EXTRA! Ideas for Adults – Set Apart: A Life Lived for God – Session 3

Date: July 30, 2023 

Set Apart but Not Alone 

The Point: The Holy Spirit helps us know how to live holy lives.

Get Into the Study

As you recap the content in “The Bible Meets Life,” share the following:

The quest for wisdom has gone digital. The market for artificial intelligence (AI) exploded this year when ChatGPT, a popular AI chatbot, reached 100 million users just two months after launching. In comparison, it took TikTok nine months to reach 100 million users and Instagram two years. ChatGPT can generate articles, jokes, poetry, and more in seconds—all in response to text prompts by users. Following ChatGPT’s launch, rival AI programs emerged to challenge it, including Google Bard, Bing Chat, and PerplexityAI.

The availability of AI chatbots has led some students to try passing off computer-generated wisdom as their own on school assignments. Australia banned AI chatbot use in its public schools to curb cheating, though the ban may be reversed next year. If that occurs, schools will have to adjust how they test and grade students, according to Australia’s education minister Jason Clare.

“This is the sort of thing that students are going to need to learn how to use properly,” Clare said. “You can’t just put it away and assume that students won’t use it. But at the same time, I want to make sure that students are getting the marks they deserve, and can’t use it to cheat.”

• https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/feb/02/chatgpt-100-million-users-open-ai-fastest-growing-app
• https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/best-ai-chatbots/
• https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/09/chatgpt-ban-in-australias-public-schools-likely-to-be-overturned

Study the Bible

Use the following after discussing Question 2:

Praying is a helpful activity, according to God’s wisdom in Scripture. But the world’s supposedly wise leaders sometimes see it as a threat. That was evident in Germany last month when it took a high court decision to reinstate the right to hold peaceful prayer vigils outside abortion clinics.

The pro-life group 40 Days for Life had been told not to hold prayer vigils in the city of Pforzheim despite being granted all the requisite permissions and not blocking the abortion clinic near which they gathered. Pavica Vojnovic, who leads 40 Days for Life, said the Federal Administrative Court’s June 20 decision to protect prayer left her feeling relieved.

“Our prayers really help, as affected women have told us over and over,” she said. “I am grateful that we can continue our prayer vigils. Every human life is precious and deserves protection.”

Nonetheless, Germany’s fight against prayer vigils may continue. Federal Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus has said multiple times she wants to enact “legal measures” to restrict prayer near abortion clinics. The German situation parallels the plight of prayer warriors in the United Kingdom. At least three people have been prosecuted there for praying outside abortion clinics. Among them, Adam Smith-Connor was fined in January for praying silently on a public street in Bournemouth, England, with his back facing an abortion clinic.

• https://www2.cbn.com/news/world/right-pray-peace-german-high-court-issues-big-abortion-clinic-prayer-ruling
• https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/january/uk-abortion-clinic-prayer-buffer-pspo-religious-freedom-adf.html

The week’s writer for Extra is David Roach. David is pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Saraland, Alabama. He and his wife Erin have three children.

Study the Bible [Option from the Advanced Bible Study Teacher Guide, p. 46]

For the optional idea involving the use of instruction manuals, if you do not have some readily accessible, here are some online manuals to consider: 

• Instruction manual for a toaster: https://www.sunbeam.ca/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-sunbeam-ca-Library/default/dw10972781/documents/instruction-manuals/3912-033_EN.pdf
• Instruction manual for an electric drill: https://nps.edu/documents/111291366/113869380/Dewalt_Cordless_Drill.pdf/2f090e29-aabe-48cf-b3e1-0d251ce423fd?t=1554211130000
• Instruction manual for a gas oven: https://c.searspartsdirect.com/mmh/lis_pdf/OWNM/L0709189.pdf
• Instruction manual for a board game (visit this site for several options of printable board games for every level): https://service.mattel.com/us/instruction_sheets_results.asp?Brand=5&Category=24

Live It Out [Option from Adult Leader Guide, p. 112]

Play this worship song that helps group members acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives. 

Additional Questions

Icebreaker

• What childhood experience was more enjoyable because of who was with you?
• Who is the wisest person you know? 
• When have you been happy not to be alone?
• What makes the wisest person you know seem so wise?
• What subject would you love to have greater knowledge and wisdom in?

1 Corinthians 2:6-9

• Since the world can’t comprehend God’s wisdom, how do we effectively share the gospel with someone?
• How would you describe the difference between knowledge and wisdom?
• What tools can we use to determine spiritual truth in a world flooded with “worldly wisdom”?
• What are some marks of a Christian who is living out God’s hidden wisdom? 

1 Corinthians 2:10-13

• How would you describe the spirit of the world?
• When have you sensed the Holy Spirit revealed something to you?
• When has the Holy Spirit helped you understand a truth in Scripture?
• When have you had a special need for God’s wisdom or guidance?
• Where do you see the spirit of the world on display?
• How does the Holy Spirit use the Word of God to help us understand the wisdom of God?

1 Corinthians 2:14-16

• What does it mean to have the mind of Christ?
• What does it mean for believers to have the mind of Christ?
• How do we see the world differently as followers of Jesus?
• When have you seen God’s wisdom considered to be foolishness by the world?
• Where do you see evidence of “foolishness” in the world today?

For Those in Your Group

Send the following link to your group members as either a teaser before the group meets or as a follow-up thought:

How to Recognize a Saint

Podcast

Click here for a 20-minute podcast for both the group member and the leader.

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