June 2021 Wednesday Study Questions

June 2: Compassionate Listening

1. Describe a time when having someone listen compassionately made a difference for you.  What did this experience teach you about how to listen to others?
2. How can you tell when someone needs your attention and compassion?  How do you respond?  Is it easy or difficult for you to share God’s mercy and love in these situations? 
3. Do you feel sympathetic toward those who are incarcerated?  Why or why not? What prayers and other spiritual practices could make you more sympathetic?
4. What scripture passages encourage you when you feel isolated?  What biblical figures remind you of the importance of being sympathetic to the struggles of other people?  How do you apply what you learn from these stories to your life?
5. Do you feel called to participate in a pen pal or other prison ministry program? In what other ways could you minister to those who are incarcerated? In what ways could you minster to people who are figuratively imprisoned?

June 9: Now and Always

1. How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect you and those you love?  How did you respond to your feelings of anxiety during that time?  Where did you find the most peace and joy?
2. Today’s writer was encouraged by her friend’s example of praying and reading scripture. Who encourages you in your faith?  In what ways do they encourage you?
3. When you experience anxiety over the unknown, what are your prayers like?  How are your prayers during such times different than when you feel more secure?
4. Which scripture verses bring you the most comfort during anxious times?  Why?  Which Bible stories best remind you of God’s presence in our lives?
5. How can you support someone experiencing anxiety or fear?  If you are feeling anxious or fearing the unknown right now, how can you lean on God and on others in your faith community?

June 16: Loaves and Fishes

1. If you see a need in your community, are you eager to fill it or do you hope someone else will?  Why?
2. When you are afraid to risk failing at something, what do you do?  How do you trust in God’s help when you try to do something that scares you? 
3. Describe a time when God has magnified something small to fit a need in your life.  How did that experience give you hope?
4. What spiritual practices give you courage to risk failing?  What scripture passages remind you that anything is possible with God?
5. What needs do you see in your church today?  What needs do you see in your community?  How can you help fill those needs?

June 23: Faith Like a Child

1. Do you remember what it was like to be a child and to see the world as a child does?  What do you think it means to have faith like a child? 
2. Today’s writer says that the children in his class pray for the needs of others and trust that God is listening.  Why do you think this is so?  What can we learn from these children?
3. What distracts you when you pray?  Do you worry about saying the right things, about daily stresses, or about more “urgent” needs?  What helps you regain focus when you pray so that you can have a real encounter with God?
4. Besides expressing prayers honestly and trustingly, what can you learn from the children around you?  How can you implement those lessons in your faith and in your life?
5. Who and what is on your prayer list today?  What Bible verses strengthen your trust that God will hear your prayer?

June 30: I Am. I Will.

1. Recall a time when your life was undergoing a major change.  How did you feel during that time?  What role did your faith play in how you responded to the change?
2. When you are facing a time of crisis, what scripture passages bring you the most comfort?  Do you repeat them like today’s writer, or do you interact with the verses in another way?  Explain how you use scripture during such times.
3. In what ways does memorizing Bible verses help you?  How do you go about memorizing a new scripture?  What verse would you like to memorize next?  Why?
4. What do the “I am” and “I will” statements from Isaiah mean to you?  How do they bring you peace?
5. In times of crisis, what spiritual practices, prayers, activities, or people comfort you the most? How can you share God’s comfort with others who are going through a crisis?