Vicki Courtney - Move On Study Guide: When Mercy Meets Your Mess

2014 by Vicki Courtney

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.

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Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN 978-0-849-96006-2

ISBN 978-0-529-10397-0 (eBook)

First Printing June 2014

Contents

Group Size

The Move On: When Mercy Meets Your Mess video-based curriculum is designed to be experienced in a group setting such as a Bible study, Sunday school class, or any small group gathering. After viewing the video together, members will participate in a group discussion. Ideally, this group should be no larger than fifteen people. If the total number of participants in your group is much larger, consider breaking into two or more groups.

Materials Needed

Each participant should have her own study guide, which includes video teaching questions, small group discussion questions, and daily personal studies to deepen learning between sessions.

Facilitation

Each group should appoint a facilitator who is responsible for starting the video and for keeping track of time during discussions and activities. Facilitators may also read questions aloud and monitor discussions, prompting participants to respond and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to participate.

Between-Sessions Personal Study

You can maximize the impact of the curriculum with additional study between the group sessions. Carving out about two hours total for personal study between meeting times will enable you to complete the between-session studies by the end of the six sessions. For each session, you may wish to complete the personal study all in one sitting or to spread it out over a few days (for example, working on it for a half-hour a day on four different days that week). If you are unable to finish (or even start!) your between-sessions study, still attend the group study video session! We are all busy and life happens. You are still wanted and welcome at class, even if you dont have your homework done.

Ebook Instructions

In this ebook edition, please use your devices note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes] or [Your Response]. Use your devices highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

Dear friend,

I thought about adding a warning label on this study guide that states it is not for the faint at heart. I realize thats not a very good sales pitch to get women to do this study, but its true. Regardless of the circumstances, moving on can be a difficult task. We are a stubborn people, and many of us have grown comfortable in neutral even if neutral is not Gods best for us (and, P.S., its not!).

Over the next six weeks, we are going to talk about some pretty weighty issues that can trip us up in the journey of faith. Some are issues that, at first glance, you will shrug off as not being a problem for you personally. Resist the temptation to skip a session. Many of us dont realize were stuck because weve succumbed to a predictable, spiritual routine and learned to play the pretender game like seasoned professionals. I know this because Ive been there. It wasnt until I took an honest appraisal of my heart that I realized I was a royal mess... a gloriously, imperfect mess in need of a perfect and holy God. Being honest about where I was in the journey was liberating.

I suppose thats what Im asking you to do in this study: be honest about where you are in the journey. In a nutshell, Im asking you to address the mess.

So, what do you say? Do you want to stay where you are... or get honest and move on?

You were born into a glorious mess,and we all have become something of a glorious mess ourselves.And in the midst of our mess, God has a thing for us....He is aware that we are but dust and our feet are made of clay,and he has made arrangements for us to not stay that way.

STASI ELDREDGE

Welcome

Welcome to the first session of Move On: When Mercy Meets Your Mess. If you or any of your fellow group members do not know one another, take some time to introduce yourselves. Have each person share why she came to the small group and what she would like to take away from the experience by the end of the six weeks.

Video Teaching

As you watch the video for session one, use the following outline to record anythoughts or concepts that stand out to you.

We are all fellow sinners whose lives have been radically altered by Gods grace.

[Your Notes]

Playing the pretender game will only leave us exhausted. What if we could be more honest about the challenges and struggles we all face in the Christian journey?

[Your Notes]

The truth is that each of us is a mess. Unfortunately, many Christians live out their days trying to pretend that their lives are not such muddy messes!

[Your Notes]

Most of us come to the realization that somewhere along the way, grace has shifted from being the solid foundation of our faith to a mere footnote in our belief system.

[Your Notes]

Has our once-vibrant faith devolved into familiar mediocrity? Are we simply going through the motions like a well-rehearsed dance number?

[Your Notes]

The heartbreaks and hurdles of life are meant to become trophies of Gods grace rather than secrets to be buried.

[Your Notes]

Its easy to blend into the crowd and pretend all is well and good. However, if we want to be real, we must be willing to put up a fight.