Embracing Mystery: The Story of Job: When God Speaks
Job 38:1–24; Job 40:1–2
Abby Odio, Pastor of Teaching and Formation, abbyo@churchbcc.org
We finally arrive at the long-anticipated moment of God’s response to Job. When God speaks. . .
I. Roles are re-imagined
II. Revelation happens
III. An invitation is made
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Discussion Questions
Before questions, attempt to give the group a bit of a summary of the main points of the sermon and then choose a few questions that fit your group’s needs and style. We don’t intend for you to use all of these. Three to five questions may be a good number.
Begin by reading Job 38:1–24 and Job 40:1–2 aloud, taking turns reading the passages.
Pray over the group before beginning discussion.
Icebreaker: Have you ever found yourself swept up in poetry? Tell the group about that experience.
What are you struggling to hope for today?
Job says that he would like to meet God as though he is a witness in a courtroom in his own defense. If you appealed to God as a judge in your own current struggles, what “evidence” would you present on your behalf?
In that scenario, what do you imagine that you might not be able to bear witness to that God is seeing?
Share about a time when nature pulled you into a “greater witness” of God.
Practice: Pastor Abby challenged us this week to make a spiritual practice of getting into nature to experience a greater witness of God. What will you do this week to exercise that spiritual practice?
God tells Job of places where God causes rain to fall—uninhabited land, desert, and devastation or ruin (a place that was once built up, but has now fallen). When you think about the rain metaphor as it relates to your current struggles, which of these places seems most like a place where you need God to create a rainfall?
Job struggles with having a different sense of justice than God, where Job believes that the good are rewarded and the bad are punished. Do you struggle similarly?
How does living in a post-resurrection world impact your own perception of justice and the way you perceive God’s view of justice?
How will you stand against the injustice that is inherent in a free world this week?