be helped to name the specifi c fears,
> Requires reliance on Jesus
3. What has God said to
in fact, fears that they presently experience,
> Involves accountability (e.g., group application,
you?
rather than fears they have experienced
shared with prayer partner, followed up at next Bible study)
at some point in their life. In naming and
articulating live issues, and then letting the
A balanced diet in your Response questions: both
truth of the scripture address those real
and
Exhortation
issues, the Bible study becomes a direct
encounter with the living God.
Attitude
and
In preparation, brainstorm 4-8 ap-
and
Repentance
plication questions. Write questions that
(not necessarily in a single study, but certainly over the course of several studies)
address different parts of the study. Paired
questions work well. The fi rst question is
often broader and helps identify an area of life. The second question in the set brings a greater level of concreteness by asking for specifi c action
or response.
When it comes time for application in the study, select the two questions that seem to connect most with the group given the discussion
the group has just had. Help people be specifi c and concrete by writing down answers on the back of their paper, splitting into pairs to share their
answers, or deciding together on a communal application (e.g. taking out the trash of everyone one in the residence hall after a Bible study about ser-
vanthood). If you chose a communal application, provide leadership to bring the experience to completion, rather than throwing some ideas around
and seeing what happens.
INTERVARSITY ®
Sketches of Leadership #33
©2007 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship 6400 Schroeder Road, P.O. Box 7895 Madison, WI 53707-7895
tel 608.274.9001
email info@intervarsity.org
web www.intervarsity.org
SKETCHES
of Leadership o o o o >
D @
oers of the Word
James 1:18-27
In fulfi llment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we
would become a kind of fi rst fruits of his creatures.
19 You must understand this, my
beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger;
20 for your anger
does not produce God's righteousness.
21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and
rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has
the power to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who
deceive themselves.
23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like
those who look at themselves in a mirror;
24 for they look at themselves and, on going
away, immediately forget what they were like.
25 But those who look into the perfect
@
How does James describe the word of God?
law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-
-they will be blessed in their doing.
26 If any think they are religious, and do not bridle
Implanted word that has the power to save
their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.
27 Religion that is pure
your souls, the perfect law, the law of lib-
erty, produces blessing through obedience
and undefi led before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their
distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
What does your unbridled tongue tend to
produce?
What would it take to bridle it?
In what specifi c circumstances will you need
Jesus' help to do so this week?
Response that pleases God
·
Be real avoid superfi cial, fake, or overly
simple responses like "I learned I just need to
trust God."
·
Be specifi c avoid general responses that
Where do we fi nd today's "orphans and
any nice person could do even if he or she
widows"?
What are some of the problems with caring
weren't a Christian.
for them?
·
Be risky choose responses that cause you
What is it about caring for them that is so
to need God, not to just exercise will power.
central to God's heart?
·
Be prayerful Ask regularly, "God, what are
How are we changed in the process?
you wanting to say to me?"
How would you like to move towards the
needy this month?
INTERVARSITY
Sketches of Leadership #33
Encounter Discern R
@
SKETCHES
of Leadership o o o o >
espond
Goal: to come to wisdom and understanding about the meaning of the text for the
original audience and for those studying today.
L
@
eading into Response
What makes a Bible study transformative
rather than merely comforting, cathartic, or informative? Without concrete
and specifi c application, it is too easy to be "like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror... and at once forgets what he
was like." (James 1:23-24) If we are not doers of the word, the power of the word does not impact and change us, and we deceive ourselves.
Helping a group enter into transformative
Characteristics of good Response questions:
application is a leadership skill. You must
> Flow from the study
Ask yourself,
start with where the group connected to
> Appropriate to the group
1. What does the author
the scripture intellectually or emotion-
> Immediate
want you to do?
ally, and then move them from general to
> Concrete
2. What is your sense of
specifi c. It is not enough to say that, "Jesus
> Realistic but pressing
the group's need?
addresses our fears." Students of the word
> Requires reliance on Jesus
3. What has God said to
must be helped to name the specifi c fears,
> Involves accountability (e.g., group application,
you?
in fact, fears that they presently experience,
shared with prayer partner, followed up at next Bible study)
rather than fears they have experienced
A balanced diet in your Response questions: both
at some point in their life. In naming and
Encouragement
and
Exhortation
articulating live issues, and then letting the
Attitude
and
Action
truth of the scripture address those real
Healing
and
Repentance
issues, the Bible study becomes a direct
(not necessarily in a single study, but certainly over the course of several studies)
encounter with the living God.
In preparation, brainstorm 4-8 application questions. Write questions that address different parts of the study. Paired questions work well.
The fi rst question is often broader and helps identify an area of life. The second question in the set brings a greater level of concreteness by asking
for specifi c action or response.
When it comes time for application in the study, select the two questions that seem to connect most with the group given the discussion
the group has just had. Help people be specifi c and concrete by writing down answers on the back of their paper, splitting into pairs to share their
answers, or deciding together on a communal application (e.g. taking out the trash of everyone one in the residence hall after a Bible study about ser-
vanthood). If you chose a communal application, provide leadership to bring the experience to completion, rather than throwing some ideas around
and seeing what happens.
INTERVARSITY ®
Sketches of Leadership #33
©2007 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship 6400 Schroeder Road, P.O. Box 7895 Madison, WI 53707-7895
tel 608.274.9001
email info@intervarsity.org
web www.intervarsity.org
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