Date: September 29, 2024
Key Scriptures: Joshua 20, Romans 8:28, Matthew 13:44, Psalm 61:2-3

Facilitator Questions:
Themes:  The need for refuge: Bezer
Start thinking:  Ask a question to get your group thinking.

• Bezer was in the territory of Reuben, east of the Jordan River and east of Jericho. The word means “gold one” or “gold ore”. The root word comes from “cutting” or “breaking”. It also means a “remote fortress” or “fortification”. (Remember, many words in English also have multiple meanings.) When we think about Jesus being our spiritual city of refuge, how are these word meanings relevant?
• Think about gold. What about it relates to Jesus? How can His body, the Church, be considered as gold ore found within rock?
• Think about the word meaning of cutting or breaking and how gold is mined. How does the work of the Holy Spirit in our heart compare with breaking rock and revealing gold? Why is digging deep into the Word and into your own heart to seek Jesus so hard?
• Think about the word meanings of remote fortress and fortification. What spiritual parallels do you see between Jesus and a fortress and fortification? What is our fortress in Jesus distant from?

Start sharing:  Choose a question to create openness.

• Read Romans 8:28. Can you think of a time when you felt as if God was breaking you to pieces, but in the end it was worth the pain and disruption of your life? What happened, and how did it turn out for good? How was your faith strengthened through the breaking and rebuilding?
• Read Matthew 13:44. What does this verse teach about Jesus being the most valuable treasure there is? Can you really say that Jesus is the treasure you have found and that you have given up everything else to have Him?
• Read Psalm 61:2-3. What do these verses mean to you? How realistic or farfetched do they sound to you?

Start praying:  Be bold and pray with power.

• Praise Jesus for who He is. Name His attributes that make Him so wonderful.
• Thank Jesus for saving you. Tell Him how He is your most valuable treasure and your source of strength.
• Thank the Holy Spirit for His relentless work to transform you into the image of Jesus. Ask Him to keep going even when you resist, and to help you surrender fully to His loving care.

Start doing:  Commit to a step and live it out this week.

• Prayerfully meditate on Matthew 6:19-20 throughout the week. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you and to help you respond in a godly way.
• Have a conversation with someone who lacks strength and doesn’t know the real fortress. Listen, show compassion and tell them where you find strength.