Friends by the Firepit

All welcome to join us around the First Lutheran Firepit (located just north of the Peel House front porch). Bring your favorite beverage and roast marshmallows for s’mores while we have a lively discussion about this week's sermon. Childcare is available in the main church building. Remember, you can always find the sermon written in this week’s Ekklesia Newsletter

As always you can pick up the sermon-based discussion questions on Sunday at the Welcome Center Desk or from an Usher.

Getting to Know Me

1. When you think of someone who holds very different beliefs from you, what feelings or reactions usually come up?
2. Have you ever experienced someone praying for you in a way that deeply impacted you? What was that like?
3. Who in your life do you find it easiest to pray for, and who is hardest? Why?
   Into the Bible
4. In 1 Timothy 2, Paul urges prayers for “kings and all who are in high positions.” Why do you think Paul singled out leaders in this way?
5. How does praying “all kinds of prayers for all kinds of people” (as the sermon described) connect to God’s desire for the salvation of all people?
6. What do you notice about the qualities Paul highlights—“a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith”? How do those qualities shape the way we pray for others?
   Application
7. What would change in your heart if you began praying for someone you strongly disagreed with in a loving way?
8. How might our prayers for “enemies” or opponents open us up to God’s grace in new ways?
9. What practices could help you see people who differ from you—politically, theologically, socially—as people made in God’s image?
10. This week, who is one specific person (or group) you can commit to praying for with sincerity, even if it’s difficult?