December 27, 2020: Episode 75 | Speaking of Coming-of-Age
The message that sparked the conversation ... Welcome to the Family!.
High school graduation...your first car...what was the defining moment in your coming-of-age? When do you become an official “adult member“ of the family? Join us!
Discussion Questions
(1) Think of an event that turned out to be a "coming-of-age" moment in the transition from childhood to adulthood, either for you or for someone you know. If you were to write a short story about this moment, what would its title be? Would you share the story?
(2) What is it that makes an event a coming-of-age moment?
(3) What about the opposite—a "reverting-to-childhood" moment? In what situations do you find yourself feeling, thinking, or behaving "like a kid again"? Is this a good or a bad thing?
(4) We've just celebrated Christmas, which might have been a feel-like-a-kid-again moment. Or maybe this year it wasn't. Either way, Christians see the event of Christmas—the incarnation of the Son of God—as a coming-of-age moment for humanity, collectively speaking. Prior to Jesus, the human race was in a childlike (and, in some sense, slave-like) state under "guardians and managers." But, with the coming of Jesus and the giving of his Spirit, by faith, humanity is coming of age, albeit with immature reversions back into childishness. Paul speaks like this in Galatians 3:21 - 4:12. As you listen to it, what's a word or phrase that gets you? Why did it get you?
(5) Reflecting on this, what are you getting to know more deeply about God, his Son, and his Spirit?
(6) How is this good news for you?
(7) Coming away from this conversation, what do you want to say to people in your household, congregation, or neighborhood?