Namesake: Women's Bible Study Leader Guide: When God Rewrites Your Story - Softcover

LaGrone, Jessica

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1426761880 ISBN 13: 9781426761881

Verlag: ABINGDON PR, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

The core themes of the Namesake study are transformation—the transformation God works in an individual’s life—and revelation—how God reveals Himself progressively in Scripture. Each week focuses on the story of a different biblical character or characters: Abraham and Sarah, Jacob, Naomi, Daniel, Peter. and the woman caught in adultery. The study's Leader Guide contains six session guides plus leader helps for conducting a successful study.Other available components, each available separately, include a Participant Workbook, a DVD with six 22-27 minute sessions (with closed captioning), and boxed Leader Kit containing one of each component.

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Namesake

When God Rewrites Your Story

By Jessica LaGrone

Abingdon Women

Copyright © 2013 Abingdon Women
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4267-6188-1

Contents

Introduction, 
Week 1: Abraham and Sarah, 
Week 2: Jacob, 
Week 3: Naomi, 
Week 4: Daniel, 
Week 5: Peter, 
Week 6: Unnamed, 
Leader Helps, 
Group Roster, 

CHAPTER 1

Week 1 Abraham and Sarah

Leader Prep

Bible Story Overview

Our first story is about Abraham and Sarah, named Abram and Sarai at birth. These names chosen by their parents meant "Exalted Father"—a father praised by his many children—and "Princess"—a name meant as a term of endearment. Abram's name must have seemed particularly ironic to him later in life since at age seventy-five, he and Sarai still had no children. It was at this advanced stage in life—a time when all of their friends had children and even grandchildren—that God promised they would become the parents of many offspring. In fact, God promised that Abram would become the father of many nations, having as many descendants as the stars. And to match the promise, God changed Abram's name to Abraham, meaning "Father of Many Nations," and Sarai's name to Sarah, meaning "A True Princess." Their name changes involved only one letter of the Hebrew alphabet, but this one letter represented monumental changes not only for them but also for generations to come.

Abraham and Sarah learned that trusting God and His promises meant a lot of waiting, hoping, and praying. The child they longed for would not come for another twenty-five years! Yet God was working even as they waited. And as a result, they had different hearts, a different marriage, and a different outlook on God's promises when their son, Isaac, arrived on the scene. In the process they came to know a patient, loving, and faithful God who delivers on His promises—a God who never gives up on His dreams for us.

Weekly Readings Recap

Review the key themes of the week:

Day 1: When we aren't afraid to step into the plans and dreams that God has for us, we find an even greater story than the one we began at birth. The God who gives new birth always has new plans for us, plans for a journey beyond anything we ever dared to dream.

Day 2: It takes time to become the person God wants us to be. As we listen for God's voice and follow His directions, little changes add up over time. Our God is a patient God who never gives up on His dreams for us.

Day 3: God will always keep His promises. Regardless of our actions or behavior, He is forever faithful.

Day 4: Waiting grows our trust and hope in God. Waiting means trusting that God is good, even when we can't see it; seeking God's help and comfort when we can't find it in our material world; and asking God to change us instead of expecting to change God.

Day 5: Rather than hoping God will come around to see things the way we do, or that He will acquiesce to our will and do things our way, we are to ask God to change our hearts and our character to be more like His.

What You Will Need

• iPod or MP3 player with speakers or CD player and CD (see Preparing Your Hearts and Minds)

• Namesake DVD and DVD player

• Stick-on nametags (or reusable nametags and a storage container)

• Extra stick-on nametags (Group Activity)

• Markers

• Stickers (optional)

• Baby-name books, or smart phones or tablet computers for accessing a baby-name website if wi-fi is available (Group Activity)

• Camera (or ask each woman to bring a photo of herself to the next session)

Session Objective

Today you'll help the women in your group discover that God's plans for us are beyond anything we ever dared to dream and that waiting is a purposeful part of the process. Yet we can trust Him, because He is always faithful.

Session Outline

Preparing Your Hearts and Minds

(2 minutes; Extended Option 5 minutes)

To help the women disconnect from the outside world and center their hearts on God, play a quiet, meaningful song as the women are gathering (see the Introduction for song suggestions). If you want, print out the words for the women to read and reflect on as they wait for the session to begin. Once everyone has arrived and the song has ended, pray the opening prayer below or a prayer of your own.

Extended Option

Wait until everyone has arrived to play the song. Ask the women to focus on the words as they listen. If you want, print out the words for the women to read silently while they listen, or invite them to sing along with the song. When the song ends, pray this opening prayer or a prayer of your own.

Dear God,

You know us so well. You know that we are one big mess of contradictions—hungering for change and resisting it at the same time. Change our hearts so that we willingly allow You to change us—to rewrite our stories and make us like Your Son, Jesus Christ. Give us hearts like His; shape our identities so that He becomes our true namesake—so people will recognize His likeness in us. Begin to whisper to us the dreams You have for us ... dreams far more wonderful than anything we could ever ask or imagine. As we begin this journey together, we ask for Your help. Help us to surrender, allowing You to transform us into the new creations we are meant to be in Christ. When the process of change is neither comfortable nor easy, help us to support and care for one another, and remind us that it will be worth it! Prepare our hearts and minds now for all that You have for us today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Getting to Know Each Other

(3–5 minutes; Extended Option 8–10 minutes)

Distribute markers and stick-on or reusable nametags and have each participant make a nametag to wear. (If using reusable nametags, store them in a container between the sessions.) Have each woman choose a partner—someone she does not know well—and discuss the following questions:

• What is your full name?

• Is there a story behind your name(s)?

• Do you like or dislike your name(s), and why? Have your feelings changed over time?

After a couple of minutes, come back together as a full group and have each pair quickly introduce each other to the group by their full names.

Extended Option

In addition to nametags, provide lots of colorful markers and stickers (optional) and invite each woman to decorate her nametag. If using stick-on nametags, give each woman two nametags to decorate—one to wear and one to place on the inside cover of her book to mark whose is whose.

After each woman has decorated a nametag, have her choose a partner—someone she does not know well—and discuss the questions listed above. After a couple of minutes, come back together as a full group and have each woman introduce her partner by her full name and tell the group the story behind the names.

Video (About 25 minutes)

Play the Week 1 video segment on the DVD. Invite participants to complete the Video Viewer Guide for Week 1 in the participant book as they watch.

Group Discussion (12–15 minutes; Extended Option 20 minutes)

Note that more discussion points and questions have been provided than you will have time to include. Before the session, select those...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: ABINGDON PR
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1426761880
• ISBN 13: 9781426761881
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 60
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar