How To Finish Well | 25 Year One | Week 2
Opening
Consider opening your group by asking people to share about an older person who has impacted their life. What characteristics did they have? What impact did they have?
Overview
As we age, we can grow contemptuous toward others or the mission God has given us. This can happen because we believe we deserve to have our dreams fulfilled or because we demand influence without investment and adjustments or because we resent our past failures, choices, and trials. The end of Moses’ story reminds us that we can diminish our effectiveness and shorten our assignment if we nurture these attitudes. If we do not want to share that ending, we must continuously resolve contempt and disappointment.
Finishing well does not just involve dealing with negative behaviors, like contempt. We can nurture attitudes that help us maintain our effectiveness and allow us to influence the emerging generations. We should practice speaking more vulnerably than we think we should, blessing others more than we think we should, and praising the Lord more than we think we should.
Discussion Questions
- Has God revealed any contempt or disappointment in your heart?
- How are you investing in the emerging generation?
Practice
Deuteronomy 32
Even though the chapter is a little longer, I encourage you to read it with your group, either aloud or by creating silence for everyone to read on their own. Then consider why this was Moses’ parting message to the people. What messages will you be known for? How can you spend more time sharing, blessing, and praising? Where do you need to confess contempt?
Closing
Take turns praying over each others as the Spirit has directed in your time together.