9.13.26 Huddle
Teacher notes! Don’t feel obligated to read through every question with your group. Pick a few that will bring about a good discussion. If you only get to one of the passages, that’s fine! The purpose of this is to help you and your team grow spiritually.
Opening Discussion
If you could train a robot to do one task for you in your life, what would you have them do?
Read and Discuss
Romans 12:9-13
9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
What are some ways you might pretend to love someone?
What makes it hard to love certain people?
How can you start praying for those who are the difficult people to love?
How has someone honored you this week?
Why is it sometimes hard to delight in honoring others?
What can you do to show honor to someone this week?
What does it look like to serve the Lord enthusiastically?
How do you serve the Lord on a daily basis?
What can you do to practice hospitality…in your home?
…at church?
…at school or work?
…when you are hanging out with others?
What are some ways we can get better as a church of practicing hospitality with those who come into our church?
How can you help with that?
Romans 12:14-16
14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
What are some ways Christians are persecuted around the world?
How are you persecuted for following Jesus?
Praying a blessing over someone who goes out of their way to be mean to you is a tough task. What can you do to start developing that type of mindset?
Why does Paul want us to be happy with those who are happy?
Who is someone you know that is having a rough time?
What might it look like to weep with them this week?
What are some barriers to living in harmony with each other?
When you aren’t in harmony with someone, what do you do to work towards peace with them?
Sometimes when we are in a tough situation or have to have a crucial conversation with someone, we think we already have a good idea of what they are going to say and how they are going to respond. How could that attitude of thinking you know it all be a barrier to bringing about peace?
What are a few things you could do to approach the situation with an open mind?
What might change in your life if you start living according to these verses?
Discipleship Questions
What’s something you can do this week to serve the Lord?
Who is someone you need to start praying blessings over? (You can name the person if you feel comfortable and feel that it won’t turn into a bashing session. “I need to pray for my co-worker Jim-Bob because he is the meanest person in the world.”)
What is one thing you can do this week to improve your prayer life?
Memorize it!
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.
Prayer Time
Paul challenged us this week with praying blessings over those who persecute us. We may not live in fear of getting killed or humiliated publically for our faith, but there may be people who disagree with us. Sometimes that can come across as hostility or anger towards us. Other times, we may just be mistreated by people, not necessarily because we follow Jesus, but possibly because they don’t follow Jesus so the way they treat others isn’t filtered through a Christ-centered worldview.
So take a few minutes to think about some of the people who bother you, are mean to you, and live differently from what the Bible teaches. Pray for blessings over them. Pray that God’s goodness in your life would be evident to them so that you may have conversations about Jesus with them. Pray for opportunities to share the Gospel with them.