Epic: Week 3 Questions for reflection and discussion

Read Genesis 22:1-18.

[Q] Look closer at verse 2. What is emphaized about Abraham’s relationship with Isaac? Why?

[Q] Abraham waited twenty-five years for God’s promise of a son to be fulfilled. How would you have expected Abraham to respond to God’s instruction in verse 2? Why do you think Abrahma does not object?

[Q] What does this reveal about Abraham’s understanding about his part in God’s epic?

Read Hebrews 11:17-19.

[Q] What was Abraham’s expectation of God? (see also verses 5, 8 and 10)

[Q] How was this event in Abraham’s life a “test”?

In Epic: The Story God is Telling, Eldredge writes, “Just as we have lost our wonder at the wrold around us, we have forgotten what a treasure the human heart is. All of the happiness we have ever known and all of the happiness we hope to find is unreachable without a heart. You could not live or love or laugh or cry had God not given you a heart. And with that heart comes something that just staggers me. God gives us the freedom to reject him. He gives to each of us a will of our own.”

What do you think is God’s intent by giving you the ability to choose?

How does this shape your understanding of the Epic?

Epic Week Two: Questions for reflection and discussion

Read Psalm 19:1-6.

[Q] What about God’s creation fills you with a sense of awe?

[Q] Who is it that is speaking in the first four verses? What is being said? In what ways is the truth about God obvious? If this is the case, why don’t some people “hear”? See also Genesis 3:4-5 and 2 Corinthians 4:4.

In Epic: The Story God is Telling, Eldredge writes, “Every person longs to belong. We crave relationship, and we yearn to be invited into relationship—whether that’s in a family, a group, a marriage, a church. That core human longing for relationship is evidence of what we are created for as image bearers of the God who is Trinity.”

God is Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus, God is relational. How do the following Scriptures bear out this truth? What are the implications of this truth for my life?

Matthew 3:16-17—

John 15:26—

Jeremiah 24:7—

John 17:3, 24—

In the message, Epic: Shadows and Darkness, it was stated, “The fruit looked so good. But it brought death. It was tempting to the eye. It smelled good. It tasted good. But once that first bite went down, they began to taste the bitter after taste of death. Their eyes were darkened… They felt shame… Creation received the curse of our choice.”

Read Isiaiah 59:2 and Romans 3:23. What is the relational consequence of our choice?

Read John 10:10a.

[Q] In the past, who have you blamed for the pain and sorrows of life?

[Q] What in your life, your story, do you now understand may very well have been the work of the villain? What has he tried to steal, kill, or destroy from you in the past? What is he currently assaulting you with? What are you going to do about it?

John Eldredge writes, “If you want to get to know someone, you need to know their story.” What do we know about God from the first four words of his story told in John 1:1? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1



In the message, Epic: God Narrative, it was said, “God is not as the movies make him out to be. He is not old, miserable, vindictive or “Zeus-like.” What genuine insights about God can be learned from the following Scriptures?



Nehemiah 9:5—“Stand up and praise the Lord you God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.”



Deuteronomy 33:27—“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”



Job 36:26—“How great is God—beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out.”



Revelation 1:8—“’I am Alpha and Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘Who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’”



2 Corinthians 13:14—“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”



1 Peter 1:2—“… who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood.”



[Q] How would looking at life as a great Story change the way you live? What questions might it answer for you? Does it affect your understanding of Christianity?



[Q] Does understanding the villain help you better understand the Story? If so, how?



[Q] How have you tried to write you own story on the fabric of God’s Epic? What is/was the result?

Epic The Story God is Telling by John Eldredge...

Zion's LifeGroup will be reading John Eldredge's book, Epic: The Story God is Telling over the Epic series. You can pick up a copy of the book and study guide at Guest Services.

His & Hers: What She Needs (Questions for discussion & reflection)

Read 1 Peter 3:17.

1. List some of the words the apostle Peter uses in this passage to describe how husbands should treat their wives.

2. What do you think Peter means when he concludes 1 Peter 3:7 by saying, “so that nothing will hinder your prayers”?

What insight might Matthew 5:23-24 provide to understanding what Peter wrote?

Husbands, have you ever sensed your relationship with God weakening at when you’re not honoring and respecting your wife? How do these verses in Matthew instruct you to handle this situation?

3. In the message, His & Hers: What She needs from Him, there are four needs every wife has: companionship, security, significance, and emotional responsiveness. Define each of these terms in your own words.

4. Read Genesis 2:24. God’s command is for a husband to cleave to his wife. In addition to the sexual connotations, what are practical ways husbands can cultivate closeness with their wives?