It's Not Supposed to Be This Way Bible Study Guide: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered - Softcover

TerKeurst, Lysa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0310094348 ISBN 13: 9780310094340

Verlag: HarperChristian Resources, 2018

Inhaltsangabe

In this six-session video Bible study, New York Times bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst offers a safe place to share your disappointments, fresh biblical insight to get you through painful situations, and life-giving perspectives for living between Eden and eternity.

Life often looks very different than we hoped or expected. Some events may simply catch us off guard for a moment, but others shatter us completely. At times like these, it's easy to feel disappointed and disillusioned and to wonder about the reality of God's goodness.

So what do you do when God's timing seems questionable, his lack of intervention hurtful, and his promises doubtful?

Lysa understands this deeply. But she's also discovered that our disappointments can be the divine appointments our souls need to radically encounter God. In this video Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), Lysa invites small groups and individuals into her own journey of faith. With vulnerability and honest humor, she helps us:

• Learn how to better process unmet expectations and other painful situations.
• Train ourselves to recognize the three strategies of the enemy so we can stand strong and persevere through unsettling relationships and uncertain outcomes.
• Discover the secret of remaining trustful when God seems to give us more than we can handle.
• Shift our suspicion that God is cruel or unfair to the biblical assurance that God is protecting and preparing us for what's next.
• Know how to encourage a friend and help her navigate hard realities with real help from God's truth.

Sessions include:

1. The Birthplace of Disappointment
2. Living Between Two Gardens
3. Problems Placed On Us and Problems Within Us
4. The Four Steps of Restoration
5. When the Enemy Comes Against Us
6. Kingdom Minded, Eternally Focused

Designed for use with the It's Not Supposed to Be This Way Video Study available on DVD or streaming video, sold separately.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Lysa TerKeurst is president and chief visionary officer of Proverbs 31 Ministries and the author of more than twenty-five books, including It's Not Supposed to Be This Way and the #1 New York Times bestsellers Forgiving What You Can't Forget and Uninvited. She writes from her family's farm table and lives in North Carolina. Connect with her at www.LysaTerKeurst.com or on social media @LysaTerKeurst.

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It's Not Supposed To Be This Way

Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered

By Lysa TerKeurst

Thomas Nelson

Copyright © 2018 Lysa TerKeurst
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-310-09434-0

Contents

How to Use This Guide, 7, 
Session 1: The Birthplace of Disappointment, 11, 
Session 2: Living Between Two Gardens, 43, 
Session 3: Problems Placed on Us and Problems Within Us, 69, 
Session 4: The Four Steps of Restoration, 97, 
Session 5: When the Enemy Comes Against Us, 123, 
Session 6: Kingdom Minded, Eternally Focused, 151, 
Endnotes, 170, 
Scripture Index, 171, 
About the Author, 172, 

CHAPTER 1

THE BIRTHPLACE OF DISAPPOINTMENT

What would happen in our lives if we really live in the absolute assurance of God's love in the midst of our disappointments?

Welcome! (2 minutes)

Welcome to Session 1 of It's Not Supposed to Be This Way. If this is your first time together as a group, take a moment to introduce yourselves to one another before watching the video. Then let's get started!

Opening Discussion (10 minutes)

Answer the following questions to prepare for realty Wd in this week's video teaching:

• How would you define disappointment?

• What was one sentence that resonated with you from the introduction or chapters 1-2 assurance of the book?

VIDEO

The Birthplace of Disappointment disappointments? (2 8 minutes)

LEADER:

Play the video segment for the Introduction, and then play the segment for Session 1.

Instruct your group to use the outline below to follow along or take additional notes on anything that stands out.

GENESIS 2:5–9

v. 7: Then the Lord God formed a man

v. 9: ... trees that were pleasing to the eye

GENESIS 2:15–18

v. 16: And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free ..."

v. 18: "... I will make a helper suitable for him."

GENESIS 2:23–25

v. 25: Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

GENESIS 3:1–9

"You must not" (Genesis 3:1) versus "You are free" (Genesis 2:16)

When God says "Do not = Do not hurt yourself" (Levi Lusko)

Eve assumed that she knew what a good God would do.

Created things cannot give what only the Creator can give.

You steer where you stare.

God could have been angry, but instead He asked two questions:

• "Where are you?"

• "Who told you that you were naked?"

