The Listening Life

We meet every Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m PST on Zoom for a study from the book, The Listening Life.

Here’s the Zoom link, join us at a few minutes before 7:00 p.m.

If you are having trouble joining our Zoom Meeting, text Glen at 562-896-0317 and the link will be sent to your cell or send your email and we’ll send it there.

Here is the Study Guide:

The Listening Life
by Adam S. McHugh
Study Guide

Introduction
Scripture: Psalm 81
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. Summarize the Introduction in a sentence or two.
2. What are some ways in which you desire to grow in your ability to listen?
3. What impact does listening have on your relationship with God and your discipleship?
4. How would our relationships with others, and how would we change, if we approached every situation with the intention of listening first?

Chapter 1: The Listening Life:
Scripture: Proverbs 1:20-33
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. Summarize this chapter in a sentence or two
2. What role does listening play in obedience?
3. What are the key reasons that you struggle to listen well?
4. How does God primarily reveal Himself to His people?
5. How does this affect how we engage Him?

Chapter 2: The King Who Listens:
Scripture: Psalm 66
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. Summarize this chapter in a sentence or two.
2. What experiences have you had in which the Lord has bowed down to hear you?
3. What was Jesus’ example of listening in His humanity?
4. What causes God not to listen to you? Give an example from your own life.

Chapter 3: Listening to God:
Scripture: 1 Kings 19:9-18
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. Summarize this chapter in a sentence or two.
2. Do you struggle with how personal Christianity proves to be?
3. What are you afraid to hear from God? How does this affect your use of the means of grace?
4. What are the 3 filters to help us test the authenticity of what we think we’ve heard from God? What has been your experience with these filters?
5. When and where do you listen best? Are you spending time with God at that time and in that place?

Chapter 4: Listening to Scripture:
Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. Summarize this chapter in a sentence or two.
2. Do we primarily have a knowledge problem? How should the answer to this question affect how we engage God’s word?
3. What can you do to help you listen to Scripture as opposed to merely reading it?
4. What is the most important component in good Bible reading? How is this component affecting your ability to hear from God’s word?

Chapter 5: Listening to Creation:
Scripture: Psalm 19
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. Summarize this chapter in a sentence or two.
2. What did yesterday declare to you about God?
3. How does Creation affect your relationship with God? The change in seasons?
4. Is there a natural setting in which you are more still and more inclined to listen? Are you using this setting in engaging the means of grace?

Chapter 6: Listening to Others:
Scripture: Proverbs 1:1-7
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. Summarize this chapter in a sentence or two.
2. What makes you feel listened to? How important is this to you in your relationships with others
3. Ask your significant other and a friend or relative to read over the examples of how to be a bad listener, and let you know which ones you are guilty of. What can you do to improve and become a better listener?
4. How much of your conversational time focuses on you in some way? How can you become more other oriented in your conversations with your neighbors?

Chapter 7: Listening to People in Pain:
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. Summarize this chapter in a sentence or two.
2. What should be our primary goal when listening to people in pain? How have you traditionally listened to people in pain?
3. What makes you anxious when listening to people in pain?
4. What most comforts you when you are in pain and sharing it with someone else?

Chapter 8: Listening to Your Life:
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 11:1-6
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. Summarize this chapter in a sentence or two.
2. What role does silence play in your life? What causes you to struggle either with silence or being silent?
3. What is the content of your inner dialogue in most circumstances? What narrative or script seems to be governing your life? Why?
4. What do your emotions reflect about the condition of your heart? Your health?

Chapter 9: The Society of Reverse Listening:
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:8
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. Summarize this chapter in a sentence or two.
2. What groups of people in our spheres of influence are we not listening to? What can we do to lean in and listen?
3. What should be the goal of becoming a reverse listening society? What are the barriers to us being a reverse listening society?

Epilogue and Reflections:
Scripture: James 1:19-27
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. How does listening bookend our lives? What role should it play between?
2. How have you grown personally from this study? What do you want to continue to cultivate? What’s your plan for doing that?
3. How have you grown in your love for God? For neighbor? What role does listening play in both?