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Chapter One
What's Water-Walking?
Session One
There is something-Someone-inside us
who tells us there is more to life than sitting
in the boat. You were made for something
more.... There is something inside you
that wants to walk on the water-to leave
the comfort of routine existence and abandon
yourself to the high adventure of
following God.
-John Ortberg
Questions to Think About
1. What kinds of things do you trust in, especially when life
gets stormy, that help you feel comfortable and secure
rather than fearful? Be honest!
2. Explain why you do or do not believe that God calls
everyone who follows him to step out in faith and do
something extraordinary. What does "stepping out in
faith" look like?
3. How would you define failure?
4. Thus far in life, what has been your experience with
failure? What has failure kept you from doing? What
has failure done for you?
Video Observations
Images of a balloon ride
Following Jesus: choosing between comfort and growth
Did Peter fail-or succeed?
Discovering the power of Jesus
Video Highlights
1. When John Ortberg and his wife took their hot-air
balloon ride, the competence of their pilot became very
important to them. Why is it so important for us to know
the competence and trustworthiness of whoever pilots
our lives?
2. Jesus invited Peter to step out of the boat and walk with
him-to do something Peter could not do on his own-and
Peter couldn't resist the opportunity. Jesus is still
looking for people who love and trust him enough to
step out of the boat. What do you find intriguing about
stepping out of the boat?
3. What are your thoughts on John Ortberg's comments
about failure, particularly that failure has more to do
with the way we view the outcome of an event than
what actually happened?
Large Group Exploration
An Adventure in the Dark
Let's take a closer look at what happened when Jesus
revealed himself to his disciples as they sailed across the
stormy Sea of Galilee, because that event matters a great deal
to us today. We too have the opportunity to walk with Jesus
in places we wouldn't dream of going on our own. Like each
of the disciples, we must choose how we will respond to God.
Will we sit in the boat, like the eleven disciples? Or will we,
like Peter, leave the security of the boat and give God the
opportunity to use us in extraordinary ways?
1. When Jesus told the disciples to sail to the other side of
the Sea of Galilee without him, they obeyed. But what
happened as they sailed? (See Matthew 14:22-26; Mark
6:45-50.)
2. What did Jesus say to them, and why is this significant
today? (See Matthew 14:27.)
3. From Peter's perspective, recap what happened after
Jesus told the disciples who he was. What is significant
about Peter's response to Jesus? (See Matthew 14:28-32.)
4. What impact did this event have on the disciples? (See
Matthew 14:33; Mark 6:51.)
5. What impact do you think this event had on Peter?
Who Deserves the Credit?
It's not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the
strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done
better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena ...
who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of great achievement, and
who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. So that
his place will never be with those cold timid souls who know neither
victory nor defeat.
-Theodore Roosevelt
Highlights from the History of Water-Walking
For a very long time God has been in the business of
inviting people to be water-walkers. Here are a few
examples to consider:
Person Water-Walking The Result
Invitation
Abraham Sacrifice his son Isaac. God honored Abraham's
(See Genesis 22.) faith and provided a ram
for the sacrifice.
Moses Lead the Israelites out of God parted the Red Sea,
Egypt, which meant allowing the Israelites to
crossing the Red Sea cross on dry land, then
with the Egyptian army drowned the Egyptian
in hot pursuit. (See army.
Exodus 3:7-10 and chapter
14.)
Joshua Lead the Israelites across As soon as the priests'
the flooded Jordan River feet touched the water
with the ark of the of the Jordan River, it
covenant carried by the stopped flowing and the
priests at the front of the people crossed on dry
people. (See Joshua 3.) land.
Joshua Instead of going into God made the wall of
battle, the Israelites were Jericho fall down so that
to march around the the Israelites could overtake
walled city of Jericho the city-the first
with the ark of the key barrier to entering
covenant for six days, the Promised Land.
then march around the
city seven times on the
seventh day and blow
horns and shout when
the trumpet sounded.
(See Joshua 6.)
Twelve spies Believe that despite the Ten of them refused to
frightening obstacles in believe God and his
Canaan, God would be promises and perished
faithful to give the in the wilderness.
Israelites the Promised
Land and all of its goodness.
(See Numbers
13-14.)
Rich young ruler Give up his material He refused and went
possessions and follow away saddened. We do
Jesus. (See Matthew not know what took
19:16-22.) place in his life.
Small Group Exploration
Topic A
Where Do We Place Our Trust When We Are Afraid?
