BLESS – WEEK 6 SHARE YOUR STORY

Note for the facilitator: We are increasingly aware of how important our own preparation is as the key to being able to be vulnerable in group as well as learning from what God is saying to one another through the Word that we are reading. Let us keep encouraging one another to anchor our lives in God.

Worship: Spend time throughout the week during your time with God listening to As You Find Me by Hillsong United. As you spend time in worship, be encouraged that God loves us just the way we are.

Check-In: Looking at your phone’s photo gallery, show the group what photo from the last month is your favourite and share why.

Bible Readings: Anchor: Genesis 12:1-3; Matthew 10:16-20; Romans 10:13-14; John 9:1-15

Preparation and Discussion for Group Time: 
1. D.T. Niles said, “Christianity is one beggar telling another beggar where he found bread”. 
Are there any excuses that are holding you back from sharing your story with someone in your world? What steps could you take to overcome these?  2. The newly sighted man from John 9 laid out a simple template for sharing your story: 
• My life before Jesus: The man declared “I was blind”. What was your life like before you met Jesus? Or if you grew up in church knowing all about Jesus, what was your life like before you got serious about following him? Your story begins with who you were … 
• How I met Jesus: The man declared, “He put mud on my eyes”. How you met Jesus is an important part of your story. How did you find your way back to God? Did a friend invite you to church, a family member introduce you to Jesus? Did you go through a hard time? 
• My Life Since I met Jesus: “Oh, I was blind… But now I see”. What difference has finding your way back to God made in your life? How are you different? What has changed about your perspective? How has knowing Jesus impacted how you walk through both the good and the hard things in life? 
As a group, spend time sharing your story. How has hearing someone else’s story encouraged you?  3. Which one of the BLESS practices have you practiced and grown in over the past 6 weeks? Now that we have come to the end of the series, how are you going to continue living out the BLESS practices daily? 

Prayer time: 
Pray for the opportunity for you to share your story with those in your world as you connect with people in your world this week. 

Love God: 
• Read John 9:1-15 this week and be encouraged that we all have an unique story to share with others in our world. 
• For personal study, here are some suggested YouVersion devotionals: o Sharing Your Faith by YouVersion  o Your Story For God’s Glory 

Love People: 
There are many opportunities to Love People coming up – see the Church Center App for more information:  • Be intentional about praying for those people on your BLESS card  • Father’s Day is coming up next week, why don’t