Welcome to the Mariners Church Life Group Leader Podcast. This weekly conversation is designed to equip and resource you to build a healthy life group community that studies God's word, practices spiritual rhythms, and changes the world together. Hello and welcome to the Life Group Leader Podcast. My name is Kirby Wood, your host here for of these great conversations preparing you to support and resource your life group leader discussions.
I have with me today our marriage pastor Linda. Hey, hi. Thanks for letting me join you. Of course, of course, we're so glad to have you.
As many of you know, we have lots of new leaders joining us. So hello and welcome new Life Group leaders to your second podcast. I know Linda, you have a lot of new married groups this time. I have nine new married groups.
Wow. Yep. Lots of new groups. We're excited about that.
I love the enthusiasm and excitement. Oh, yeah, absolutely. And one of the biggest questions we get from new leaders is what to do, what's our first step. And we hope that your first discussion, hopefully this last week, went really, really well.
And you're starting to get in the groove of what flow questions look like. And so in these conversations, we're trying to help you gain a good understanding of what kind of answers you'll get. How do we flow from question to question? How do we make it not awkward, but how do we also make it intentional?
Right. And generate conversation and dialogue amongst members in your life group. Absolutely. And in that conversation, we're really able to discern where God might be leading us as individuals and us as a group into deeper and deeper community and understanding of our faith and relationship with him.
Absolutely. Yep. We're super glad to have you guys listening today. And so we're going to go ahead and jump in.
This is week three of our amazing Holy Spirit series. I love studying the Holy Spirit. Linda, how have you been enjoying the series so far? I love it.
I think it's such a different part of who God is than a lot of us don't really understand fully. Yeah. And so being able to come in and learn about the Holy Spirit and his role in the Trinity. He's just really been encouraging for me.
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I love the idea of almost like the FOMO. Do you know FOMO? Yeah.
Of course you do, Linda. You've got four kids. Yeah, the coolest. But the fear of missing out is like this idea that maybe possibly we, if we're not really tapping into our awareness that the Holy Spirit lives in us, we are missing out on what it looks like to walk with God in our daily life and allow him to continue to sanctify us and make us more holy and really enjoy our life and purpose in him.
But I love this specific message this week as we last week talked about sanctifying and transforming and freeing us. Jared Kirkwood at Irvine will be sharing on how the Holy Spirit comforts us and encourages us. Which was so nice. Yes.
Yes. And I think that's to sort of where we go in thinking about the Holy Spirit. Oh, he gives us words and he encourages us. Yeah.
But there's just so much more that I'm excited to learn about. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So in the service this weekend, there is an extended prayer moment.
So maybe there are members of your group that went forward for extended prayer. So it'd be a good opportunity when it's appropriate conversation, maybe not right at the top, but maybe later or as you kind of are discussing the more heavy or things that God is bringing to your heart, the things you need encouragement for, the things you need him to comfort you in. Maybe that's a good opportunity to ask your group, okay, did anybody go forward for extended prayer this week? That's such a great gift that our church offers is extended prayer.
Oh, I couldn't agree more. And it's such a privilege and an honor as a pastor to walk with people through what they're experiencing and be able to pray for them. Again, we don't have the tools as pastors to be any different than anybody else. So this is a great opportunity for just the leaders and the group to come around people who have gone forward or are looking for extended prayer.
And another thing I would recommend is if people don't feel comfortable sharing, they have it right at right down. Yeah. And I would recommend to people who have been there, they're like, I actually wish I went forward for prayer, but I was too scared. Right.
So creating a moment of saying, okay, what are the things that we are needing comfort and encouragement for the Holy Spirit can do and also use this community that we have here to kind of continue to pray for one another and support each other. So I love that. But that's again, that's just what was happening inside of service. But you're going to want to start off your conversation this week with an easy question.
Maybe you're, you go around the group, how's everybody doing? Oh, I had a good week. I had a hard week and they're like, okay, great. Well, let's start a discussion and start with our great lean in question.
