Welcome to WEEK 1 of The God Experience: Summer Edition!!
(If you’re new, subscribe to my blog and I’ll send you a FREE copy of my new e-book, The God Experience: A 10 Week Guide to Feed Your Busy Soul and you can join right in! See this post for further details on our summer study.)
:: A bit of housekeeping to make sure we’re on the same page for our summer edition of The God Experience ::
I encourage you to do the (very brief) reading for each week on Sunday, then take a few minutes each day Monday-Friday to re-read the week’s scripture and apply the daily strategies and tips.
On Thursdays I will post a short video of my thoughts/reflections on that particular week of the The God Experience. Below the video will be discussion questions where we can digest what we’ve experienced so far.
I’d be tickled pink if you would jump in and engage with the questions by commenting…because the more we invest in this sort of encouraging dialogue, the more we get in return! And on top of that, we’re not in this journey alone…this is a great opportunity to share a slice of life with like-hearted people! So as you comment, if you see another person’s comment that resonates with you or inspires your faith, PLEASE reply to their comment and engage with that person as well!
I pray that the discussion questions spark truly inspiriting, encouraging and strengthening conversations between US ALL, and that TOGETHER, we experience more of God. I can’t wait to get this experience started!
Without further ado, here is the video for The God Experience: Week 1.
[embedvideo type=”youtube” id=”KC52iPTQGus”]
If for some reason you can’t open this video, here’s a summary….
In this video, I talk about how thanksgiving leads us into deeper worship – no matter what season of life we’re facing.
Are you in a spiritual dessert? Are you physically exhausted? How about emotionally discouraged? Or maybe you are happy and at peace?
In all these places and seasons, thankfulness is a path God instructs us to take so we may experience deeper contentment and fullness of life through Him. It’s a way to discover more of God’s presence in the midst of daily life because it draws our eyes from our present circumstances to His goodness and His tender hand that holds us in all things, at all times.
Thankfulness helps us develop a right perspective and ushers us into a deeper place of God-awareness and worship in the midst of our busy days.
I am praying for you, that you are experiencing God in fresh and deepening ways!
[box]WEEK 1: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS [/box]
Please respond to one, some or all of these discussion questions in the comments section below. Simply note which question you’re answering before your response. And don’t forget to encourage/respond to EACH OTHER’S comments too- this is soo important! We want this to be a dose of inspiration and encouragement for everyone who participates in The God Experience!!
1. How are “thankful prayers” shifting your perspective on life this week?
2. What is something simple or small that you may have previously overlooked, but by giving thanks you have become more aware of God’s goodness in it?
3. Who is someone in your daily life for whom you thanked God this week? And were you able to express your appreciation in a special way? How did that feel?
4. As you practice thankful prayers, are they impacting the way you appreciate the place where you live? (Without telling us exactly where you live, explain how giving for thanks for your locale/neighborhood/home changes your perspective on where God has placed you and His purposes in that placement.)
5. What was something hard that you were able to thank God for this week? How did God either speak to you through that experience? Did He reveal truth, or offer comfort?
6. Psalm 103 is our scripture focus for the week and is FULL of God’s character traits, or attributes. What are some of God’s attributes you most thankful for this week, and why? The fact that our God is a healer? That He forgives all our sins? That He is a redeemer? That He is filled with loving-kindness? This is where the sweetest worship comes in!!
And for your own times with God for the rest of this week, here is the “song of the week” for Week 1 of The God Experience, Matt Redman’s 10,000 Reasons.
[embedvideo type=”youtube” id=”XtwIT8JjddM”]