Fort Gibson, OK church of Christ. Connect Groups. This is a series of videos to introduce our topics of discussion for our small groups.
Speaker: Pulpit Minister, Dan Rouse.
Topics chosen and discussion questions by Small Group/Involvement Minister, Stephen Parker.
Video camera and editing: Youth Minister, Barrett Vanlandingham.
www.ftgcc.org
Discussion Questions:
1. What is the most difficult aspect of your past that you have trouble letting go of?
2. What person(s) from your past negatively impacted your life, which pain you still carry?
3. Have you ever experienced crisis that you feel has victimized or “broken” you? Share and explain
4. In regard to #4, what positives have you learned or gained since that time?
5. Why do people define themselves by past events, relationships and crises?
6. Why do folks who have endured crisis often consider themselves as “broken” or “damaged?”
7. How can the negative events and relationships of the past be used to create and explain (excuse) present failures?
8. Agree or disagree: There can be unconscious reward (positive reinforcement) from harboring past pain.
9. What is the difference between being victimizedin a crisis and being victimizedby a crisis?
10. Estimate: If one hundred different people were put in Joseph’s situation, how many of them would end up over comers? Why do you believe that? What is the basic difference between those people and Joseph? What does God expect you and me to garner from the story of Joseph?
11. Do you punish yourself (anxiety, depression, fear) for things that happened to you in your past? Why do you do so? Do you ever punish yourself for past relationships and let the other person(s) off scot free? Why?
12. Explain how maintaining a victimization mindset is a choice. What is the relationship between that choice and the right to complain?
13. Are you cynical about bettering yourself or New Years resolutions? Why? If yes, have you always been? If no, what changed?
14. How can the same crisis “break” one person yet develop another? What is the difference in the people?
15. Joseph named his older son Manasseh (forget, let go). He named his younger son Ephraim (blessed). What does this tell us about Joseph?
16. What was Paul’s secret to success in putting his past behind him?
17. How can an obsession with the present and future achievement help develop the “single mind?”
18. How does Philippians 4:4-9 have to do with Paul’s ability to forget the past? Describe the daily influences in our lives that do not reach the criteria of the things we should be focusing on listed in the passage.
19. Which is more important: (1) steps (behaviors) to leaving your past behind, or (2) a change of mindset? Why?
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