Category Archives: Men’s & Women’s Ministry

Please use the following questions to aid in your own personal meditation on wisdom and our plans in Proverbs as well as be a guide for your group discussion. You can find the sermon on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/3OXaJPiov5E

Remember that as a group you do not have to cover all of these questions. You can dive deeper into fewer questions as long as you don’t go off on an irrelevant tangent. Also, group members feel free to ask follow up questions! Please respect everybody’s time and don’t sacrifice time for sharing prayer requests and praying for one another.

Personal Reflection/Group Discussion Questions:

1. What stood out to you most about the teaching? What was most challenging, confusing, convicting or clarifying to you?
2. On a scale of 1-10, do you tend to under-spiritualize (1) or over-spiritualize (10) decisions you need to make? On what kind of matters are you most likely to seek God’s guidance?
3. How do you tend to think God gives guidance? What signs do you look for in order to see if God is giving you the divine green light or red light? Has your interpretation ever led to bad consequences or greater troubles/problems? When and how has it worked out for you? 
4. Have you grown in wisdom/developed wisdom over the past several years? In what ways have you grown in it? How can you tell? How did you come to grow in and develop more wisdom? 
5. What are the decisions and plans in your own life that you need God’s wisdom and guidance and others’ prayers concerning? Share and then pray for one another. 

Please use the following questions to aid in your own personal meditation on wisdom and parenting in Proverbs as well as be a guide for your group discussion. You can find the sermon on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/ZyPkezDZWOY

Remember that as a group you do not have to cover all of these questions. You can dive deeper into fewer questions as long as you don’t go off on an irrelevant tangent. Also, group members feel free to ask follow up questions! Please respect everybody’s time and don’t sacrifice time for sharing prayer requests and praying for one another.

Personal Reflection/Group Discussion Questions:

1. What stood out to you most about the teaching? What was most challenging, confusing, convicting or clarifying to you?
2. Did you personally experience godly and wise parenting in your own childhood? What kinds of things did you commit to not following in the footsteps of your parents and what kinds of things did you want to model after them? 
3. Make a list of things that are most important for a godly and wise parent to be and do for his/her child(ren)? Are those things easy or difficult? Why? 
4. What are the challenges/difficulties that you face or that you can imagine facing as a growing godly and wise parent? In what area do you want to commit to grow personally? 
5. Do you tend to be a parent/person who 1) confronts with law and expects change with more law or 2) never confronts with law and so ignores need to change by grace? What are the failures in these two ways. Articulate to one another how the gospel way works and how it is a better way. 
6. How does the world’s expectations of parents and the Word’s expectations of parents look different? Can you think of some examples where Christ-centered parenting and child-centered parenting clash? 

Please use the following questions to aid in your own personal meditation on wisdom and marriage in Proverbs as well as be a guide for your group discussion. You can find the sermon on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/OFAklA7vchA

Remember that as a group you do not have to cover all of these questions. You can dive deeper into fewer questions as long as you don’t go off on an irrelevant tangent. Also, group members feel free to ask follow up questions! Please respect everybody’s time and don’t sacrifice time for sharing prayer requests and praying for one another.

Personal Reflection/Group Discussion Questions:

1. What stood out to you most about the teaching? What was most challenging, confusing, convicting or clarifying to you?
2. What do you think is most important for a godly husband to be for his wife and why? Then share what you think is most important for a godly wife to be for her husband and why. 
3. In what way does Proverbs 31 challenge what the world says you need to find in a good husband/wife? How does Proverbs 31 challenge what the world says you need to be in order to be a good husband/wife?
4. What are the challenges/difficulties that you face or that stand in the way of more successfully being a godly spouse? In what area do you want to commit to grow personally?

Please use the following questions to aid in your own personal meditation on wisdom and friendship in Proverbs as well as be a guide for your group discussion. You can find Tim Keller’s sermon on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/8Tc4VIQrXdE

Remember that as a group you do not have to cover all of these questions. You can dive deeper into fewer questions as long as you don’t go off on an irrelevant tangent. Also, group members feel free to ask follow up questions! Please respect everybody’s time and don’t sacrifice time for sharing prayer requests and praying for one another.

