HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE: Firstly, you will notice that at the start of each lesson there are three important bits of information. These will be the basic tools you need to lead the study. All Scripture will appear in this BLUE colour. All Scripture references are taken from the NIV version of the Bible unless otherwise stated. All discussion questions are in this GREEN colour. These discussion questions are meant to help open up times of sharing in your group. Occasionally you will see text in PINK. Pink text are some ideas and thoughts that you may want to use for your group. The bulk of the text will be in BLACK. This is the script and information for your lesson. However, please do not stick to the script word for word. The information is there just to serve as a guideline. Please feel free to lead or facilitate the discussion in the way which GOD is leading you. Page 1 of 6
Isaiah 54:1-5 Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labour; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband, says the Lord. Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. For your Maker is your husband the Lord Almighty is his name the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. Page 2 of 6
Hi Everyone, As we continue to work our way through this passage, it brings us to a very familiar command, Do not be afraid. Fear is a topic that we have covered a few times in our group studies, but since the Bible talks about it quite a lot (the command Do not be afraid or some variation of that is the most repeated command in Scripture) I am sure that there will be some new insights as you and your group talk in this session. Fear can be a sensitive topic and people may not be as open to talking about their fears as they are of other things. You will need to strike a good balance between knowing when to challenge people to be brave and when to hold back and let that person remain silent. As you lead, remain strong and courageous! Have a wonderful time of study together. Ask your group to discuss the following questions in pairs. Give them 8-10 minutes to discuss the following questions: Has anything in your life Shifted since the start of this sermon series? If so, tell us a little bit about this shift? If not, what is it that you have been praying and hoping will shift? What would it take for this shift to take place? How can you help this shift to happen? As we have been talking about shifting perhaps you have been frustrated that the shift you were hoping would happen still has not taken place. Remember, change takes time. If you are serious about seeing shift in your life be encouraged to allow others in the community around you to help you. Make sure that you have someone keeping you accountable to the things you need to take action on. Last week we talked about barriers to making a shift happen in our lives. One of the biggest barriers is fear. Fear can stop us from making the shift that God is calling us toward. When you were younger, what were you afraid of? How did this effect your childhood? How did you overcome these fears? Try and keep the topic on childhood fears. There will be a time to address current fears later on in this study. Page 3 of 6
Fear is something that begins in us at a young age. Some of the childhood fears we talked about might sound trivial now, however at that time it was probably hugely difficult to deal with. No matter how old we get, our fears seem to evolve with our age. We need to make sure that this group is a safe place for people to share their fears. I hope that we find, just as you were able to get over your childhood fears (although some of us might still be dealing with childhood fears) God can still help you to overcome your fears today. Let s read Isaiah 54 again and see what God has to say to us: Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. Did you know that Do not be afraid is one of the most repeated phrases in the Bible? If God s word repeats this command so frequently, we should learn how not to be afraid. In her message Susanna told us that: Often people think that bravery is the absence of fear and so they feel as though bravery is completely out of reach Bravery is not the absence of fear; bravery is the absence of the control of fear. What are some fears that you face today? How do these fears control the way you live your life? What does courage look like to you? In almost every movie about a superhero, they are trying to deal with a fear that they have. What happens in these stories is not that these fears are suddenly taken away, but rather, the heroes FACE their fears and overcome them. They refuse to let their fears control them. Page 4 of 6
You can use an example from your favourite superhero movie to highlight this point. Or an even better idea would be to also share a personal example from your own life. When you think about fear, do these questions and thoughts ever enter your mind? What if God doesn t respond in the way I want Him to? Can God really do what He said He would do? I have failed so many times before. I am too embarrassed to face up to what I have done. In this passage, we see that the Israelites are full of shame, disgrace and humiliation. They felt this way because of their past. They had been enslaved in Egypt; they had been exiled by Babylon. There wasn t much to be proud of. They were probably also struggling with some of the statements we just read. Remember a few months ago when Ps Andrew talked about moving into the future facing backwards. This is what the Israelites were doing. This is also what we can so easily do as well. The challenge is not to live in fear of your past. By forgetting these past events, Israel begins to look at the present possibilities and the future potential more realistically, believing that God will fulfill all His promises. The Israelites start thinking about the glorious future of a nation that will be wonderful and so amazing and they stop dwelling on those difficult days in the past. 1 To live like this, we need FAITH! Living in FAITH is the opposite of living in FEAR. Living in faith means we SHIFT our thinking from dwelling on past failures to believing that our future is in a good and loving God. Faith is what breaks the power of fear. Faith is how we live courageous lives. If we truly want to find freedom from our fears, it needs to happen in community. We need to be the people that reflect Jesus love to each other. This is how God intended for us to live with each other. 1 Smith, G. (2009). Isaiah 40-66 (Vol. 15B, p. 481). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Page 5 of 6
Spend the remaining time asking yourselves the following question: How can this group help each other shift from living in fear to living in faith? As mentioned earlier, people may be reluctant to share and talk. Your group may need time to shift into deeper trust of each other. Do not rush this process. But as the group leader, you will need to be willing to model this to your group. This too will require you to be brave. Know that we stand with you. Know that as you lead your group, there are many people praying for you to do what God has called you to do! Be STRONG and COURAGEOUS! (Joshua 1:9) God is with you. End. Page 6 of 6