Week 8
Bible Reading
Daily readings from the last week:
John 5-11
Reflect
What stood out to you from your daily readings over the last week? Any questions?
How did you go with what you said you’d do last week?
Discuss
Have someone read the passage and use the SOAP method to explore the text:
S - Scripture (read scripture together)
O - Observe (what do we see? What does it make us think?)
A - Apply (what does this mean for my life?)
P - Pray (pray together)
Sabbath: The Sabbath was the high point of the Jewish week - the day of rest. It was the fourth commandment given after the Exodus, but it had become a burden to the people. Jesus turns it on its head and says the sabbath was a gift for God’s people - a day to say ‘no’ to the demands of the world, to remind ourselves that we aren’t in control, and that just as God rested from His creating work, we can enjoy a day of rest and worship.
Learn
Today, we come to the next part of our BLESS tool, which helps us to live in a way that not only blesses others, but helps them to believe in Jesus too. After beginning in prayer for the people we want to share God’s love with, the next step is to listen. This is what the L stands for in the acronym BLESS. It’s true that people don’t care what you know until they know you care. So we listen well. We ask questions. What’s going on in their world? What’s their story? What’s important to them? Show genuine interest in who they are and what matters to them. Who is someone you want to go deeper with by learning something about their story?
Pray
Spend some time praying for opportunities to listen well to people in your life this week. Pray that God will help you.
Pray about the other things that have stood out to you today.
Next Steps
Do you think you are a good listener? How could you grow in your ability to listen well?
Who are you going to tell about what you’ve been learning?
Daily readings for this week: John 12-18