Lead by Example

• Be real. If you are real and transparent yourself, sharing your own failures, struggles and victories, it will be easier for those in your group to do the same.
• Be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. If you need to stop and pray during a study to let someone give an overwhelming hurt over to God, do so right away.
• Always make sure that the sharing is lined up with God’s truth and that it points to Jesus.
• Remember, as the discussion leader, you are simply a channel that God is using to stimulate and guide the conversation. The Holy Spirit is always the teacher. Do not do all the talking, but instead involve every member of the group.
• As you ask questions, don’t be afraid of silence. People need time to think before responding.
• Allow the Holy Spirit to direct your responses; He will give you discernment to encourage, give a hug, stop and pray, or contact someone in the group on the phone or in person to offer a special encouragement.
• Try to avoid answering your own questions. If the group gets used to you answering the questions, they will learn to keep silent. Make sure that those in the group understand the questions; if needed, rephrase a question until it’s clearly understood. Encourage more than one answer to each question.
• Do not force anyone to share personal experiences, but do encourage each person to talk if they want to. Everyone should be free to say, “I don’t feel comfortable talking about that right now.” It’s important to be a good listener, swift to hear and slow to speak.
• Everyone needs someone they can talk to who will give them undivided attention. Your eyes should always be focused on the person sharing. Always try to acknowledge them as much as you can. Just listen, let them cry, and listen again, always praying silently to God for His response. Try to really understand what each person is sharing. You may want to ask, “Is this what you’re saying?” or “Do you mean…?”
• Bring a box of tissues to each meeting.
• Be an encourager. Set an example for your group by encouraging the members constantly, perhaps by sending encouraging notes, giving encouraging hugs or giving encouraging words at church or over the phone.
• Communication will not only be with your words, but also with your body language. Even when someone shares something shocking, acknowledge the person, all the while asking God to give you the love and wisdom you need to respond wisely.
• It’s important not to criticize, make fun of or put down any person in your group, but always tell the truth in love.
• Learn how to correct a group member’s answer in a tactful and loving way. Never let a wrong answer go uncorrected; it may lead others astray. You may want to ask, “What led you to that conclusion?”
• It’s your responsibility to keep things on track and avoid going off on tangents.
• One of the most difficult roles for a leader is keeping one person from dominating the group. You need to allow each person to share her heart, but you must prevent any one person from doing all the talking (including you). You must not rush the person who’s talking. Give the Holy Spirit time to minister, but remember that you are responsible for keeping the discussion moving.
• If someone is dominating the discussion, try to gently interrupt the person speaking. Thank her for sharing and repeat the question for the next member. It’s now time for the next person to share. If this doesn’t work, ask the person to please let other group members share their views.
• Remember to keep the main focus: This Bible study is designed to examine our own hearts, not gossip about everyone else. Continue to be on your guard concerning backbiting.
• Set an example for others by being the first to be trustworthy.
• Our example is Christ: His mercy and His forgiveness. Paramount to any Bible study is prayer. Be sure to pray for the group before and after each study and do much private prayer during the discussion itself. Remember, prayer is the only thing that unleashes the power of God to work in each of our lives.

Pray!

If there is one clear lesson I can leave with you, one thing to remember, it is this: you will be walking on Satan’s turf. Many of those in your group have been taken captive by the painful, heavy chains of their past, weighing them down for 10, 20 or 50 years. You are not going to a tea party where you can wear your high heels and a pretty white dress. You are going to war for those in your group. Get on your battle boots and the full armor of God. It’s time to battle in the Spirit. Don’t be afraid! God is bigger than all our hurts and fears!

1. Pray to loose the bonds of wickedness.
2. Pray to undo the heavy burdens of the past.
3. Pray for the oppressed to be freed.

“He who is in you (Christ) is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Prayer will unleash the power of God in the lives of your group members. Prayer will remind you that you are not responsible to set anyone free in your own strength. Jesus is the only One who ‘“heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). It’s “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).

Would you like to show our 4:28 minute video to your church or small group?

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Healed & Set Free – Discover freedom from a painful past and lingering hurts from rejection, sexual abuse, bitterness, divorce, anger, physical abuse, and depression. This is a 9-week journey in which you will learn four biblical tools that will guide you in overcoming past hurts and equip you to respond in wisdom, find peace when offended and gain a deep understanding of how to truly forgive others. If you have wounds from your past that are keeping you from the life Jesus intended, consider signing up.

Required: Healed and Set Free, by Tammy Brown, available at click here.

The Healed and Set Free Bible Study is user-friendly. It has been designed so that anyone can use it, regardless of their biblical knowledge. Owning a Bible is not mandatory. All Bible verses have either been typed directly into each section, or in the scripture reference section at the back of the book, making it easy to follow. So whether you are a Bible scholar or have never opened a Bible before, you can complete this study and receive a fresh beginning: through God’s Word.

SUGGESTIONS FOR GROUP BIBLE STUDY

1. Groups meet once a week, with members having answered the chapter questions prior to coming to the study.

2. Come to each week’s study prepared. Careful preparation will greatly enrich your time in group discussion.

3. Group leaders are not there to lecture, but to encourage group members to keep focused on the study: specifically, to focus on how God is working in each individual’s life, and what they have learned from each passage. Group leaders will encourage discussion from all who are ready to share. Think and pray about your answers and insights before sharing with your group. The leaders guide is included in the back of the book.

4.This study is meant to encourage you to feel comfortable sharing your “true self,” your hurts, sins and fears with God. You will never be forced to share with your group, although when you do, your whole group will benefit.

5. Try to stay focused on the passages being studied during meetings. This will allow everyone the best opportunity to get the most out of each question. Base your answers on the verses or reflections being discussed.

6. Try to be sensitive to other members in the group. Listen attentively when others speak, and encourage them when you can.

7. Be careful not to dominate the discussion. It’s important for you to participate, but also allow others to have equal time.

8. As you begin this study of God’s Word, you will be given many opportunities to see His healing power in your life, as well as in the lives of others.

9. Remember to encourage and comfort one another; cry and rejoice together in this journey to becoming healed and set free.

10. The leaders guide is included in the back of the book.

SUGGESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL BIBLE STUDY

1. Begin each day with prayer. Ask God to help you understand the passage and apply it to your life. Prayer is simply having a conversation with God – listening and talking to Him. Believers can pray freely from the heart, spontaneously, and in their own words. Go to page 300 in Healed and Set Free Bible study if you would like to learn more about prayer.

2. Develop daily quiet times with the Lord. Use this time to do your study without distraction. Read and reread the passage(s). Remember, you must know what the passage says before you can understand what it means and how it applies to you. Once you have read the passage, take a moment to think about how it may apply to your life.

3. This study includes daily questions with space provided for your answers. It may be a good idea to keep a notebook on hand in case you run out of room. Keeping track of your thoughts, insights and prayers (asked or answered) is not only a great opportunity for healing, but provides an opportunity to track your progress, and see how God is working in your life.

4. Daily questions are an important part of this study, and completing each question is vital to your healing process. Remember, the more you give to something, the more you will benefit from it.