The Lost Art of Waiting

Based upon my own very unscientific observations of one particular nine-month-old subject, waiting is not natural for humans. In fact, our daughter Bethany seems to possess an innate toolkit of strategies–crying, crawling, grasping, squirming–that help her avoid waiting any longer than necessary for something she wants.

As we grow older, though, most of us learn to wait. One of the great challenges of our times, however, is the scarcity of time itself. We often mistake “instant” for “urgent” and so forget how to wait for anything. The reason that AT&T’s recent advertisements about the crisis of an internet outage at home is so funny is that it is so true.

In the Bible, the art of waiting is known as “patience.” And the Church from the very beginning in Acts 1:11-26 has practiced patience. This is part of what it means to follow a God who makes and always keeps his promises. How do we fill the space between now and then in a way that honors God?

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SEE IT // BE IT

(Weekly Community Group Discussion Guide)

Date: August 21, 2016 // Title: The Lost Art of Waiting

Scripture: Acts 1:11-26

ARRIVAL / SOCIAL TIME 15-20 minutes
Spend the first 15 minutes or so of your time together catching up and socializing with one another. Also find time to catch up together on how the assignments from last week turned out.

SERMON REVIEW 5-10 minutes
One of the great challenges of our time is the scarcity of time itself. We often mistake “instant” for “urgent” and forget how to wait for anything. In the Bible, the art of waiting is known as “patience.” The Church, from the very beginning in Acts 1:11–26, has practiced patience. This is part of what it means to follow a God who makes and always keeps his promises. How do we fill the space between now and then in a way that honors God? How do we see God at work and share what we see God doing—even as we wait patiently?

The first step is to learn to recognize the presence of God, his reality and goodness, as we wait for his Holy Spirit to break into the chaos (Gen 1:2) around us and bring fullness and life. Waiting isn’t popular when we drive, when we eat or even when we are listening. It is also difficult for us to be patient as we learn to follow and walk with God. The disciples demonstrated that our waiting can be proactive. We can be persistent and unified in prayer, intentionally paying attention to God and making space for him to show up. We can be preparing actively as we take scripturally-shaped steps saturated in God’s truth. And we can be strategically adaptive, investing in godly leaders who will be ready to respond when the Spirit crashes in. This perspective paves the way for the Holy Spirit to cultivate the gift of patience in our own lives and the church.

THE MAIN THOUGHT Keep this in mind as you facilitate discussion.
Living God means attentive, active and adaptive patience that precedes the power and wonders of the Holy Spirit.

SEE IT – Questions 10-15 minutes
Picture (What is the story saying?): What was the expectation of the disciples as they waited for Jesus to fulfill the promise of the Holy Spirit? How does the imagery of Genesis 1:2 reflect patiently waiting for Jesus to bring fullness into the chaos of life? What are the three ways God invites us to wait patiently and proactively?
Mirror (Where am I in the story?): What comes to your mind when you think about being filled with the Holy Spirit? What are you waiting for God to stir up, to heal, to completely fill, to fully restore or to bring life to? How can you begin to apply the example of Peter and the disciples as you wait proactively for the Holy Spirit to act?
Window (How does the story change how I see those around me?): How is a lack of godly patience reflected in your community, neighborhood and workplace? What impact has that had? What are some proactive ways you, as a family on mission, can demonstrate godly patience in your community, neighborhood and workplace?

BE IT – Practice
Change UP // Exercise – Living God Patiently 5 minutes
In unified prayer, ask God to show you how He is inviting you to make space for the Holy Spirit to cultivate the gift of patience in your life both personally and as a group. Specifically ask the Holy Spirit to show you what you are waiting and longing for most right now. Wait in silence and make space for him to speak.
Change IN // Group Activity – Living God Patiently 5 minutes
Write out the top three things the Holy Spirit brought to your mind. Next to each one, write one way you can pay attention to God in unified prayer, one scripturally-shaped step you can actively take, or one strategically adaptive investment in being or building godly leaders that you can make in order to demonstrate the patience that God is inviting you to live out in the middle of those
circumstances.
Change OUT // Life Application Assignment – Living God Patiently 5 minutes
As a family on mission, is God inviting you to strategically invest in Grace Kidz, LUG or high school discipleship? If so, commit this fall to volunteering together to prepare and raise up the next generation through one of those ministries. If not, identify at least one other way God is inviting you to go out strategically together this fall.

CLOSING PRAYER 5 minutes
Take a few minutes to gather any prayer requests and pray for each other to SEE IT and BE IT this week.