20231231 NEW YEARS EVE - Acknowledge 2023. Anticipate 2024.

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The Passage: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
The One Thing: Acknowledge 2023. Anticipate 2024.
Know
K1 Describe your experience of 2023 in 3 words. Describe your hopes for 2024 in 3 words.

Grow
G1 Eccl. 3:1-8 | Would you describe the writer as fatalistic? What do you think the writer is trying to achieve through setting out this list?
G2 Eccl. 3:1-8 | Is there anything in this list that you particularly wrestle with or struggle with? Are there any items here that you don’t understand?
G3 Eccl. 3:1-8 | Go through and try to list which are positive and which are negative for each dual phrase (eg “a time to be born” is positive; “a time to die” is negative).
G4 Eccl. 3:1-8 | Revisit your list and see if you can think of a positive way to look at the negatives or a negative way to look at the positives. For example, when might “keeping” be a negative action and when might “throwing away” be a positive action? How does this change how you read this familiar passage?
G5 Eccl. 3:10-11 | The writer talks about the experience of life being both a burden and beautiful. How can this be? Can something be both a burden and beautiful at the same time? What might be an example?
G6 Eccl. 3:13 | Eating and drinking – this is a gift from God. Satisfaction in toil – this is a gift from God. Which do you find harder to accept as a gift? How could you grow in this area?

Show
S1 How can you look for the eternal in the everyday as you go into 2024 (think of specific examples like your job, your home, your significant relationships)?