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Growth Group Homework
For the week of September 23, 2007

QUICK REVIEW:  This week we saw the choice we have to make in building a heavenly or an earthly kingdom.  Was there one point that particularly caught your attention, challenged you or confused you more than the others?

GETTING TO KNOW YOU
1.  You've just been given the opportunity to move into the profession of your choice with guaranteed success.  What profession would you choose and why? (You can't pick the one you're presently in no matter how much you love it!)

2.  Can you think of one or two questions you wish God would answer for you right now?

3.  This week we saw Daniel's dependence on God through prayer.  Prayer is something many of us wish we were better at or did more of. Circle those items below that describe your experience with prayer.

• Prefer to pray silently instead of out loud  
• Find my mind wandering when praying
• Like to write out prayers
• Look forward to time in prayer
• Don't really know how to pray
• Other

DIGGING DEEPER
1.  This week we saw God give an amazing answer to King Nebuchadnezzar's seemingly unanswerable dream.  But the reality is that there are questions in life that God doesn't answer.  How could the following verses help a person deal with unanswered questions that may seem to attack God's credibility?

Isaiah 55:8-9
⁸ "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 
       neither are your ways my ways," 
       declares the LORD.

⁹ "As the heavens are higher than the earth, 
       so are my ways higher than your ways 
       and my thoughts than your thoughts.  [NIV]

Philippians 1:6
⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  [NIV]

Philippians 4:19
¹⁹And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.  [NIV]

2 Peter 3:8-9 
⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  [NIV]

Which of these verses is the most helpful to you when it seems like God isn't giving you the answer?

Is there one that is more challenging for you to understand or apply than the others?

 

2.  What motivation or helpful instruction do the following verses give us about prayer?  What ways could someone be confused or misinterpret what these verses say about prayer?

Philippians 4:5, 6
⁵Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  [NIV]

Romans 8:26-27
²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ²⁷And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.  [NIV]

Psalm 145:18-19
 ¹⁸ The LORD is near to all who call on him, 
       to all who call on him in truth. 

 ¹⁹ He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; 
       he hears their cry and saves them.  [NIV]

Matthew 6:7 
⁷And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  [NIV]

3.  The character quality of humility was key in Daniel's ability to influence others for God's kingdom and not make the situation all about himself.  Moses is another person in the Bible that is known for his influence and humility (Numbers 12:3).  How do you see humility being central to Moses' actions and attitudes in the following verses?

Exodus 18:13-23
¹³ The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. ¹⁴ When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?" 

 ¹⁵ Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will. ¹⁶ Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and laws." 

 ¹⁷ Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. ¹⁹ Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. ²⁰ Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. ²¹ But select capable men from all the people - men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain  - and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²² Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. ²³ If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied." [NIV]

Hebrews 11:23-28
²³By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 

 ²⁴By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. ²⁵He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. ²⁶He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.   [NIV]

What things in your life can or have helped you to be humble?

TAKING IT HOME
Looking back at this week's teaching and study, was there something that caught your attention that is important for you to remember?   If so, why?

TIPS ON PRAYER

Prayer is an important part of being in Growth Group.  Over the years 
we've found that group prayer goes better when we follow three simple guidelines.  Group prayer goes best when...

• WE PRAY FOR ONE TOPIC AT A TIME - Anyone in the group is 
  free to introduce a prayer request either before prayer begins or during the prayer time.  Once a topic is introduced, the group 
  focuses on that request alone.  Once it's covered, the group moves
  on to the next topic.

• PRAY MORE THAN ONCE - Because the group is focusing on one topic at a time, each person is encouraged to pray several times during the prayer time for those topics they feel most led to pray about.  No one is required to pray.

• WE KEEP OUR PRAYERS SHORT AND SIMPLE - Group prayer 
  goes better when members keep their prayers short and to the
   point.  When someone prays for a long time, it's hard for the other members to stay focused and long prayers tend to intimidate those who are just learning to pray out loud in a group.