Let Us Examine Our Response to the Bible

LIFE Group Agenda: June 7-13, 2021

Tacloban Bible Community

Welcome: (15 minutes)

 Please observe social distancing and make sure everyone wears a mask and keeps it on. Please no
snacks, because people take off their masks as they eat and this can lead to transmission of Covid.
 Greet each person with excitement as they arrive. Give special attention to visitors.
 Do an icebreaker, or something fun, to make the group relaxed and get to know each other better.
You can have everyone tell something about themselves: favorite movie, or vacation, or where they
would like to live.

Worship: (10 minutes)

 Have someone open the meeting in Prayer.
 If someone in your Life Group can play an instrument, ask them to lead the group in singing a couple
songs that express our love for God.
 Remind people to focus their attention on what the songs are saying and on God.
 If you prefer not to sing, worship can be done through the sharing of things you are thankful to God
for. You could also read a Psalm or have each member that wants to, share a favorite verse.

Word: (35 minutes)

 Our lesson last week encouraged us to praise God and encourage others to praise God even
when troubles surround us. Please share with the group how you have praised God this
week and whether you encouraged others to praise God too.

 Jesus told a parable about a farmer who went out and scattered seeds in his field.
Some of it fell on the path, some on rocky soil, some in weedy areas, and some in good soil.
In explaining the parable Jesus said that the seed was the “message of the kingdom,” or in our
situation today it would be the Bible, because it is the Bible that contains the “message of the
kingdom.” The four types of soil Jesus said represent four types of hearts or four types of
responses to the Bible. This is a very practical and important parable because all people in the
Philippines know about the Bible, they can all get a Bible if they really wanted to, however, we
can see all around us people who give varying degrees of attention to the Bible. As we study
this parable let us not just think of the attitudes of others regarding the Bible, let us evaluate
our own hearts to see if we are truly good soil or if we have allowed weeds to grow up in our
hearts that are choking our study of God’s Word. Read Matthew 13:1-9 & 18-23 (go around
the room having each person read two or three verses.)

 Have someone summarize the Life Lesson from their notes.

 Read verses 18-19. Jesus points out that the people who have hearts like the path are those
who hear the Word but do not understand the Word of God. Jesus is not talking about people
who are mentally handicapped and cannot understand the Bible, nor is he meaning that the
Word of God is too complicated for people to understand. Rather Jesus is talking about
people who do not try to understand the Bible or refuse to even read it. Why do you think it
is that even though most people believe that the Bible is the Word of God, very few ever
try to study or understand the Bible? What can we do to help change people’s attitude
in this area.(Many do not think they need to read it. Some simply rely on priests or pastors to
tell them what the Bible says. Some are afraid to read it because it might tell them to stop
some of the things they are doing. Some do not try to understand the Bible because it is not a
 popular thing to do among their peers. We need to pray for our friends that have a heart like
the path and ask God to change their heart. Sharing our personal testimony of how God has
helped us through our taking the Bible seriously will motivate some.)

 Read Matt. 13:20-21. In these verses Jesus explains that there are people who hear or study
the Word of God and receive it with joy, but when trouble or persecution comes because of the
Word they quickly fall away. The trouble or persecution talked about here by Jesus is
“because of the Word.” This is trouble or persecution that they experience directly related to
the fact that they are now studying the Bible. We are all here today in this Life Group to
study the Bible, but if people were to start persecuting you because you are attending
this Life Group would you continue or would you stop? What would cause you to keep
studying even if you were persecuted? (Jesus has warned us that we will be persecuted so
that will give me determination not to stop. I realize it would be Satan and not Jesus who
would be wanting me to stop. Have people read II Corinthians 4:17-5:1.)

 Read Matt. 13:22. Jesus tells us that some people allow the “worries of this life” to choke their
study of the Word of God. All of us have daily worries or concerns in our life. The question is
whether we allow those worries to have priority over our study of God’s Word or whether
studying God’s Word has priority. What are the worries of your life that sometimes cause
you to miss a Life Group or temporarily stop studying the Bible or stop having quiet
time? How could you prevent this from happening? (I need to remind myself of the
greater value of learning eternal spiritual truths over temporary concerns. I need to remind
myself of the importance of my relationship with God.)

 Read Matt. 13:22 again. In this verse Jesus also says that some people allow “the
deceitfulness of wealth” to choke their study of Word of God. The deceitfulness of wealth is
the thinking that once you earn just a little more money you will be content and will be able to
slow down and have time to study the Bible. All of us have the potential of being deceived into
thinking that earning money is more important at the moment than studying the Bible. Please
share some reasons why studying the Bible regularly could be more important than
earning more money? (Jesus said in Matt. 16:26, what will it profit a man to gain the whole
world and yet lose his soul. If you allow money to have priority over God is shows that money
is really your god, Jesus said in Matt. 6:24 that you cannot serve both God and money.)

 Read Matt. 13:23. What things can you do to help your heart be “good soil?” (Make Life
Group a priority. Ask someone to help remind you to attend even when you are busy. Though
our Life Group discussion is not necessarily teaching us new information, hopefully it is helping
us apply what we have learned to our life. Only when we change the way we live and apply
the Bible to our life can we say there has been fruit of God’s Word in our life. Discipline
yourself to have a daily quiet time.)

Work: (20 minutes)

 Talk with your Life Group members about having an accountability partner who will call them
each week to see if they are having a regular quiet time and if they have applied the lesson to
their life. Have them choose partners and exchange phone numbers.

 Divide into groups of two or three and pray for each other.