1. Why should we honor the church—the Body of Christ?

2. What does it mean to honor the church of Jesus Christ?

3. What would you tell someone who has given up on the church because he/she has been wounded by the church?

4. Does the human part of the church make it difficult for you to see it as the presence of Christ on earth?

If so, how do you deal with that?

5. Is the concept of the church as “the body of Christ” more of a metaphor to you, or do you see us as literally being the hands and feet of Christ?

6. The Book of Revelation refers to the church as the bride of Christ.

What do you take from that figure of speech?

 What does it say about Christ’s view of us?

 What does it say about how we treat one another?

7. In what ways have your views of the church changed over the years?

In what ways do you want your views and attitudes to grow in regards to the church?

8. What would you tell a fellow believer who said that, for them, church attendance and participation was a low priority?

9. What can we do to increase our love for the church?

1. Share a time in your life when the Bible became real to you.

What brought about this change?

Circumstances?

New knowledge of or about the word?

Etc.

2. Share a time in your life when your love for the Bible increased.

Again, what brought about this change?

3. Do you think that it is easy to take for granted this written communication from God?

What should we do to keep a proper perspective on this unimaginable gift?

4. How has the Bible changed your life?

5. What does it mean to meditate on the word?

6. Share with the group how you most enjoy using the Bible.

For example, do you enjoy reading one passage repeatedly over several days? Or do you enjoy reading large segments to get an overview?

Do you spend a lot of time in the poetry of the Bible—Psalms and Proverbs—or do you prefer other sections of the Bible?

Be open to the ways others read the Bible. There may be some great insights to gain.

1. What do these verses mean to you? (As is always the case, you may want to read the passages that surround them in order to put them into their proper context.)

“In him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

 “In him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17)

2. How would you explain them to someone else?

3. Where do you see God?

4. Where do you try to see God?

5. What places do you neglect to look for God (but you know that if you were to look there, you would find Him)?

6. How high of a priority is it for you to experience God through nature?

7. Share some times when you experienced God in nature.

8. Do you intentionally use nature as a path to experiencing God?

If so, share how you do that.

9. What do you think it means when we read that the creation praises God?

(Psalm 148 and Psalm 19 are examples.)

10. Do you think experiencing nature ought to be considered to be one of your spiritual disciplines?