Common Cause

Message given Sunday, February08, 2015

By Pastor Timand Andy Stanley

at Armbrust Wesleyan Church

Welcome to our group!So everyone can get to know everyone, go around the room taking turns telling the group:

  1. Your name.
  2. And an answer to one or twoof these questions.
  • What did conflict look like in your family when you were growing up?
  • In our worship service, Morgan Hoffer was a song leader for the first time this Sunday. Did you do something for the first time recently? What?
  • What was the best part of this past week? What was the most challenging or difficult part of this past week?

When it comes to family, the only thing we all have in common is conflict. Family conflict is like noother because when you win an argument in your family, you don’t really win anything. The conflict isnever fully resolved.What if there was a way to resolve family conflict by dealing with it at its source?

  1. How do you handle family conflict? Are you a peacemaker, sulker, stuffer, litigator, or screamer? Or a combination of two or more? Explain?
  2. Have someone read James 4:1-3 aloud to the group–“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarreland fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, becauseyou ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
  3. Who is suffering right now because you want something but you are not getting it? What do you want from him orher?
  4. What 2 or 3 things did Andy say we could do based on this text when we are about to quarrel or fight?
  5. Do you see what he means? Can you give an example of how this might have looked in a recent or ongoing quarrel or fight for you?
  6. How can asking God for what we do not have be wise and effective here?
  7. Is there anyone in your life who you could tell , “You know what part ofthe problem is here? I’m not getting what I want”? What can this group do to help you follow through on telling them?
  8. Is there anything we did not discuss about this Sunday’s message that was interesting or important to you?
  9. If you have time, read James 4:4-12 and discuss other insights about quarrels and fights from the rest of the passage.

Closing:

  1. Now, let’s pray. Go around the room and share any concerns for which you would like prayer. Then, either take turns praying for the shared concerns, or invite a few who are comfortable with public praying to pray.