On Sunday, July 19th, Walter will be back with a sermon from Lamentations. Lamentations is a book of five poems examining the tragedy of the Jewish exile to Babylon. It is a troubling book, but its theological core is found in chapter 3. You’ll want to discuss that chapter with your small group on the week leading up to the 19th.
To kick off your group discussion, we recommend that you check in with your people about their previous “I will” statement. Start group time, before you read, with this question: “How did your ‘I will’ go this week?”
Second, it’s important to share God’s truth with those around us. Your next question before the read-through should be, “Who were you able to share with this week?”
Step 1: Assignment - Prepare to discuss Lamentations 3
Before your group meets, text these passages out and ask your people to read them at least once.
Step 2: Read Through - When your group meets, read the texts in at least two different translations.
Step 3: Retell - Ask one or two people in your group to restate each passage in their own words, as if they were telling the story to a friend. Make sure you choose different people each week!
Step 4: Reflect: Go around the group and ask each person to answer these two things.
What does this passage teach us about God?
What does this passage teach us about human beings?
Step 5: Respond - Go around the group and ask each person to complete this statement, “Because of this passage, I will _____this week.”