God knows how fearful we are, and he sometimes uses
uncomfortable, real-world challenges to cause us to choose
where we will place our trust. John Ortberg explains it this
way: "The decision to grow [spiritually] always involves a
choice between risk and comfort. This means that to be a
follower of Jesus you must renounce comfort as the ultimate
value of your life." Let's explore what God says about
fear and choosing where we place our trust.
1. What happens when we place our trust in "boats" of our
own making instead of placing our trust in God? (See
Psalm 49:1-13.)
2. What did David realize about finding security in God
rather than in things? (See Psalm 20:6-7; 118:6-9.)
3. What do the following verses reveal about God?
a. Psalm 18:1-3
b. Psalm 56:3-4
c. Jeremiah 17:7-8
4. What has God said to his people over and over again,
and why do you think he repeated it? (See Genesis 15:1;
21:17; Joshua 8:1; Daniel 10:12.)
Topic B
What Happened When These People Got Out of Their
Boats?
The Bible records the stories of many people who had to
choose whether to trust God and step out in faith. Let's
explore what happened to two men who, like Peter, decided
to trust God and leave behind the security, comfort, and
safety they had tried to provide for themselves.
Moses
1. What happened when Moses-the adopted son of the
Pharaoh's daughter-took matters into his own hands
when he saw an Israelite being mistreated by an
Egyptian? (See Exodus 2:10-15; 3:1.)
2. How did God appear to Moses, and what did he want
Moses to do? (See Exodus 3:1-4, 9-10.)
3. How did Moses respond when God presented the invitation
to step out of the boat? (See Exodus 3:11-13; 4:13.)
4. Finally Moses took the plunge and returned to Egypt to
urge Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. What happened as
a result of God's power and the shepherd's water-walking
obedience? (See Exodus 12:31-37.)
Gideon
5. Where was Gideon trying to find comfort and safety
when God approached him? (See Judges 6:11.)
6. Gideon was afraid to take the challenge the angel of the
Lord presented to him. How did God respond to his
fears? (See Judges 6:12-18; 7:9-15.)
7. How did God use this "insignificant" farmer who finally
decided to obey and trust him? (See Judges 7:16-24.)
The Pluses of Water-Walking
It is the only way to real growth.
It is the way true faith develops.
It is the alternative to boredom and stagnation.
It is part of discovering and obeying our calling.
The water is where Jesus is!
Group Discussion
1. Fear of failure is one reason many of us don't step out of
the boat. Some people view Peter's walk on the water as
a failure, but John Ortberg points out that there were
eleven bigger failures sitting in the boat. In what ways
does our perception of failure affect our willingness to
start water-walking?
Think about It
Failure is not an event, but rather a judgment about an event. Failure
is not something that happens to us or a label we attach to things. It
is a way we think about outcomes.
-John Ortberg
2. How much does our view of God's character and competence
influence the degree to which we are willing to
trust him and, in faith, to accept his calling and take
risks?
3. Would you agree that sometimes the "boats" we create-whatever
gives us an illusion of control, whatever or
whomever (besides God) we are tempted to put our trust
in when life is stormy-might actually be more dangerous
than water-walking with Jesus? Why or why not?
4. If we keep choosing not to step out of our boats, what
happens to us? To people around us? To our relationship
with God?
Personal Journey: To Do Now
1. In If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of
the Boat, John Ortberg writes, "I believe that there is
some aspect of your life in which God is calling you to
walk with and to him, and that when we say yes to his
calling, it sets in motion a divine dynamic far beyond
merely human power." In what ways might God be calling
you to get out of your "boat" and step out in faith?
2. Usually anyone who begins water-walking has to face
personal fear. What deep fears keep you from really
walking with and obeying God, from stepping out in
faith and with his help doing what you could never do
on your own? List fears that are specific to the calling
you wrote down for question 1.
3. Looking back on your life so far, when have you said no
to God's call? When have you said yes? Why? What
happened as a result of those choices?
4. Which small or large steps can you begin taking this
week to get out of your boat a little each day?
Personal Journey:
To Do on Your Own
You've learned a few basics about water-walking and have
been encouraged to think about your choices, your boats,
and the opportunity to water-walk. It's easy to seek comfort
and create boats, isn't it? That's why so many people choose
that path. But God is calling you, as he calls every believer,
to put your faith in him and start getting out of your boat a
little more each day.
Set aside some quiet time to think about the following questions.
There are no right or wrong answers, and nobody
needs to know your responses, unless you choose to discuss
them with someone. What's important is that you take time to
reflect on some issues that you explored today, issues that
may cause you to become uncomfortable or even a bit angry-at
yourself, God, or someone else.
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