Communitas Group Lesson
Grace Point Church of Northwest Arkansas
“Realigning to a Different Vision"
Mike McDaniel – October 25, 2015
Icebreaker: Think about a time in your life when you set a goal and it took great discipline and focus to
accomplish that goal. (finish an art project, loose weight, finish your degree, travel to a foreign country, etc).
What did it require of you to accomplish that goal? Choose from the list or add you own:
•Seek a mentor
•Find various sources and points of motivation
•Conquer a fear or excuses
•All-out focused commitment to the task
Transition: To move out of regret and stay out of it God calls for focused attention on one subject: himself. We
are told to “seek his face.” We are going to focus on what it means to focus on the face of God in order to reach
a goal – a life lived well without regret.
Discussion Questions:
1. How good are you at multitasking? How good are you at multitasking spiritually (keeping a love and
devotion for God consistently, bringing him into thoughts and conversations, and at the same time loving the
world and the things in it)? Which of the two suffers the most and how? How do you achieve a balance of being
in full awareness of God and also able to function in day-to-day pursuits?
2. Mike said “religion is based in fear” but “relationship is based in love.” What is the difference between love
and fear? Why is seeing Christianity as through the lens of love and relationship a better understanding than
through a lens of fear? Can you locate some verses that point to Christianity being more about relationship ?
(John 1:12, 1 John 4:7-8)
3. Read Psalm 27:8. How do we seek the face of God with all our heart?
4. What would it mean for you to pursue God with "radical intensity?"
5. Reread the following verses aloud: Hosea 5:15; Proverbs 8:17; Deuteronomy 4:29; Jeremiah 29:13. Put a
number to the level of your personal “intensity” in seeking the face of God: 1- laziness, 5- mediocrity, 10 Passionate.
6. How does the “cult of the comfortable” work against an intense pursuit of God.
7. What are some intentional systems or disciplines you have put in place to help you stay focused on God’s
face?
8. What is one step you will take this week to seek the face of God more intentionally?
Scriptural Background (New American Comentary Series)
God’s reply came in a nocturnal visitation. The Lord’s temple was now completed along with Solomon’s own
palace. God’s reply came some time later. But in spite of the close proximity of Solomon’s prayer to this
second appearance of God in the text, both Kings and Chronicles separate the two events. In fact, it
took some thirteen years to accomplish this double task (1 Kgs 7:1; 9:10). This section (7:11–22) is
based on 1 Kgs 9:2–9.
7:11–12a Some commentators regard this verse as a summary conclusion to the dedication. Others take it to be
an introduction to God’s response to Solomon’s dedicatory prayer and associated rituals. The parallel
account in 1 Kgs 9:2 refers to this event as a second appearance of God to Solomon, the first being at
Gibeon. It is possible that the use of the phrase “at night” is intended as a reminder of that earlier
occasion (cf. 1:7). This time, however, God’s purpose was different.
7:12b–15 These verses from the use of the verb “chosen” in v. 12 through its interpretation in v. 16 are not
found in the parallel account in 1 Kgs 9:3. They echo many of Solomon’s words in his prayer in 1 Chr
6:22–39, and the one quoted here is representative of them all. In a sense this statement is a summary
of what will appear in 2 Chronicles 10–36, where the Chronicler gives his account of the divided
kingdoms. Both then and in years to come if this people, called by God’s name, that is, carrying his
mark of ownership, would repent and inquire of the Lord (see comments at 1 Chr 10:13–14; 13:2–3;
14:8–11), he would forgive them and heal this land. Such was God’s response to the prayer of Solomon,
who had repeated the phrase “if your people” often in his prayer in 6:24–35. God promises to keep his
eyes open and his ears attentive to the prayers offered “in this place,” that is, the temple. His
concluding promise in v. 15 follows the regular phrase used to round off a discussion or an argument,
“And now.”