walking backward pt. 3 -guide

Gather

● Gather and open with prayer. Perhaps ask someone if they would be willing to pray.

● You can use any prayer, but here is a new prayer to open the time:

Heavenly Father, we come out of this day into this time to be with you and with one

another.

Bless our speaking and our listening.

Bless our thinking and our interactions.

Bless this space with your Holy Spirit.

Thank you that you are here. Amen.

Warm-up

Here are some suggested questions to get the discussion-juices flowing, and help us all

continue to grow in knowing one another:

● Is there something in your future that you are looking forward to? A new job? Trip?

Retirement? Family gathering? Anything. What is it?

● What is something that brought you joy in the past week?

Conversation

Start with the summary:

We are in a sermon series called “Walking Backward.” Spiritual growth often feels like walking

backwards—moving toward the future while facing our past. We can’t see exactly where we’re

going, yet faith invites us to trust that Christ walks with us in it all. This series explores how

looking back with compassion and forward with hope can shape a deeper, truer, more grounded

faith.

Have someone read the Scripture passage from Sunday out loud: Acts 1:6-11. Leave about 30

seconds of quiet. Then read this version of the same passage which comes from The Message:

6 When they were together for the last time they asked, “Master, are you going to restore

the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?”

7-8 He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What

you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be

my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”

9-11 These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a

cloud. They stood there, staring into the empty sky. Suddenly two men appeared—in

white robes! They said, “You Galileans!—why do you just stand here looking up at an empty sky?

This very Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as

certainly—and mysteriously—as he left.”

Questions for discussion:

In Acts 1, the disciples ask Jesus, “Lord, is this the time you will restore the kingdom?” They

want certainty, clarity, and control.

When have you found yourself asking God a version of that question?

How do you respond when Jesus doesn’t give you a timeline but instead offers presence

— “You will receive the Spirit”?

After Jesus ascends, the disciples stand there looking toward heaven until the angels ask, “Why

do you stand looking at the sky?”

What does “staring at the sky” look like for you — the ways you wait for God to fix or

clarify something before you act?

What might it look like to re-engage the “earth” — to participate with God right where you

are instead of waiting for certainty?

Jesus invites the disciples to wait for the Spirit — not to escape, but to be empowered to

imagine a new future.

What would it mean for you to practice holy imagination in your faith, work, or

relationships right now?

How might the Spirit be inviting you to dream differently about the future — not as a

guarantee to control, but as a gift to receive?

If the disciples’ gaze was lifted from the sky to the world around them, ours can be too.

When you imagine a “beautiful future” for Missio — for our community, city, and

neighbors — what do you see?

What small, faithful step could we take together to embody that hope here and now?

● Was there anything new or that challenged you in the sermon?

● What questions are coming up for you?

● What convictions are stirring in you?

● Are there other Scripture passages that this brings to mind? Read them together.

● [Ask other questions as they come to your mind or as appropriate. Go with the flow of

the conversation.]

Closing

● Have each person share one thing for which they are thankful right now. Have each

person share one challenge, concern, or place of adversity in their lives.

● If time, have an open time of prayer for people to pray for one another.. Encourage

people to do so without forcing anyone to have to.

End with prayer. Here is a prayer you can use if you so choose:

Lord Jesus, we thank you again for this time.

Be with us as we go to our homes. Keep us in your care and be with those who could not be

with us tonight.

Strengthen us in our trials. Grow the fruit of your Spirit in our lives. Help us to be open to what

you have for us and how you might use us. And keep us watching for you in our lives.

Amen.