Gathering
As a boy—or when you have observed children playing—which did you prefer: building a tall tower of blocks or knocking them down? What was your favorite building material to do that with?
Backstory
In the years following the Great Flood, humanity was rebuilding. Given all the wickedness from before the Flood, so much had to be rebuilt. Lives, livelihoods, and neighborhoods, even entire civilizations—all rebuilt in Genesis 9-10. The people became adept at making bricks, necessary to build safe and secure houses, plus walls around their communities. All the hard work was paying off and the people seemed to be thriving with everything under control. The buildings became tall and taller, the sky was their only limit—or so they thought.
God’s Story
Read Genesis 11: 1-9. If you have access to multiple translations, you may read the story once with one translation, then invite everyone to read from their translations at the same time.
Finding My Story in God’s Story
- Where do you see yourself in this story?
- Working hard to make ends meet.
- Striving to make a name for myself.
- Isolating from others.
- Confused by what is happening around me.
- Other __________.
2. The people are united and working toward a common goal. How does that sound to you?
- Great idea from a bygone era! We should work toward that again.
- A good idea that went bad, quickly; our divisions are too severe to succeed now.
- A common goal is good. Cities are good, but diversity and spreading out pleases God.
- I like doing my own thing and trust that God is pleased as I give him the glory.
- Other __________.
3. When the world changes, even crumbles, around you, what do you tend to do?
- I trust in my own ability to power through, no matter what.
- When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
- I lean more on God; if he’s not there to catch me, I fall flat.
- All depends on who is responsible for what and whether I have what it takes.
- Other __________.
4. How would you feel if you had worked hard toward a goal and suddenly figured out God had other plans?
- Anger. “Why did I waste all that energy?!”
- Peace. “I trust God completely.”
- Confused. “I thought I was following God’s will.”
- Déjà vu. “Been there, done that.”
- Other __________.
5. In the Tower of Babel, everything seems to be coming together, but then “life happens” to slow progress or stop plans altogether. How do you respond when that happens with your Tower of __________? (Fill in the blank and tell your story.)
Our Story
6. When your “arm” is not long enough, how do you stretch yourself to get what you want?
7. Likewise, when you cannot accomplish something on your own, how does God factor in?
- Sometimes it is easier to trust myself and my friends.
- Letting go and letting God is a challenge, but I’m up for it.
- I can trust God with most areas of my life, except __________.
- I start out doing most things on my own, but I know God is there if needed.
- Other __________.
8. Where is God calling you to trust not in your own strength but in God’s grace?
- A situation that stresses me at work.
- … with my family.
- … with my friends.
- Other __________.
9. What steps can you take this week to follow God’s lead in that situation?
10. Pray for one another in your group. How else can this group support you as you make those changes this week?