Week1,October22/23,2016
RespectEveryone,Always.
BillHybels
Quick-ConnectGuide
Usethequestionsinthissectionifyourgroupisalreadystudyingsomethingelseandwon’t
beusingthefulldiscussionguide.
• WhatresonatedmostwithyouinBill’smessagethisweekend?Why?
• Inwhatcontexthaveyouobservedsomeonebeingtreatedwithanextraordinary
amountofrespect?Howdiditaffectyou?
DiscussionGuide
Inthissection,youwillfindanopeningprayer,discussionquestions,nextsteps,anda
closingprayer.Thediscussionquestionsareseparatedintothreecategories—Getting
Started,TheBasics,andALittleDeeper—andaredesignedtoallowthegroupdiscussionto
deepenasyoumovethroughthem.Usetheprayers,questions,andnextstepsinwhatever
manneryoufindhelpfulbasedonyourgroup’sneeds.TheMessageRecapmighthelpyou
andthegrouptoprepareortorememberkeypoints.
OpeningPrayer
Fatherinheaven,thankYouthataboveallelse,Youshowrespecttoeveryone.ThankYoufor
creatingallofusinYourimageandlongingforustobecomemorelikeYou.
PleasehelpustoseeeachotherasYoudo.Amen.
GettingStarted
• IceBreaker:Jesus’wordsabouttreatingpeoplethesamewayyouwanttobe
treatedarecommonlyknownasthe“goldenrule.”Haveyoueverseriously
consideredhowyouwouldmostliketobetreated?Sharethreeorfourwordsthat
cometomindaswaysyouwouldmostliketobetreated.
•
WhatstoodouttoyouinBill’smessagethisweek?Why?
TheBasics
ReadMatthew7:21and1Peter2:17aloudasagroup.
• Whocomestomindwhenyouthinkofsomeonewhotreatsotherswithgreat
respect?Sharesomeexamplesofhowtheydothat.
• Shareanexperienceyou’vehadinthelastcoupleofweeksorthelastmonthin
whichsomeonedemonstratedalackofrespectforsomeoneelse.
Billidentifiedthesetenlessonsinhistalk:
1. SeePeopleasImageBearers.
2. DifferWithoutDemonizing.
3. BelievetheBest.
4. Don’tInterruptorDominate.
5. NoIncendiaryWords.
6. CourteoustoEveryone.
7. NoStereotyping.
8. ApologizeQuickly.
9. FormOpinionsCarefully.
10. PromptandFaithful.
• Assigneachpersoninthegrouponeortwooftheselessons(dependingonthe
numberofpeopleinyourgroup)andaskthemtodescribeintheirownwordswhat
thatparticularlessonmeans.(Forexample,whatdoesitmeantoseeothersas
imagebearersofGod?)
ALittleDeeper
• WithwhichofBill’stenlessonsdoyoustrugglemostoften?Considerspecificallythe
wayyouhaveengagedindiscussions(whetherprivatelyorpublicly)aboutthe
presidentialelection.Sharewiththegrouphowyouthinkyou’vedonerespecting
everyone,always.Wherehaveyoufallenshort?
• Ephesians4:29remindsus:“Letnounwholesomewordscomeoutofyourmouth
butonlywordsthatbuildupothers.”Inwhatareaofyourlifedoyoufeeltheneedto
putthisverseintopracticemore?Howmightyoudosothisweek?
ReadJohn4:7-26aloudasagroup.AstheSamaritanwoman’swordsreflect,itwouldhave
beenveryunusualandinappropriateforaJewtotalkwithanySamaritan.And,foraJewish
rabbitotalkwithaSamaritanwomanwouldhavebeenoutofthequestion.Suchwomen
wouldnothavebeenperceivedasworthyofarabbi’sattention.Yet,Jesusopeneda
conversationwithaSamaritanwoman.
• WhatdoesthisstoryofJesusandtheSamaritanwomanhavetosaytoustoday?
Whatstoodouttoyouaswereadit?Howdoesitapplyinourcontext?
NextSteps
Reviewthenextstepsbelowandconsiderwhichoneoroneseachmemberofthegroup
wouldliketocommittofortheupcomingweek(andbeyond).
• PrayandJournal.Takesometimethisweektoprayandjournalabouttangible
waysyourespectothersandwaysthatyoutendtodismissothers.AskGodtoreveal
Hishearttowardaparticularpersonorpeoplegroupthatisdifficultforyouto
respect.
• Seeothers.Thisweekmakeanintentionalefforttoseeotherswho,uponfirst
glance,maybedifferentorholdadifferentopinionthanyou(atwork,inyour
family,inyourneighborhood,etc.)PrayforeyestoseethemasGodseesthem,
image-bearersforwhomChristdied,justlikeHedidforallofus.Shareyour
experiencewithsomeoneelse.
