From Valley to Victory
Ezekiel 37
Connect:
Share how you have seen God in the Highs and Lows of your week.
Prayer:
Pray that God would lead your discussion time and bring fresh insight, conviction, and hope through your time together.
Review:
This message at the end of the year is about how God can turn our deepest hurts, loses and yes, even failures, into demonstrations of His power and presence in and through our lives…
The Grand Tour of the message: Thinking back on what you heard this Sunday…
o What did you learn about God?
o What did you learn about people?
o What did you learn about yourself?
o What do you want to commit to putting into practice?
Reflection:
Personal Experience:
Break out into pairs and spend some time talking about this phrase: “God loves to work on what is beyond repair”. How have you seen that become evident in your own story? At the end if one or two people want to share with the larger group, go for it!
Reflective Discussion (Remember to look at the context of the verses as you are reading!):
Babylon had just invaded Israel and devasted every facet of the society from economics to politics, from family to city, from the villages to the capital. If you were one of the captives who had seen that, lost family members, now living in Babylon, what would your thoughts be of the future of your people?
Read Ezekiel 37:1-3. Discuss:
Was this optimism or faith?
What is the difference between mature faith and positive thinking?
Why did Ezekiel say, “You alone know”— why not just name the miracle he wants to see and claim it?
. Read Ezekiel 37:4-14. Discuss:
Track the pattern of faith in action through this story: Lead your group through this activity, but something like: Recognize reality > take it to the Lord > do what He says > when things don’t work out exactly as you thought, take it back to the Lord > do what He says > Watch God at work)
What kept Ezekiel from just being amazed by, “Wow, those bones became bodies, amazing!” Why did he keep pressing in, and what does that teach us about faith?
The people of Israel still existed as a remnant, but saw themselves as “dry bones”. God’s response was, “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live.” What does that mean, and how have you seen God do something like this in your own life?
Application:
It is so tempting to drop to the ground and despair when we are in the dark, cold valleys of life. Commit to taking the situation to God first, waiting on Him, persisting in prayer, and moving by His Spirit’s guidance and strength.
Prayer:
Spend some time in prayer committing yourself to taking the despair of the valleys to God as your first response, and pray for those who are experiencing a “valley” in their lives right now.
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