Jennie Allen - Restless Bible Leaders Guide: Because You Were Made for More

2013 Jennie Allen

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by W Publishing, an imprint of Thomas Nelson.

Author image Jessica Taylor. Used with permission.

Typesetting: Crosslin Creative

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture verses marked ESV are taken from THE ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION. 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

ePub Edition January 2014: ISBN 978-0-5291-1804-2

CONTENTS

LEADERS,

I am excited to partner with you in your efforts to pour into the lives of women! I pray that these few short pages will help to equip and prepare you to lead this study. Many of you may have led plenty of groups in the past, or perhaps this is the first youve led. Whichever the case, this is a spiritual calling and you are entering spiritual places with these womenand spiritual callings and places need spiritual power.

My husband, Zac, always says, Changed lives, change lives. If you are not first aware of your own need for life change, the women around you wont see their need. If you allow God into the inner struggles of your heart, the women following you will be much more likely to let him into theirs. These women do not need to see bright and shiny, perfectly poised people; they need to see people who are a mess and daily dependent on God for their hope and strength.

So, what are we going to do together here?

Every single one of us is designed to fit into a unique space with unique offerings. Gods will for each one of us will look different. There is a framework within the commandments of Scripture, and within it we are free to create lives reflecting God and his passions here.

First, we are going to chase down and tackle some of what is holding us back from obedience. Then, in part two, we are going to try to get our heads around God and what he is doing on this earth. Then we will consider exactly what pieces of life God has given you to participate in his story. In part three, we will explore what it looks like to live out our purposes. Throughout, we will look at these heart issues in the life of Joseph, a man who dreamed Gods dreams and lived his part in Gods story. Josephs life, told of throughout Genesis 37 to 50, is the story of a life that at times must have felt wasted, and yet God was working in every moment that felt mundane and unfair and dark.

In the end, this is a book about God. Its about the moment at the end of our lives when we will see him. Its about facing the God of the universe and celebrating with him about the life and resources he gave us while we were here.

And because we all want that moment to go well, this is a book about discovering ourselves and getting over ourselves all at the same time. Its about being brave enough to imagine a better world and how we may be used to make it that way. Its about changing the world and changing diapers. About fears and suffering and joy and gifts. About all that is within our control and how nothing is in our control. Its about vision and obedience.

This is a book about spending our lives completely on the glory of God.

We want to know: What does God want me to do while I am here? The answer seems hidden and complicated, yet we must go after it. We must not get to heaven and realize we have lived for all the wrong things.

We must not waste our lives. Lets go.

Each Restless kit includes:

STUDY. A copy of the study guide (each member of your group will need her own study guide). Additional study guides can be purchased separately (ISBN: 978-0-8499-2236-7).

SEE. A video with eight sessions

ASK. A set of conversation cards

LEAD. A copy of the leaders guide

If you have a large group of women and need to break down into smaller groups during your study times, you may want to purchase additional kits so each group can have access to a leaders guide and a set of Ask conversation cards.

We will discuss how to use each element of this kit on .

That God and eternity would get bigger and more real in your lives, and that as they do get bigger, you would feel compelled to live for eternity and Jesus Christ more than this short life. More than anything, I want you to fix your eyes on Jesus and fall more deeply in love with him.

That you would feel released and convicted to dream with the many unique threads that God has placed in your lives, and that you would each see how valuable and important your part in building the kingdom of God is.

That you would speak life and peace and freedom into each other. That you would encourage each other in your uniqueness rather than judge or condemn the different paths God may have each of us running.

In sum, here it is... this is my dream: That we would all fix our eyes on Jesus, throw off the small junk that holds us back, and run our marked races, cheering each other on.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

HEBREWS 12:13

The rest of this leaders guide is aimed at equipping you to point the women of your group to God in ways that will change their lives.

1. PRAY: Pray like the world is ending, pray like this is the last chance for people to know him, pray like your lives and futures depend on it, pray like the future of souls in heaven is at stake... pray like you need God.

Pray for your women:

:: That God would show them why they are restless, and what their hearts truly long for.

:: That they would feel safe to open up and process.

:: That they would want more of God and that God would meet them.

:: That the conversation would be focused on God.

:: That we would be humble displays of Gods grace to these women.

:: That God would come and fall on your time together.

:: That many would come to a saving faith as they see God for who he is.

2. LEAN ON GOD. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead every moment together. We have provided you with tools that we will discuss in the next section; however, they are only tools to use as the Spirit leads you and your time together. God will have unique agendas for each of your groups as you depend on him. Lean into your own weakness and into his strength and direction.

When Jesus left his disciples to go back to his Father in heaven, he essentially said, Dont go anywhere until you have the helper I will send you (see Acts 1:45). That helper was the Holy Spirit. We need to obey that same command. We shouldnt begin until we are doing so with the power of the Holy Spirit within us. He is real and available and waiting to flood our lives and the lives of those around us as we serve and speak. But we have to wait for him to speak, ask him if we should speak and what we should speak, and ask him what to do in different situations. God wants us to need him and to depend on his Spirit. If this is not how you live on a daily basis, begin today.