Sin demands a sacrifice (Genesis 3:21).

In Genesis 3:22-23 (NIV), banished can be translated as "sent" in Hebrew (shalach).

Look at your disappointments through the lens of the great love of God. It will change how you see everything.

GROUP DISCUSSION

(45 minutes)

LEADER, READ EACH NUMBERED PROMPT TO THE GROUP.

1. What part of the teaching had the most impact on you? Take turns sharing with the group.

2. Lysa explained that the reason we face so many disappointments in life is that we are living between two gardens. There's a garden in Genesis 2–3 at the beginning of the Bible and a garden in Revelation 21-22 at the end of the Bible. Our hearts were created in the perfection of the garden of Eden, but we don't live there.

Open your Bible to Genesis 2:8–25 and let's read aloud, changing readers every few verses.

What were the wonderful features of this garden? List as many as you can.

3. What do these beautiful details reveal about God and His nature? List and discuss.

4. Why was the provision of water (v. 10) important? What does it reveal about God?

5. How would you describe the relationship between Adam and the woman (Eve) depicted in verses 18–25?

6. Sometimes we're trying to hold people accountable to a level of perfection in our relationships that's not realistic. Not that we permit or excuse behaviors in the abuse category, but what about those expectations we have of someone else who just isn't spiritually, emotionally, or relationally at the place where those expectations are realistic? How could understanding this help you in a current relationship that feels disappointing at times?

7. Is there a realistic option that could encourage growth in the relationship?

8. What clarifying revelation do you have after reading this insight on the word helper?

9. Before sin entered the world, Adam and Eve had a close relationship with God and each other. Communication didn't feel complicated. Work was a pleasure, and Adam didn't have to toil among thorns and thistles in order to feed his family. Eve never felt the sting of comparison and struggles that seem to never end. Neither of them knew the bitter taste of sin or shame. How does this bring context to some of the situations in your life that make you say, "It's not supposed to be this way"?

10. Open your Bible to Genesis 3:1–9 and let's read aloud, changing readers every few verses, noticing the slippery slope of compromise.

11. Lysa highlighted the difference between "You must not" in Genesis 3:1 versus "You are free" in Genesis 2:16. When looking at God's protective commands, do you tend to view God as a "You must not" God or as a "You are free" God? How does that affect the way you relate to Him?

12. Eve assumed that even if they touched the fruit they would die. She added to God's rule which created assumptions. Sometimes we assume we know what God should do in circumstances as well. Give an example of a way you've done that before.

13. Remember, God wasn't removing Adam and Eve from the garden out of anger. He was actually protecting them. This was an act of mercy, not cruelty. If Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of life, they would have lived forever in sin and would have been eternally separated from God. Write down how this example of His mercy, protection, and love could be playing out in your situation. Share your responses with the group.

OPTIONAL GROUP ACTIVITY DISCUSSION

Processing a Disappointment (25 minutes)

If your group meets for two hours, include this activity as part of your meeting. Allow 20 minutes total — 5 minutes for the individual activity and 20 minutes for the group discussion.

Individual Activity (5 minutes)

Complete this activity on your own.

1. How would the way you walk through hard situations change if you processed all of your disappointments through the filter of knowing God is good and full of love and mercy?

2. Choose one word to describe this new perspective.

3. What area of your life would be most impacted by this new filtered perspective?

Group Discussion (20 minutes)

1. What is the most difficult aspect of processing life through the filter of God being good and full of mercy? What does this perspective require of us?

2. We know God asked Adam in the garden, "Where are you?" This is a profound question. Remember, Adam's physical location was not a mystery to God, but God was trying to call Adam out of hiding. The safest place to be exposed is in front of God Himself. One way for us to look at this in the context of our everyday lives would be: Where are you going or to what are you turning when you feel exposed or vulnerable? (For example: When you wake up in the morning, are you getting refreshed by God's Word or...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: HarperChristian Resources
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2018
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0310094348
• ISBN 13: 9780310094340
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 176
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Thomas Nelson; https://www.thomasnelson.com/about-us/; ; Damson Lane; Hull; East Yorkshire; HU8 7DS; Vereinigtes Königreich
• Verantwortliche Person: Reckitt Benckiser Deutschland GmbH; consumerhealth_de@reckitt.com; ; Darwinstrasse 2-4; Heidelberg; 69115; Deutschland