Recycling My Pain
Written by Ed Allen
Saturday, 24 February 2007 18:00
Sermon Notes
This week Ed spoke on the last of the recovery steps, which is: Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others by both my example and my words.
?Our spirits are meant to operate like a river, not like a collecting pool.?
We first looked at Psalm 107 and how it talks about letting the redeemed of the Lord speak about their redemption. When God does something in our lives it is the natural expression to be grateful for it and speak about it. When God does what only God can do in our lives we just show it, and people will ask, and we can?t help ourselves but talk about it and Him.
We then looked at 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 where the Apostle Paul explains how God comforts us, and wants to use us who have been comforted as His agents to comfort others. It is part of recovery process to help others in the area that you have been helped in. It strengthens you and gives you purpose in the experience.
The comfort cycle from 2 Cor. 1:3-7
- Suffering is inevitable.
- Real comfort comes from God.
- God?s comfort is offered to us.
- We, in turn, comfort others with the comfort we have received!
- God is praised!
Group discussion questions:
Possible Icebreaker, What is or was your favorite snow activity?
Possible worship time: Read Psalm 107 and spend some time in prayer rephrasing and repeating to God some of the expressions they you feel and agree with from the Psalm.
Edification time:
- Have you ever experienced the comfort cycle that Ed talked about? (Can you tell us about it)?
- What is one of the biggest things God has done in your life? How long ago was that? Did you find yourself talking about it? Do you still find yourself talking about it?
- When you are hurting, where do you tend to go for comfort?
- If God is the God of all comfort, how does God comfort us? What is His responsibility and what is our responsibility?