· As we enter the Lenten season, what is the grace you desire to deepen within yourself during Lent? What grace would Jesus desire to deepen with you?
· When do you feel like you can be the most yourself – your true self?
· Richard Rohr talks about the false self as the ego we cultivate that must be overdefended. When do you feel like you need to over-defend yourself?
· What does this say about who you understand God to be?
· How would you say your view of God shapes the way you view yourself?
· Read Psalm 23 together as a group.
· When have you experienced a leader coming from an unlikely place? How did that impact your ability and/or willingness to accept them?
· When have you been in a place where you felt you needed to prove yourself? On what did you draw to accomplish this?
· Say “The Lord is my shepherd” 4 times, each time emphasizing the next word. What images or thoughts come to mind when you do this?
· When have you drawn on YHWH as a shepherd? What compelled you to go to YHWH? What did you experience?
· What is challenging about looking to YHWH as your shepherd? What does this say about you? About him?
· How does the grace that Jesus wants to deepen in you during Lent relate to your understanding of YHWH as Shepherd? What can you take with you today to help move you toward this grace?