Ready for Impact (10 minutes)
Take time to introduce yourselves to one another (over drinks or snacks if possible). Then ask group members to answer this question:
- You’re given £1,000 and given the opportunity to increase it. If you roll a six on a dice, you win £10,000. If you roll any other number, you lose the £1,000 you were given. Are you willing to roll the dice? Why or why not?
Over the course of this term, we’re exploring the ancient book of Ecclesiastes. Though Ecclesiastes comes from a very different culture and time to ours, it touches on some of the most profound issues of humanity.
Ask for a volunteer to read Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 to the group, praying a short prayer that, however much they’ve come to know God, they’d know him better as a result of your time together.
Watch
You can download this video to watch offline.
Impacted by the Word (15 minutes)
Suggested questions to help your discussion.
- Make a list together of all the things the Teacher says we don’t know.
- What things do you currently feel uncertain about in your own life? How well do you respond to uncertainty?
- What are the inadequate ways we might respond to a world of uncertainty (see verses 1-2, 4 and 6). Do you recognise yourself in any of them?
- According to the Teacher, what’s the risk in refusing to take risks?
- Read Matthew 6:25-34. How might Jesus’ words further develop how we think about life’s uncertainties and our willingness to take risks?
The precise meaning of the Teacher’s words in verse 1 is not entirely evident. Literally, the phrase means, “send your bread upon the waters.”
In the video, we chose the interpretation that the verse is to do with international commerce. If a person invests their ‘bread’ or ‘grain’ wisely, they may garner a return. Verse 2 then encourages readers to be ambitious in exploring different initiatives.
Another view is that the instruction is a metaphor for generosity, even if an immediate return seems unlikely. Casting bread or sowing seed on water seems futile – but no-one knows what the return may be down the road. Verses like Proverbs 11:18 and Galatians 6:9 use similar language to make this point. If this is the correct interpretation, verse 2 probably then means, ‘give to the nth degree.’
Whatever the precise emphasis of the verse, David Gibson captures how it relates to the broader theme of risk: “The idea is that, because the future is uncertain, there is risk involved in what we do, but that risk is not meant to paralyse.”
Impacting Our Hearts (10 minutes)
Watch this video of American pastor John Piper speaking about risk. (2 minutes)
- How does the idea that there is no final risk for a Christian speak to you?
- To what extent do you think it’s better to lose your life than to waste it?
- What might it look like for you to take a ‘good risk’ this week?
Ask someone to pray in the light of your discussions for the group.
Impacting the University (10 minutes)
Risk can be defined as ‘an action that exposes you to the possibility of injury or loss.’
- Share stories of those you know who’ve risked something great for Jesus, knowing that they could fall flat on their face.
- Are you doing anything ‘risky’ for God at present? What does your answer reveal?
Take time praying in the light of your discussions. Pray that you’d have wisdom to understand what right risk looks like in the week ahead, particularly when it comes to serving your friends.
Wrap-up – think TACOS 🌮
- Thank You – Thank everyone for coming, and ask someone to thank God for your time together in prayer.
- Ask – Ask those who are new to reading the Bible if they’d like to explore Uncover, a set of sessions in Mark’s Gospel, allowing them to investigate one of the earliest accounts of Jesus’ life alongside one of you.
- Church and CU – What does the CU have planned ahead? And what help would group members value in finding a local church?
- Others – Who else could you invite to join your CU Impact Group next week? These friends don’t need to be followers of Jesus and may really appreciate being invited.
- See You Soon – Tell the group where and when you’ll meet next week, and arrange who will bring snacks. (You might like to alternate healthy and less healthy weeks!). See if anyone would be up for sharing a meal or hanging out socially in the meantime!