Secrets Of The Vine For Women Paperback Breaking Through to Abundance by Darlene

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Chapter 1 - A Spiritual Harvest 1. What words come to your mind when you think of an 'abundant' life? What percentage of the women you know do you believe live an abundant life? Why do you think this is the case? 2. Look at the contrast Jesus makes in John 10:10. What does this tell you about what Jesus wants for our lives? What does it tell you about the real source of true abundance? 3. Can you recall a painful or difficult time in your life when you felt confused about what God was up to? What were your thoughts and feelings toward your situation, yourself, and God? 4. Looking back on a period of pruning in your life, can you identify any ways in which the experience resulted in personal growth or other benefits? 5. To what degree do you believe God is actively intervening in your life through circumstances or people you come into contact with? 6. Picture a continuum, with 1 being fate ('all of life just happens') and 10 being God ('He is directly responsible for all that happens in my life'). Where on the line does your belief rest? Note: There is no 'right' answer, but either extreme is inaccurate. If your answer is 1 or 10, this book is going to be a surprise! 7. Describe why a person's belief that God is actively involved in her life is so important. Chapter Two - The Touch of Abundance 1. How do you respond to the truth that although salvation is a free gift by faith, God wants your life to produce something for Him? 2. Keeping in mind that God planned good works specifically for you to do, what kinds of activities do you feel uniquely gifted (based on your natural talents, abilities, and circumstances) to accomplish? 3. Read Titus 3:14. Paul equates good works with meeting 'urgent needs.' How does this definition change how you think about fruitfulness? Who do you know that has an urgent need you could help to meet this week? 4. How comfortable are you with placing a lot of emphasis on what you do or don't accomplish for God? Why do you think this is? 5. Read Matthew 5:16. What does Jesus say is the purpose of doing good works? Give some examples of what this might look like in a woman's life. What is the difference between this and good works done to be seen by men? 6. If you had to rate your level of fruitfulness for God right now, where would you place yourself? 7. How motivated are you to bear more fruit for God? Explain your answer. Chapter Three - Lifted by Love 1. What emotions might be felt by a woman who consistently bears 'no fruit'? Why? 2. Identify a time in your life when ongoing serious sin put you directly in the path of God's discipline. Did you recognize what was happening at the time? How did this affect your response? 3. If a woman believed that God will increase the intensity of discipline, why would she persist in sin? 4. God's discipline for specific sin ends as soon as we repent, but what kind of painful consequences might continue? Why is it so important to differentiate between the pain of natural consequences and that of discipline? 5. Share a time when God used a spoken warning (rebuke) in your life or in the life of someone you know. How did the person respond, and what was the result? 6. Look at James 4:17. What are some sins of commission and omission most prevalent among women? 7. Read Proverbs 3:12. What does God feel about you even as He is correcting you? How does knowing this change the way you think about His discipline? Chapter Four - Making Room for More 1. What sort of activities might God want to prune from a woman's life? Why would these activities be considered 'leaves'? 2. Discuss what might happen if we mistake God's pruning for discipline. 3. How has understanding spiritual pruning changed how you think about past painful experiences? 4. Can you look back on a time when you felt compelled to change your priorities for the better? Did you recognize that it was God at work? Did it lead to more fruit? 5. Read Philippians 1:12-14. Paul made a direct connection between hardships he'd endured and fruitfulness that resulted. Can you describe how a past season of pruning dire