Normal People (Week 5)
In our series Normal People: Living an Ordinary Life with Extraordinary Grace, we’ll look at Paul’s words to the Thessalonians and receive the encouragement we need to embrace the normalcy of our lives, allowing the grace of God to do the extraordinary.
Warm-Up: You’ve just pulled up to your favorite restaurant and find that there is a wait for a table. What’s the longest you would be willing to wait? What do you do while you wait?
1. What things are hardest to wait for? Why?
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8.
2. Do you find yourself detaching or seeking to escape during times of waiting or uncertainty?
3. What things do you find yourself doing to escape or detach from reality in times of discomfort? From what do you find yourself attempting to escape or detach?
4. Do you agree with what Drew said in the podcast, that our attempts to “escape” are less about what we use to escape than they are about an internal stance of our heart? Discuss why or why not.
5. In the podcast, Drew shared how “sitting in the waiting” in the midst of his son’s health struggles allowed him and his wife to experience God’s nearness, presence, and joy. In your group, can you share about a similar experience?
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18.
6. How can we make space in our lives for rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks?
7. Close your time together by talking about the times when you have felt God’s presence most clearly. Do you see any common threads in your stories?
(*Video available after Sunday services)
