Keeping It Real

Too often, during a small group meeting, application of God’s Word and prayer time seem to relate more to other people than to us. It is far easier to apply the lesson being discussed to a spouse, a friend, or an enemy than to honestly look at our own heart. During the Bible study portion of your small group meeting, emphasize the need for each person to "put on his or her own spiritual oxygen mask" before attempting to assist others. Try using one or more of the following approaches:

• During discussion, ask the group members, "What is God saying to you right now?"
• Personalize the Scripture you are studying by reprinting the verse(s), inserting a blank every place there is a pronoun. Ask each person to write his or her name in every blank and, sometime during the meeting, read the Scripture out loud. This could be done during discussion or used as a closing prayer time. Encourage each person to hang the personalized verse(s) somewhere where they will see it often during the coming week.
• Encourage each person to journal about the personal impact the lesson has had on him or her personally. This can be done during the meeting or during the coming week.