Sister Studies

Sister Studies: Discerning the Voice of God Session 3 (January 2023)

Happy New Year, Sisters! Whether we're ready or not, it's 2023. A new year has started and I hope and pray it is filled with spiritual growth and much fruit in our lives as we seek to walk closely with God, listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, our faithful Guide.

January Sister Circles are meeting next week! (Join us! Click here to sign up.)

Sunday morning Jan 8 at 9:15am at church (Let us know in advance if you'd like childcare or want to join this group by Zoom)
Wednesday, Jan 11 at 10:30AM at church
OR Friday, Jan 13 at 7:00pm at Starbucks!

This month we'll be continuing with our Discerning the Voice of God study - Session 3. (You can find all of the previous posts for this study here.) The Sunday and Wednesday Sister Circles will watch the videos together, but you're encouraged to watch them on your own as well or if you can't make it to one of the groups.

If you have a copy of the Discerning the Voice of God Bible study book, you can follow along with the Session 3 viewer guide on page 71 of the book. If you don't have the book, you can print a copy of the viewer guide for this session using this link: Session 3 Viewer Guide to print

To think about or discuss before you watch the video:

Does the idea of "practicing" to discern God's voice make sense and come naturally to you? Why might it seem a bit strange at first?
Read John 10:27-30 and think about God's role as our shepherd. In verse 27 we see how God is intentional to speak in a way we can hear: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me..." What does that mean to you?

After you've watched the video, here are some other questions to consider.

Do you have a story of a time when you clearly heard God's direction? Or a time when God asked you to wait?
Priscilla said "Waiting on God means being obedient and fully engaged in what He has currently given you to do until your Guide tells you to take the next turn." Is there an area that you've been asking God to work in and He seems to be moving more slowly than you like? If we applied this quote to our situations, how would that inform our daily walks and attitudes about our current circumstances?

Holy Spirit, thank You for being so patient with us as we learn to listen to You. Thank You for speaking so that we can hear You. Help us seek You with all of our hearts.

FOR THE REST OF JANUARY:

(I know it's a little confusing...) After you've watched the video, read through pages 72-101 this month. It will say "Week Three" in the book, but for us it's "Month Three". Our slower pace works out to approximately one page per day. We'll watch Session 4 (page 103) in February.

May God bless you as you seek to follow the Holy Spirit's leading this first month of 2023!

Much Love,

Melissa

Don't let the enemy steal your Christmas!

Hey, Sisters. It's almost Christmas. For some of us that's great news and for others... not so much - for a variety of reasons. More than telling you how to finish preparing or how to get through or make the most of whatever, I want to pass on a reminder God has given me today.

Don't let the enemy break in and steal your Christmas.

Let's take a lesson from that classic (albeit painful to watch) 1990 Christmas movie Home Alone. You know the story. There are a couple of bumbling thieves looking for houses to rob during the holidays and 8 year old Kevin was accidentally left behind when his family left for France. He engages in a rather epic battle with the thieves. I can't watch it without cringing, but am taking some lessons from Kevin today!

1. Thieves are out there waiting to take advantage of packages left on porches and presents left in cars or houses unattended. They don't take the holidays off - that's when they work even harder! The enemy of our souls and our families doesn't take the holidays off, either. Satan's army (which is still in our world today, btw!) is looking for opportunities to take advantage or our stress, fear, grief, illness, and busyness. We are more vulnerable when we forget that.

2. Kevin figured out he was being targeted and if we are Christians, we have an enemy who wants to steal, kill, and destroy our joy, our peace, our families, our relationships, our budgets, our hearts, and anything else breakable. We are more vulnerable when we ignore that - even during Christmas!

3. Kevin ended up defeating his enemies by being wise and prepared. Let's seek God and listen to the Holy Spirit. Let's ask the Lord where we're vulnerable and how to best prepare our homes and hearts and families for this weekend. Pray and PRAISE God for making us wiser and stronger than our enemy by the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus alive and active in us.

If we remember we have an enemy - a spiritual thief wanting to mess up our celebrations of the greatest GIFT ever, and if we remember to guard our spiritual houses (our hearts!) I truly believe our Christmases will be better than they would be otherwise. May it be so for me, my family, and you, and yours. Amen.

A few more thoughts...

I got to preach at Butler last Sunday! It was a first for me, but I didn't have a good reason to say no when Pastor Scott asked. So I did it! If you'd like to hear my thoughts on Mary and Elizabeth (and Zechariah and Anna and Simeon) you can watch right here (or below) or listen on the Sister Studies podcast.

A few years ago I shared this Sister Studies reflection on advent and the irony of searching for the "perfect Christmas". It's a 12 minute listen you can find here (or below).

May your Christmas be full of whatever God has for you this year... peace, light, hope, love, comfort, and joy.

With Much Love,

Melissa

Sister Studies: Discerning the Voice of God Session 2 (November 2022)

November Sister Circles are meeting this Sunday 11/13 at 9:15 in the youth room, and Wednesday 11/16 at 10:30. (The Friday pm meeting date this month is to be determined.) (Join us! Click here to sign up!)

I hope you've had a chance to watch last month's videos and to read last month's study lessons in the book. They were so rich and such great preparation for this month's study. (Find all of the study posts here.)

If you have a copy of the Discerning the Voice of God Bible study book, you can follow along with the Session 2 viewer guide on page 39 of the book. If you don't have the book, you can print a copy of the viewer guide for this session using one of these links:
Session 2 Viewer Guide with "Fill in the Blanks"
Session 2 Viewer Guide with Answers

Before you watch the video:

Read Genesis 22:2-3. What comes to your mind when you think of the word "obedience"? In what areas of your life are you sensing God asking you to make changes in order to follow Him in obedience?
Read John 16:5-15. Think about the Holy Spirit's role in your life and about your thoughts in general about the Holy Spirit.

After you've watched the video, here are some other questions to consider.

What, if anything, in the video teaching challenged the way you currently view the Holy Spirit and His work in your life? How have you seen the Holy Spirit work in your life up to this point? Are you willing to adjust your preferences and decisions as the Holy Spirit leads?
Remember the "Red Light, Yellow Light, Green Light" illustration. What times can you think of when the Holy Spirit has led you in a similar way and you've experienced good results when you obeyed?

Holy Spirit, we need You. We need your guidance and strength. We need your power and wisdom. Please help us to grow in hearing and responding to your voice. In Jesus's name, Amen!

Keep an eye on your email (or here) for a mid-month bonus post in a couple of weeks. If you have the book, we'll be reading through pages 40-69 in the next few weeks.

May God bless you as you seek His face, His heart, and His voice.

Much Love,

Melissa