Class Discussion Questions

Content for a Class Discussion

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The MESSAGE – Faith in This Moment – Faith While Waiting – Psalm 130:5

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The TASK

As a family, get together to discuss a few of these questions, based on Ken’s passage on Sunday May 31.

As a class, while we cannot get together, we CAN get on the phone and have a spiritual conversation. Will you commit to this process, to get more out of what Ken preaches on Sunday?

Something NEW – You can get on our “BIG3 List” – after the service, Ken will text out at least three reflection questions to help you think about the message from Sunday and reflect on its application to your life. They are great for conversation starters with friends and family. Simply text only the word BIG3 to 62488, and you will get on our BIG3 List.

The LIFE GROUP QUESTIONS

Below are a few questions for discussion. Some questions are for fun, getting to know another person a little better, then we get into discussion and application of the passage and message.

Having Faith When Waiting – Psalm 130:1-6

Hope is in his Word. Waiting in the Lord.

Connecting to Others:

  1. Do you tend to hold a grudge, forgive and forget, forgive without forgetting, or forgetting without forgiving?
  2. When was a time in your life when you lost sleep over the next days events? Did it turn out like you hoped?
  3. What do you think it means to cry out to the Lord?
  4. When we cry out to God, do you feel it is mostly to complain or something else?
  5. What is something for which you have been waiting a long time?
  6. What is the most memorable testimony of salvation you have even heard?
  7. What is your conversion story? Why might it be unhealthy to compare our personal testimonies with those of others?

Baggage claim complaints, so they moved farther away from the terminal. Complaints stopped. Walking instead of waiting was the key. “Length of waiting is not as important as what we are doing while we wait.” 

Eugene Petersen on planting potatoes: there is a time of waiting, there is not an automatic return. There is a lot of cultivating, watering, and nurturing.

Five Spiritual Postures on Waiting. 

  1. Waiting is a Posture of Faith – Psalm 130:5 – “my hope in his Word.” My soul waits, the soul is our inner being, my whole being and not just a body. This is a part of the Psalms of Ascent. The people are coming to the house of God. There is anticipation of how God will reveal himself. They are eagerly waiting on the Lord. We lean in for God to respond.
    1. Regarding the postures of faith and prayer, Psalm 130 begins with, “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.” When was the last time you cried out to the Lord, maybe feeling like your prayers were just hitting the ceiling? (what was going on in your life?)
    2. What do you think are the “depths” to which the psalmist refers? What clues in these two verses, and in the entire psalm, are present to help you see what these “depths” are? (Psalm 130:3)
    3. Why was he so desperate for God to hear him? (Psalm 130:3)
  2. Waiting is a Posture of Prayer – Psalm 130:2 – the psalmist says to listen to my voice, give ear to our prayer. We need to hear from God. He is crying out to God. Remember God’s promise, Exodus 34:6-7 – God is kind, slow to anger, quick to forgive. In waiting, we reflect upon who God is and we lean into God’s promises. Ken told a story about a woman waiting for her grapes from a farmer who disappeared for a long time. She nearly left, but upon returning, he had a huge bunch of beautiful grapes. The reason he left? It took time to find the best product to give to her. Don’t stop waiting too soon.
    1. When was a time where you gave up too soon?
    2. Perhaps you were about to throw in the towel, but you held on. What happened?
    3. How aware are you of your sin and God’s holiness? As you grow as a Christian, do you think you are to become more or less aware of your sin? What about God’s holiness? Explain your answer.
  3. Waiting is a Posture of Serving – as we wait for God to come through, our motivation to serve grows. Psalm 123:2 – the servant’s eyes are on the Lord until he responds. Here is a cry for God’s mercy. Wait eagerly until his favor comes, like waiting on a master’s hand, (watching the master’s hands to see when he is ready for them to serve the master). He is then ready to move in to serve. John 2 – the wedding at Cana, the host panicked, but Mary responds to the servants, whatever he tells you, do it. We cannot remain inactive while we wait for this virus to be over. 
    1. What disrupted the psalmist’s relationship with God? (Psalm 130:3)
    2. How does forgiveness lead to revering God? (Psalm 130:4) 
    3. Since waiting involves a posture of service in waiting, what is God teaching you about connecting with or serving others during this pandemic isolation?
    4. What is the most difficult thing to do while waiting?
  4. Waiting is a Posture of Patience – the word “wait” reveals “not yet,” so we wait in anticipation. Ken mentioned his prayer journal of answered prayer. Sometimes it is perpetual waiting, but God is up to something. Romans 5 – persecution and struggle lead to proven character, which doesn’t disappoint. Galatians 5:22-23 – results of the Spirit in the life of a believer… patience is only 1 of 9. It is a gift inside of you. You have the Spirit, so you have all the patience you need. Perhaps the desire to lean on that gift is missing.
    1. What was the psalmist’s attitude while he awaits God’s forgiveness?
    2. If the psalmist is sure of his forgiveness, what is he now waiting for? How does he characterize the manner by which he waits?
    3. When it appears God has not yet come through, why don’t you just give up?
    4. How long are you willing to wait?
  5. Waiting is a Posture of Rest – waiting is not passiveness or inactivity, but it is also rest. I put my hope in his Word – his Word is comforting to the psalmist’s soul. Matthew 11:28-30 – the yoke of Jesus is light, not burdensome. He is gracious and kind. 

Ken told about the Kenyan runner, taking 5 weeks in a year to binge on food, to stop and to rest. The stress of this crisis brings fatigue in this moment. 3 John 2 – I hope you are doing well, “just as your soul prospers.”

Additional Application:

  1. Forgive those who have sinned against you. Make it an opportunity for evangelism: contact them and tell them they are forgiven because of what Christ has done for you.
  2. Why do you think this psalm is a standard at Christian funerals?
  3. Has sin ever cut a rift between you and God?
  4. How was that closeness restored? 
  5. Do you understand and believe the gospel­—that sin leads to death, but Jesus took that death in our place, bearing all of sin’s punishment so that God can forgive us freely and we can be freed from sin’s power?
  6. Is your awareness of your sin and the holiness of God growing?
  7. Are you sharing this good news with others just as the psalmist did? Who is one person you can seek out this week to do just that?
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