Getting to Know You: Consider and describe a time when you were pursuing a goal [advancing your career, trying to provide for yourself/family, developing a creation] and experienced a setback of some kind.
Getting to Know the Bible:
1) Read Acts 16:16-40
a. What strikes you?
b. How was the woman with the spirit of divination serving to advance her masters? How was this woman serving to advance Paul? Why would Paul make the counter-intuitive choice to free her of the spirit within her?
c. In addition to freeing this woman of the spirit within her, what other setbacks did Paul embrace? How was the Kingdom of God advanced by Paul’s setbacks?
2) Read 2 Corinthians 11:16-33
a. What strikes you?
b. How is embracing Christ a setback to Christians? How is Christ’s resurrection a Game Changer in terms of pursuing our own goals? Considering setbacks?
How Do I Apply Myself to This Message?
Many of us see setbacks as a hindrance but Paul sees them as opportunities. How can we learn to see our setbacks with eyes of faith?