That first lean in question is really fun as we kind of think about the kind of stories that people can share. It says, tell a story about a time you had all access pass and all access pass or a backstage pass and how did that enhance your experience at the event? Yeah. Another way we can look at it is I know that I maybe, I haven't had any all access pass that I remember backstage pass, but I've sat in close in concert and that's another.
You have a whole different vision of what's happening at a concert the closer you are. So maybe in terms of that, what are some adventures that you've gone on where you really felt like you were close up in personal with that adventure or had a backstage pass or VIP or something? Yeah, that's absolutely perfect. And I definitely like what you're saying.
There might be some people in this group, right, that don't haven't had that experience. Maybe there are couples that have allowed them to share their experience and feelings and then have other people share how maybe their experience would have been enhanced if they were closer or what has been a really great experience when they took that extra step. And so sometimes when we are finishing up a really good leaning question, it's really kind of silly and you're starting to talk about how great things are. That look down can be a bit of a hard turn.
So I really encourage you guys as leaders to think, how does this lean in question really tie into the rest of the discussion? And as you can see, or as you can kind of imagine, and Steve actually talked about his example of the Holy Spirit is like being in downtown Disney thinking that that's what Disney is, this is kind of that same, a similar metaphor that an all access pass is like is an element that the Holy Spirit can give us. Our life is of imagining our life or our Christian walk is an amazing concert, but now with the Holy Spirit, we have a VIP pass and that completely enhances our entire experience and knows how close we can be with that. I love that word close that you said Linda, something about up close personal.
Yeah, right. And I think too, you can as you let's see what scripture says about this. What kind of backstage pass do we have as believers or all access pass do we have as believers? Yeah.
So that's a good way to transition into the scripture readings. So good. I totally agree. Romans 5, 1 through 5, which I love this verse and it's been really helpful to me in a lot of hard times where I'm like, okay, I'm struggling with this.
So like, what's the good that's going to come out of this? This is one of those verses and I feel like we'll really illuminate that for a lot of people. Yeah. You know, when they talk about joy and circumstances, nobody wants to have joy and circumstances.
But we know that as believers, when we step into that trusting in God, then there is an overwhelming peace and joy. So I would also encourage you to have everybody maybe read it to themselves first and then read it out loud, just engaging everybody. Yeah. I love that they can they can glean on the scripture before it's right out loud.
That's so good. Okay. I mean, like, different times that make sense and I love that encouragement for this time is that you would kind of read that to yourself. Because there is some personal takeaways that people might feel if they're reading it in like a silent moment to themselves.
That's really good. Right. And then just what word talk to me about word that stood out to you. Yeah, absolutely.
And it also gets people cracking their Bible open getting into God's word, which is great. Absolutely. And then the question, the specific question for this verse is what do we have as a result of our righteousness and Jesus and kind of some of the answers that we hope you'll hear is, you know, sticking out right out there at the top of the first piece, of course, access to God. And then of course, you as we're kind of talking here and we're thinking about suffering or trials is we have the ability to rejoice in our suffering.
It doesn't mean that we will, but because of God's love and because of our nearness to God, we have the ability to rejoice in our sufferings. And then of course at the end, this is where we really see the Holy Spirit shining through as he says that the Holy Spirit gives us the gives us access to God's love and assures us that we are loved and we are his. So I love that and hopefully some people will pull that out as the ways that Holy Spirit is differentiated in this first. Right and it's not telling us to get over it, right?
It's just as you walk through, we have the assurance that Holy Spirit is with us. And Eric talked to a couple of weeks ago in his message that he's walking next to us as we experience that and it's almost like having a friend with you who goes to experience. It's always better than going through something alone. Absolutely next to us and within us.
Praise God. So then as we are thinking about the scripture, how we're slowly starting to allow our group members to contemplate how it might apply to them, you know, without having to answer that just thus far. And we're going to take the time to look out into the world, into our families, into the culture and ask these questions. What do you see people outside of the church, placing their faith and hope in?