Personal Reflection/Group Discussion Questions:

1. What stood out to you most about the teaching? What was most challenging, confusing, convicting or clarifying to you?
2. Do you tend to have a high or low view of friendship? Over the years, how has your approach and attitude to friendship changed? Do you feel you’ve become more or less concerned with friendships as you’ve grown older? Please share why and how. 
3. Honestly assess how much attention you’ve given to forging friendships (on a scale of 1 to 10). What are the challenges you face or that stand in the way of being more intentional in forging biblical friendships? Which of the four marks of biblical friendship do you find most difficult to live out (constancy, carefulness, candor, and counsel)? Which do you find easiest to live out? 
4. What are 1 or 2 things from the friendship of Jesus that really challenge you and inspire you to be a better friend (put another way, how does the gospel actually help you be a better friend). 

Please use the following questions to aid in your own personal meditation on wisdom and wealth in Proverbs as well as for your group discussion.You can find the talk on our YouTube page: https://youtu.be/agKaQ9Pxj5g

Remember that as a group you do not have to cover all of these questions. Set a time limit and stick with it! And please don’t sacrifice time for sharing prayer requests and praying for one another.

Personal Reflection/Group Discussion Questions:

1. What stood out to you most about the teaching? What was most challenging, confusing, convicting or clarifying to you?
2. What is your personal story/past experience with money? How do you think that has shaped your view of wealth more than the Bible’s view of it? (Or how does the Bible challenge your view of wealth?)
3. How has money’s grip over you manifested itself in your life? Were those negative or positive consequences? Share. Is there a way that the loosening of money’s grip in your life has had certain consequences? Share.  
4. Which of the areas of spending/giving best describes your practice (church, missions, justice/mercy, self, family, friends/community)? Which least describes you? Which do you want to work on the most and what do you hope that’ll accomplish?

Please use the following questions to aid in your own personal meditation on wisdom and words in Proverbs as well as for your group discussion. 

You can find the talk on our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf9wVAKjc3k&t=738s

Remember that as a group you do not have to cover all of these questions. Set a time limit and stick with it! And please don’t sacrifice time for sharing prayer requests and praying for one another.

Personal Reflection/Group Discussion Questions:

1. What stood out to you most about the teaching? What was most challenging, confusing, convicting or clarifying?
2. Share with each other the main work you are presently responsible for and engaged in. 
3. Would you consider yourself diligent in your work? Would others consider you diligent? What kind of Christian witness do you think this gives to people?
4. What is your attitude and approach toward work? Do you tend toward idleness in work (sluggard to work) or idolatry of work (slave to work)? Share your struggles with work. 
5. What other implications can you derive from the fact that God was the first worker and that our work is patterned after God’s? What practical difference does this make in our work?

Please use the following questions to aid in your own personal meditation on wisdom and words in Proverbs as well as for your group discussion. 

You can find the talk on our YouTube page: https://youtu.be/AQpsGxsnrfo

Remember that as a group you do not have to cover all of these questions. Set a time limit and stick with it! And please don’t sacrifice time for sharing prayer requests and praying for one another.

Personal Reflection/Group Discussion Questions:

1.     What stood out to you most from the teaching?

2.     How have you spoken words that tear down or how have you spoken words that give death? What do your words reveal about your heart? (Ex: The idolatries you are seeking, etc.).

3.     Brainstorm how you would like to speak words that give life in one or all of these circles: family, church, friends, work, community.

4.     If you have time: What is one way that God has spoken words of life into your life? Or is there an area of your life where you feel the need for his life-giving words?

5.     Ask for prayer in an area of your life where you are tempted to speak words that tear down rather than build up. Pray that your heart would be oriented to Christ and that your words would give life.

Please use the following questions to aid in your own personal meditation on wisdom in Proverbs as well as for your group discussion. 

You can find the sermon on our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgu7MvXfKjo&ab_channel=CornerstonePresbyterianChurch

Remember that as a group you do not have to cover all of these questions. Set a time limit and stick with it! And please don’t sacrifice time for sharing prayer requests and praying for one another.

Personal Reflection/Group Discussion Questions:

• Introduce yourselves if you do not all know each other.
• Have you read the book of Proverbs before? Do you have a favorite verse or passage in it? Share if you’d like. What is your impression of the book? What draws you to the book or keeps you away from it? 
• How would you define wisdom in your own words? Describe the difference between worldly wisdom and biblical wisdom as you understand. Do those two approaches to wisdom practically affect things? 
• Can you describe a time you received godly, wise counsel from a person? Were there consequences? How about foolish counsel from a person? Were there consequences?
• Do you feel like you’ve grown in wisdom the past year? The past five years? If so, what do you think the contributing factors have been? Can you share examples of growth in wisdom? If you have not grown in wisdom, what do you think the cause is?
• Which do you struggle with most: prizing wisdom, praying for wisdom or pursuing wisdom?
• What are some areas you believe you need wisdom in right now? Share openly and honestly.  Are there particular areas you have been unwise/foolish in?
• Is there anything you’d like to share with this group and ask for their counsel on?
• What are some specific things you can begin to pray in response to the importance of wisdom? 
• Make sure to share prayer requests and pray for one another.