• ChairTimeNuts&Bolts.Isanyoneinyourgroupstrugglingwithspendingtime
withGodonaregularbasis?Cometothisone-timeclassonNovember9,2016from
7:30-9:00pmintheChapeltolearnmoreaboutthe“how”ofchairtime.Our15
minutesadayengagedwithScripturecanbethemostspirituallycatalytictimeof
theday.Noneedtoregister,justshowup!
ClosingPrayer
Prayforwhateverdifficultiesorneedsweresharedduringyourtimetogetherandhave
someoneclosebyreadingtheprayerbelow.
God,thankYouforYourloveandrespectforeveryone.
Aswegohome,intoourneighborhoodsandintoourworkplaces,giveuseyestoseeothersas
Youdo—belovedimage-bearersofYou.Andhelpustotreateveryonewiththesamerespect
wewouldwantforourselves.Amen.
MessageRecap
BillHybels
Scripture:Matthew7:12and1Peter2:17
Thisseriesfocusesonhowweshouldtreatothers:withrespect,kindnessandfairness.In
Matthew7:12Jesustaught,“Soineverything,dotootherswhatyouwouldhavethemdoto
you…“Inthispassage,Jesusencouragesustofirstdecidehowwewouldmostliketobe
treated.
Whatdoesitmeantotreatsomeonewithrespect?Itmeansweholdtheminhighregard
andthentreatthemthatway.Itmeanswevaluepeopleandesteemthem,andtreatthem
accordingly.Thisisnotsomethingwearebornintotheworldknowinghowtodo;
respectingothersisalearnedbehavior.
Herearetenwaystotreatotherswithrespect:
1. SeePeopleAsImage-Bearers.
EverypersonwhocrossesyourpathbearstheimageofGod.Wehaveneverlocked
eyeswithsomeoneforwhomthisisnottrue.AllpeoplemattertoGod.Furthermore,
thereisnopersononearthforwhomChristdidn’tdie.
2. DifferwithoutDemonizing.
Respectfulpeoplelearnhowtoholddifferenceswell.Wemusttrainourselvesto
respectotherswhiledisagreeingratherthandevaluing,diminishing,ordemonizing
them.
3. BelievetheBest.
Itissimpletojudgepeoplebeforeevermeetingthem.However,wearetaughtin1
Corinthians13:7,amongotherthings,tobelievethebestofeveryone.Thisrequires
anopenmindandonewithoutcynicism.
4. Don’tInterruptorDominate.
Respectfulpeoplegenuinelywanttoheartheopinionsandfeelingsofothersand
demonstratethisbylisteningratherthancontrollingtheconversation.Theyare
curioustoknowhowothersthinksotheymightbesharpenedthemselves.
5. NoIncendiaryWords.
Thosewhoshowrespectareverycarefulinchoosingtheirwords.Proverbs15:1
states:“Agentleanswerturnsawaywrath,butharshwordsmaketempersflare.”It
isthewiseandrespectfulpersonwhotakesstockanddecidestousewordsthatwill
adequatelyreflectwhotheywanttobe.Ephesians4:29remindsus:“Letno
unwholesomewordscomeoutofyourmouthbutonlywordsthatbuildupothers.”
Respectfulpeopleonlyusewordsthatbuildupothers,evenwhenwritinginthe
contextofsocialmediawhereitmaybeeasytobecarelesswithwords.
6. CourteoustoEveryone.
Respectfulpeoplearekindandinordinatelycourteoustoothers.Theydemonstrate
kindnessinseeminglylittlewayslikeopeningdoorsforothersandnoticingpeople
thatmightotherwisebeoverlooked.
7. NoStereotyping.
Astereotypediminishesthevalueofapersonbycategorizingthem,ratherthan
valuingtheirGod-givenuniqueness.Learningtorespectothersmeanstoabsolutely
refusetostereotypeapersonorpeoplegroup.
8. ApologizeQuickly.
Whenwehavewrongedanotherperson,therightthingtodoistoapologize.
Respectisdemonstratedwhenweapologizequicklybecausewerecognizetheother
person,asafellowimage-bearerthatwehaveslightedorharmed.
9. FormOpinionsCarefully.
Respectfulpeoplepracticethedisciplineofconsideringmanyviewpointsasthey
formopinions.Theyalsoprayerfullyrevisitanissueandconsiderchangingtheir
mindwhennewinformationbecomesavailable.
10. PromptandFaithful.
Thosewhorespectothersshowupontimeanddowhattheysaythey’regoingtodo.
Ifsomeoneislate,themessagegiventoothersis:Iammoreimportantthanyou.
Honoringothers’timeandfollowingthroughwithwhatyoupromisedtodoisa
tangiblewayofrespectingothers.
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