Coming out of the Lent and Easter season, we are beginning a new series for a new normal. In this message, pastor Norton Herbst introduces our new series, Common Practices, and lays out the framework for embracing practices that shape us into the image of Christ.
Discussion Questions for Common Practices Introduction | April 19, 2020
Key Passage: Galatians 5:19-23
Discussion Questions
- What are your typical habits during the first hour of waking up each morning? Be honest!
- Can you think of an example from your life where you had a healthy desire but all your habits were reinforcing the opposite?
- Do you consider yourself to be an ordered or disciplined person? Explain why or why not.
- Justin Earley explains that the word “rule” as used in The Rule of Saint Benedict “comes from the Latin word regula, a word associated with a bar or trellis, the woodwork on which a plant grows” (p. 14). How does this explanation and image help?
- How do you feel about the idea of trying eight new habits in your life? Excited, anxious, skeptical, stubborn, or something else?
- The message offered two warnings against approaching these practices like a competition or like products we buy. Which danger are you more susceptible to?
- As a group, how can you best support and encourage one another in practicing these habits over the coming weeks?
Moving Forward
- Buy the book The Common Rule by Justin Whitmel Early if you have not already. Read pp. 1-28.
- Watch the introduction video by Justin Whitmel Early at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYx6oUex-_ixn3FYR1o_PYZ9QQUPVb1Sf
- Consider purchasing The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg; it is a secular book that explains how habits work in our lives.
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