Cell Notes on 1 Peter 5:1-5

1Peter 5:1-5
1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Read the passage through twice out loud, give everyone a minute or two to think about it (it works best if everyone has a bible). Then ask everyone to share any things in the passage that strike them, they have questions about or they believe God is speaking to them about.

Here are some questions to help the discussion along if you need them:

1. In the light of the passage, what should we be loking for in an "elder"?
2. What does it mean that someone is excercising oversight over others?
3. Do we have anyone excercising oversight over us (i.e.Who really knows what's going on in our lives?)?
4. In what ways do we need to show more humility to others?

The main application, is to be encouraging everyone in your group to be seeking others who they can become accountable to. Ask people if they have anyone helping them with this - if not, then ask them what they are going to do about it.

Have a great cell meeting.

Love,

Matt"

Matt Frost, 11/03/2008