Good News for Cave Dwellers

Get Out of the Boat

Leaders’ Guide / Lesson Plan

Get Out of the Boat: Session Five, “Good News for Cave Dwellers”

Key Points of Session Five:

1. This lesson is all about “failure,” and how we can descend into the cave of depression and doubt when we fail. The good news for the group is that “God does his best work in caves.”

I. -Introduce the topic for the week --- Welcome everybody and introduce the topic of “failure, and what happens when we fail for God.”

-Welcome everybody and make any group announcements

-Prayer time --- invite joys and concerns and then offer an opening prayer. It’s great to let someone from the group say the prayer if you’ve talked about this with them beforehand. Don’t put anybody on the spot to pray.

-Starter Questions: Ask your group a couple of the following questions to get the conversation ball rolling:

1. Toddlers – they don’t care when they fall down – they’re not embarrassed, and they don’t even think of falling down as a failure. What, then, are we so worried about?

2. When people experience failure in their lives, how do they typically respond?

3. What aspect of failure is most difficult for you personally?

II. Play the Video

Talk about the Video –

1. Many Christians avoid talking about being in “the cave.” Why do Christians avoid talk about failure, and what did John Ortberg have to say that you found surprising?

2. What does the common response of withdrawal from failure, or self-protection do to our capacity for spiritual growth?

3. How does being in the cave allow God to do some of his best work? What is the importance of “taking action” as described by Ortberg?

III. Bible Study: Choosing Trust, not Fear

No small groups this time --- whole group together --

Read: I Samuel 17:32-37

David said to Saul, ‘Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’ Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.’ But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.’ David said, ‘The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.’ So Saul said to David, ‘Go, and may the Lord be with you!’

And…I Samuel 18:12-14

Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. So Saul removed him from his presence, and made him a commander of a thousand; and David marched out and came in, leading the army. David had success in all his undertakings; for the Lord was with him.

1. Describe the relationship David had with God when all was going well in his life.

2. David experienced many bad things in his life --- Saul became jealous of him and tried to kill him with a spear. David ran for his life, and he had to leave his mentor, Samuel, behind. Saul’s son Jonathan was David’s best friend, and Jonathan was killed in a battle, which was a deep loss to David. David was eventually forced to live in a cave with those who were “in distress or in debt or discontented.” He was continually pursued and almost killed by King Saul. Eventually, even after becoming king, he saw his own children die, committed adultery and murder and lived in the midst of huge strife and turmoil.

After facing such losses and difficulties, how did David respond to God?

I Samuel 30:3-6

When David and his men came to the city, they found it burnt down, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept, until they had no more strength to weep. David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David was in great danger; for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in spirit for their sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

3. Psalm 142 is called, “A maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer.”

Psalm 142

Prayer for Deliverance from Persecutors

A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A Prayer.
With my voice I cry to the Lord;
with my voice I make supplication to the Lord.
I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
When my spirit is faint,
you know my way.

In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
Look on my right hand and see—
there is no one who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for me.

I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, ‘You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.’
Give heed to my cry,
for I am brought very low.

Save me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
Bring me out of prison,
so that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.

What do we learn from Psalm 142 about David’s communication with God?

What does David affirm about God?

How does David describe his situation?

What is David’s hope and request?

IV. Final Questions for Discussion / Wrap –Up

Acknowledging failure and learning to trust:

1. What about God gives us reason to hope?

A: God is our refuge, protection, and strength in times of trouble (Psalm 62). We can count on him. He is trustworthy and we can pour out our hearts to him.

2. What role did hope play in getting Peter out of the boat?

Trust in God held Peter up as he walked on the water. He started to fall as he lost focus and saw the wind. Focus on Jesus is the source of our hope.

3. In what times in your life have you entered “the cave” where there was not hope or trust?

With your group, talk about how the following are ways “out” of the cave, and ways to make the cave a useful place for meeting God.

A. Honesty --- tell God how we feel

B. Focus --- How can we find ways to keep our eyes on Jesus? (Scripture, Relationships, Worship…)

C. Trust --- How does God want you to trust him right now?

D. Action --- Name at least two concrete actions that can be taken from the cave that will make a positive difference in your situation.

E. Hard Questions --- What very hard questions do you need to ask yourself about your situation? What realities may God be calling you to deal with?

V. Prayer

Prayers that acknowledge the realities of our failures and ask God for the gift of presence and faith are a great way to end this session.

YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!! YOU TEACHERS ARE SO FAR OUT OF THE BOAT YOU CAN’T EVEN SEE IT ANYMORE!!! I’M PROUD OF YOU!!!!