And that's helping us start to think, okay, if we see things out there, you know, it's going to be more obvious than the things that we're automatically, you know, thinking within ourselves where we might be placing our faith and hope elsewhere. So this is a good way to start to kind of unpack some of the ways and places that people put their faith and hope in. So some of the examples that you can probably hopefully hear is like, I know one that really sticks out to me right now. That's the stock market.
That's the housing market. Putting your faith and hope and help. And down. I mean, I even myself will get kind of addicted to it for lack of a better word of checking silo prices and seeing when houses go up and when houses go down and just I mean, and then it's like, not to say that, you know, it's bad that I'm like looking at silo, but it's when does that shift into putting my faith or my hope in those things?
Well, and it might be for you that when something drops, you think, oh, maybe I can. Right. But we know that everything's in God's timing and he has your best interests in mind. Absolutely.
One that stands out for me would be relationships as a marriage pastor. I see a lot of people who really put stake and hope in a relationship or in their kids. Right. So that's other kids and where they're going or friends and, you know, the fancy dinner parties or whatever, that they put their faith and hope and things like that.
They're just so shallow and will never satisfy. It's so true. I mean, it's so hard. And that's your answer to the question right there.
What's the danger of this is that it's shallow. It'll never satisfy. And then of course, this is where we can start to dream for the people in our lives is what would be different, you know, if the people in our lives, if our mom or if our friend didn't, you know, spend all her time at her son's baseball games and driving him back and forth between all the different sports, but allowed him the space and she could go on to walk with her friends or listen to God. You know, we can start to really dream of, okay, how would our lives be different or how would our families or other people's lives be different if their faith and hope isn't God.
Yeah. And if we placed more priority in listening to the Holy Spirit and getting closer to God and things like that, how would we be as parents, as spouses, as partners, as friends? So good. And you can kind of see how this can naturally start, even as Linda and I are talking, this conversation naturally starts to even gravitate towards ourselves.
So rather in the look in questions, rather than just saying, what do you place your faith and hope and that's not, we kind of start with more of the circumstantial things. This kind of says, what circumstance is currently producing characters? So like, this kind of allows us to start to see, okay, where are the small sufferings or even the large sufferings in our lives that we need hope, we need encouragement from that we might actually end up seeking elsewhere, but we want to turn that to the Lord. And we could start super basic car issues, new tires, gas prices, circumstantial things that are hitting us every day, of course, trouble with a coworker or your refrigerator breaking down.
And that just causes such anxiety within us when things are happening like that. So if you start more on surfaces, it gives people a better buy in and it can start the discussion a little bit easier than thinking in terms of something seriously broken within them. Yeah. And there might be someone who's like ready to share, like something really deep and hard, and that's appropriate, of course, in this conversation.
But also you as a leader want to be sensitive to how that might monopolize a conversation and not that it doesn't need that, like when someone sharing something, hey, I'm wearing this really hard circumstance, maybe with my daughter's health, or with my health, or maybe there's some other things that might come up that are really pressed, or we're worried that we're are going to have to file for bankruptcy, or there might be some really pressing things that people are wanting to share and receive prayer for, so spend time on those things, but still allow everyone in the group to still consider what are the circumstances, small, big, large, medium, deep, heavy, shallow, what are those things that could be producing character in us if we were really surrendering and trusting the Lord with them. So you want to manage it. And sometimes when I know, I don't know about you, Linda, but sometimes someone's an monopolizing the conversation, and I hate to use that word because sometimes it's really needed, but what the best thing you can do is allow them to share, spend some time and ask them to pray in the middle of the group. It doesn't end group time, but you can pray for that person right there, and then out of prayer, you're able to make the turn back to the question.
Okay, so what are some circumstances for others that are maybe producing the character right now? Yeah, and just for my teacher background, it's nice to just have pieces of paper, popsicle sticks with their wind name on it. I love it. And you pull it out and say, okay, Kirby, after you share Linda's going to share.