Please use the following questions to aid in your own personal meditation on Ruth 4 as well as for your group discussion. 

You can find the sermon on our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC_MUI4195De1LS4CGgsiNA

Remember that as a group you do not have to cover all of these questions.  Set a time limit and stick with it!  And please don’t sacrifice time for sharing prayer requests and praying for one another.

Discussion Questions for Ruth.

• Introduce yourselves if you do not all know each other.
• Which part of Ruth 4 sticks out to you or speaks out to you the most?
• Are you a person of your word?  Would others agree or disagree with your own self-assessment?  Do you see how following through with what you speak is an issue of godliness and character? 
• Has there ever been a time when you had to balance between being innocent like a dove and wise like a serpent (Mt. 10:16)?  Are there any examples where you erred by compromising your innocent/integrity in trying to be “wise”?  In what ways do you feel the pressure of the world to be one more than the other?
• Showing hesed love (putting the interests of others above yourself) often requires some kind of cost.  Share a time when you had to pay a cost or when somebody else paid a cost to show you this kind of love.  Make the connection between the gospel and benefiting/blessings others above yourself. 
• Marriage is two becoming one flesh, a covenantal union.  In a “me-centered” marriage, what things remain separate and distinct between spouses?  What kind of things are joined together in a biblical marriage?
• If you are married, share how you came to know you wanted to/were ready to marry your spouse.  Have you and your spouse done a good job protecting and guarding your marriage union by finding time to talk and enter each others’ lives regularly?  What has helped?  What are the obstacles? 
• If you are single, share what you expect are the signs and indicators that you are ready to marry somebody.  In what other ways do you think marriage is a union of two becoming one flesh?  Are there things about a person or their history that would be a red flag for you?
• Can you share a time in your life that God’s hand was at work and was perceptible in the midst of the situation?  Can you share a time when you only saw and sensed God’s hand at work after something happened and you looked back on it?  Which experiences have you had more of?  What does this tell you about God’s providence in your life?
• God cares about the small things in life but he also plans and directs our lives with the big things in mind.  Is there any situation in your life right now where you need to know and trust in this truth about God? 
• What lessons have been most pressed on your heart through the study of Ruth?  What have you been most challenged by? 

Please use the following questions to aid in your own personal meditation on Ruth 3 as well as for your group discussion. 

Remember that as a group you do not have to cover all of these questions.  Set a time limit and stick with it!  And please don’t sacrifice time for sharing prayer requests and praying for one another.

Discussion Questions for Ruth.

• Introduce yourselves if you do not all know each other.
• Which part of Ruth 3 sticks out to you or speaks out to you the most?
• Hesed love considers the interest of others above your own.  What is the biggest obstacle to showing others this kind of love?  Who can you begin to show hesed love to right now in your life?  And how can you practically in one or two ways begin to show it?
• What difference will “Christ-centeredness” make in a relationship?  What’s the danger of making something else a priority? 
• How have you idealized or idolized romance in relationships?  Has that ever left you disappointed, frustrated and bitter?  If so, how and why?  What’s the solution? 
• For women: How can you strive to be a worthy woman?  Is there an aspect of Ruth’s life and character that resonates with you, challenges you, inspires you, etc?  Elaborate.
• For men: How can you strive to be a worthy man? Is there an aspect of Boaz’s life and character that resonates with you, challenges you, inspires you, etc?  Elaborate.
• What are some prayers you have been asking of the Lord where you sense he might be giving you the opportunity to be the answer to your own request?    
• It’s countercultural to say love is a commitment and covenant rather than an emotion and an experience.  What have you been learning in your own life about this kind of hesed love, both in terms of receiving it from God and giving it to others? 
• How much attention do you give to being attractive outwardly versus inwardly?  What do you gain when you’re considered beautiful physically (attractive, fit, fashionable, etc)?  What do you gain when you’re considered beautiful spiritually (godly, generous, God-fearing, etc)?
• Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt the Lord was emptying you?  Please share.  In what ways could you sense he was also promising you restoration? 
• What’s the difference between trying to put your hands on life’s steering wheel versus “waiting” on God (Ruth 3:1 vs. 3:18)?  Can you share a specific example?   How do you begin to rest knowing that God is not at rest?