Leader Growth Guide
Hosea: The Runaway Bride Hosea 6:1-3
LIVE: Returning Individually
-How are you (or can you) actively and intentionally pursuing God?
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Prayer Focus:
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-In what area/s of life do you need to forsake what is false and return to what is true? What
would forsaking/returning look like? (Leaders: Anytime we forsake God, we are (at
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least temporarily) believing a lie. Give some examples of lies we are prone
to believe and ask the group for other examples. It’s not just disobedience,
it’s disbelieving God as well.)
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LOVE: Returning Corporately
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-How can we as a church, remain faithful to who God wants us to be, and what He wants us to
do?
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Spend time praising
God for His
constant goodness,
even in light of our
faithlessness.
Ask God to reveal
to you lies you have
believed that have
led you astray from
Him.
Confess your sin,
and ask for a
greater hunger for
God and His truth
so you can forsake
lies for truth.
Thank God for the
way in which all of
His Word points to
Christ, who makes
and keeps His
promises to us.
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-Where as a church do you think we need to “return” to the Lord, and what are indicators that
would show we are returning?
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Digging Deeper:
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This week, set aside time to read
the following passages:
Group Prayer: Use this space to write down prayer requests from your group, and pray for
them throughout the week:
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Psalm 51
Psalm 71
Luke 24:27-44
Deuteronomy 11:13-15
As you read, seek to answer the
following questions:
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What does the text
say?
What did the author
mean?
How should I
respond?
Leader Growth Guide
Hosea: The Runaway Bride Hosea 6:1-3
LOOK: Hosea 6:1-3
-When you talk with someone about growing spiritually, do you ever feel overwhelmed by all
the things they may suggest to you? (Video Bible studies, the newest-latest-best book on
growth, blogs, articles, etc.) Describe that feeling if you can.
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-The key point of our message Sunday was: “We don’t need to master all new (maybe
good) things, we need to be mastered by a few (essential) things.” What are the
essential items of spiritual growth?
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-What is the difference between “mastering” something and “being mastered” by something?
The Importance of Rain
Israel depended on two
seasons of rain: Winter rain:
(December-February) which
softened the earth and
prepared it for what was to
come. Spring rain: (MarchApril) which provided for
sowing crops. No
rains=Famine. Good
rains=Good crop yield.
Rain=Life. The importance of
rain cannot be overstated.
(Leaders: By nature we are followers, and will either be following sin, or
Christ. Hence, we need to be mastered by God’s love, His rule, His reign, His
Son.)
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LEARN:
-Returning to the Lord implies walking away from the Lord. Describe someone running away
Table-talk for Families:
Discuss with your kid/s how
discipline IS love, and how a
lack of discipline would not
be loving toward them.
from God, and describe what it looks like to return to the Lord.
Activity for Kids Age 4-8:
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-Why do you think that Hosea was numbering himself among the people in the call to return to
the Lord? Why should his self-inclusion give us confidence in his message? (Leaders: As
opposed to the typical prophetic language of “you,” Hosea’s inclusion of “us”
lets us know he too is in touch with his own sin, and propensity to run from
God.)
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-In Hosea 6:1, Hosea couples two contrasts: 1. He has torn us/He may heal us, and 2. He has
struck us down/He will bind us up. What is Hosea trying to put into the mind of the reader
then, and to us now with these two similar sounding examples? (Leaders: Overall, God
is harming to ultimately help. With the first one, he is focusing on the
restoration of the individual. (Heal us: individual) With the second one, he is
focusing on the collective whole. (Bind us up: together)
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-How does Hosea 6:3 point us to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the encouragement that
the resurrection brings? ________________________________________________________
If your family has pets, ask your
children what would happen if
you just let your pet run free
outside on the street without
asking it to return. What are
the dangers of running free
from restraint without
returning to your shelter? Use
this example to instruct your
children on the safety that
obeying authority actually
brings.
Verses for Family Devotion:
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Isaiah 30:26
1 Corinthians 15:1-4