And so it kind of gives them the clue that, oh, I can't talk too long because I want to give Linda some time. Yeah, that's all good. And so you can always say, we want to give Linda time Kirby, so let us pray for you right now. And then I want to, so that's a good way to do it too, or pick five, six and five people.
Hey, I'm going to call on you if you don't have anything to share, we're going to move on, but it just helps keep the group moving along. I love that. That's smart. I love getting everybody like then believes, okay, this is my group.
It's my, I have an opportunity to share it. It's not just going to be, okay, this is so and so it's hard to find that we're all here for her. Right. You know, and that's what you want to lead her, want to be sensitive to is like, okay, this group is for all of us.
This group is for all of us to be able to walk alongside one another in all of the different degrees of suffering and circumstances that we're in. So, and then you kind of get into the more targeted questions. How have you drifted from placing all your faith and hope in God? So you can kind of see the connection here.
The circumstance, right? What's the circumstance that could be producing character in us? And then maybe where are we drifting away from placing our hope in faith in God? Like that might be, oh, well, actually I'm putting all my hope in the doctors to solve our problems or, you know, in our, in my husband to, I'm not sure.
What do you think they're? I think, I think again, it goes back to circumstance. Yeah. People are stressed out because they don't have enough money for gas to get where they need to be.
Their son needs a job. And it's hard to just really go, okay, I'm in a trusting God in this season when you're still, people have to do movement and there has to be things that are immediately going to be done. Which I think it's really great then that after this question where it's like, well, let's just say the answer to that. It's just really hard for me to put my faith in hope.
And I don't know what that looks like. I love that this next bullet is okay. Now let's go back to God's word. Let's read how the Holy Spirit is with us.
And so as you read this over your group at the end, you'll really be able to encumvert and encourage the whole, the scripture and the Holy Spirit will be comfort and courage, which we don't have to have the answers. We don't have to know exactly how. But as we read the scripture, we really start to gain a sense of God's nearness and the Holy Spirit's active work within us. And the peace that comes to that.
Amen. So using that scripture then to just as a reminder as they go through their week, when they start getting anxious or frustrated or circumstances trying to overwhelm them that they just returned to scripture because that's always the best place to go is to return to God's word and be reminded that Holy Spirit is the peace, the access to God, the hope in his love and all of those attributes of who he is. So good. So good.
I love that. Okay. So as you're kind of finishing up the group after you've been able to share and really close out the group with that scripture, you might want to check in on that from the rhythm reminder from last week, we talked a lot about daily devotion and everybody hopefully was able to identify a goal or an intention that they wanted to set as they thought about daily devotion. And so hopefully you'll be able to check in, you'll give a lot of grace to people if they're like, I didn't go as well as I hoped or maybe or really you want to celebrate people that it did go really well for and how it changed their life.
Yeah. I think it's never trying to bring someone to shame. It's yeah. I did this and this is a result of it.
Yeah. I spent just four, you know, I normally only do it, you know, a couple of days a week, but I actually was really diligent. I spent all five days or all seven days and wow, like I just was really impressed with how aware I was of that presence or you know what have you or maybe for those of you in the group that are more mature believers, that you were able to take that challenge and say, I spent more time listening and actually gave me a lot more peace throughout my day or, or you know, hopefully you'll be able to have a rich conversation of how the goals are met and how that really impacted your week. Right.
And I believe a simple way is to script your memory. And somebody might hear your story or another person's story and think, I can do that. Yeah. Right.
So again, it's not bringing shame and it's encouraging to helping people to find ways where they can integrate a practical tool and tip that will help them. So good. So good. I love this.
Well, I hope that you guys have a great discussion this week as you really contemplate how the Holy Spirit can continue to comfort and encourage us as he lives within us and that your daily devotion would be able to be enhanced throughout this experience as you hold in one another accountable and encourage each other along the process. Yes, we encourage. We love what you do. I know that God is blessed and honored by what you do as leaders and we just want to let you know that we continue our coaches pray for you and encourage you and that they're there for you.
We're all here for you. We love you. We're praying for you.