Love as a Way of Life



Study Series: Traveling LightBy: Max LucadoLesson Title: “Psalm 23:4” (pp. 125-137)May 14, 2017Session 11 The main point of this lesson is: Many adults carry the baggage of the burdens of the grave, grief, fear and loneliness.Focus on this goal: To help adults release the burdens of the grave, grief, fear, and loneliness.Key Bible Passage: Psalm 23:4Before the SessionBring the loaded backpack from previous sessions. Be sure you have a pair of binoculars packed. (Steps 1, 7)To the LeaderYou can purchase the Kari Jobe album suggested in Step 7 through your nearest LifeWay Christian Store or online at , search for “Kari Jobe”.During the SessionStep 1. Lead-in Engage learners in recalling the burdens discussed in the past three sessions. Invite volunteers to share how they lightened or released burdens in the past week. Pull the binoculars from the backpack, hold them to your eyes, and say: We’re sometimes prone to carry burdens of things not yet come. We gaze into the future and realize there might be a reason for fear, grief, or loneliness. We see that death is coming—which it truly is—and we carry that as a burden as well. Open with prayer, inviting God to speak to all who are carrying burdens He alone can bear.Step 2. Day 1 – The Burden of the GraveAsk: What sayings have you heard about the certainty of death? Emphasize that though death is a certainty, it is never common or mundane. Ask: Why do people fear death? Are Christians less fearful of death than the general public? Read Ecclesiastes 7:2 and Hebrews?9:27. Ask: Are you comfortable talking about your own death? Read the two Day One paragraphs (pp. 126-127), beginning “Don’t miss the shift.…” Ask: According to Psalm 23, how did David feel about death? Invite a volunteer to read John 14:2-3. Review the two facts about death from page 126: We all have to face it; we don’t have to face it alone. Challenge learners to rest on God’s Word for comfort in light of death, and trust the promise and presence of Christ to be with them at that time.Step 3. Day 2 – The Burden of GriefAcknowledge: Though we will all die, likely it’s the death of a loved one that has affected and heavily burdened our lives. Share your earliest childhood encounter with death (a pet, relative, etc.) and how it affected you. Ask: What questions do we ask when someone dies? Record responses on the board. Say: Experts say there are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. We go through all these experiences, sometimes more than once, when we face grief. But we need not go through them alone. God is there to guide, love, comfort, and give us the hope and peace we need in times of grief.Step 4. Day 3 – The Burden of FearEngage learners in identifying a few fears they have (fear of public speaking, flying, spiders, etc.) Ask: What do you do when you feel the anxiety that comes from that fear? Use information in Day Three (pp. 131-133) to point out that David took his fear to God, as did Jesus. Encourage learners to begin each day presenting their fears to God in prayer. Help them see an ongoing prayer life can get us in the habit of going to God first. Challenge the group to memorize Philippians 4:6 by next week.Step 5. Day 4 – The Burden of Loneliness, Part 1Summarize Day Four (pp. 133-134) from the opening words to activity?1. Explain that we also might feel alone in crowds, among friends, and even in church. Read the Day Four quote (p. 134). Invite volunteers to suggest how social networks and other immediate communication forms have not only magnified loneliness but perhaps have increased it. Share a time when you felt lonely even though you had family, friends, or other believers around you. Observe: When we feel lonely, we want to do whatever it takes to get rid of that feeling; but how might loneliness be a gift from God? Wait patiently until learners respond verbally. Step 6. Day 5 – The Burden of Loneliness, Part 2Instruct learners to sit perfectly silently for 60 seconds. Time the silence, then ask: What did you hear? Provide time for learners to respond. Point out that when our normal noises are removed we are able to hear new, much quieter sounds. Read the Day Five quote (p. 135) from the writer: “I wonder if loneliness is God’s way of getting our attention.” Say: Both the Father and Son promised us we would not be alone. Invite volunteers to read Isaiah 41:10 and Matthew 28:20. Ask: What might change in us when we find ourselves alone with God as our only source of comfort and camaraderie? Provide time for learners to offer answers.Step 7. Make It PracticalInvite learners to prayerfully listen as you play “I Am Not Alone” by Kari Jobe (from the Sparrow Records album Majestic; search YouTube for “Kari Jobe I am not alone”). Encourage learners to believe (or ask Jesus to help them believe, as in Mark 9:23-24) that God is with them when they fear their own death, when they grieve, when they are afraid, and when they are lonely. Share some Scriptures that have brought comfort or strength to your faith during such times. Hold up your backpack and say something like: We are not alone. And we don’t need to carry these burdens. He is more than strong enough to carry them for us. Close with prayer, thanking God for His relief from these burdens. ................
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