Grace offers questions for further exploration of each weekend’s sermon. You can walk through them with your Grace Community or do them on your own.
Week 1 (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
- What feelings or thoughts do you have entering this new series? (As a single, engaged, or married person)
- When it comes to relationships, what’s one way you hope to grow, change, or develop through this series?
- Why is it helpful to interpret Song of Songs from both a historical and an allegorical perspective?
- Define love according to 1st Corinthians 13.
- Exercise: Replace love with your name and read 1st Corinthians 13:4-7. What areas do you need to work on? What areas are evidences of God’s grace in your life?
Resource
How to interpret Song of Songs:
http://www.prpbooks.com/blog/2016/07/how-to-read-the-song-of-songs/#sthash.oQiJousN.dpbs
Week 2 (Song of Solomon 1-2:15)
- What attracted you to your current spouse? If you’re single, what qualities are you attracted to?
- What character traits should we look for in a future spouse? If you’re married, are there any character traits you once overlooked that you now believe to be important traits in a spouse?
- Do you believe in “soulmates”? Why or why not?
- At what point does attraction become sin? How do you safeguard yourself from impurity? (SoS 2:7).
- Why is it important to find (or be) a person with a higher authority than yourself?
Week 3 (Song of Solomon 2:8-17)
- How has dating changed over the years?
- How do you know when you are ready to date, or when your children may be ready to date?
- What should dating look like as a believer? If you’re married, what dating tips would you give singles today?
- How have ungodly choices in dating affected your life? How have wise choices in dating affected your life?
- If you’re married, what does dating your spouse look like now? How can we grow in pursuing our spouses in varying seasons of life?
Week 4 (Song of Solomon 3:1-5)
- What are some ways culture lies to us about sex?
- Which of the lies do you find yourself most tempted to believe?
- How is sexual sin different from other forms of sin? How is it the same?
- People come to church with a variety of different sexual temptations, baggage, and past sin. How can the church grow in becoming a safe and authentic place for people struggling with sexual sin?
- What does it look like to receive grace for past and even present sexual sin? How do you deal with shame as a believer?
Week 5: Song of Solomon 3:6-11
- Why do we have wedding ceremonies as opposed to just going to the courts for a wedding certificate? What is the goal when we do one or the other?
- What is the difference between a covenant and a contract?
- What are the benefits of a covenant relationship as opposed to a contractual relationship? How does this affect the way we date as singles?
- Marriage is a big decision. What advice do you have for engaged couples or those hoping to marry one day?
- Solomon is an example of protection for his new bride. What kind of protection do we need in our marriages? What about in our dating relationships? How are you protecting your marriage or dating relationship right now?
Week 6: Song of Solomon 4-5:1
(If you are in mixed company we suggest you split up girls and guys for discussion time)
- Where did you go for you honeymoon? If you’re single and hope to marry one day, where do you want to go on your honeymoon?
- It’s been said that most people view sex in one of three ways: as gross, as a god, or as a gift. Which of these three do you lean towards and why?
- What are the differences in how you romance a guy versus a girl in dating or marriage?
- What are unhealthy expectations when it comes to romance? How can we cultivate healthy expectations?
Week 7: Song of Solomon 5:2-6:13
- How do you generally deal with conflict? (win, compromise, avoid…)
- Do healthy relationships have conflict? What does healthy and unhealthy conflict look like?
- What can you do to build better communication and handle conflict better in the future?
- How does conflict impact others around you? (friends, family, co-workers)
- Would anyone like to share a conflict that they feel stuck in?
Week 8: Song of Solomon 7
- Singles and those engaged: do you ever fear that romance will fade in marriage? Does it cause you to question marriage all together?
- Marrieds: has the romance/love faded, increased, or just grown different over time? Explain.
- What are some ways to invest in your marriages and keep them strong over the years? What advice do you have for singles?
- Older married couples, are you investing in younger couples? Why or why not? What has been helpful in discipling others in this process?
- Younger couples what have you done to prepare for marriage or grow your marriage lately? Have you sought mentors or premarital counseling? What has helped the most?
Week 9: Song of Solomon 8:1-7
- What does emotional faithfulness look like in relationships? Does it change from dating to engagement to marriage? If so, how?
- What does physical faithfulness look like in relationships? Does it change from dating to engagement to marriage? If so, how?
- What do boundaries and accountability look like in the different stages of relationships (single, dating, engaged, married)? How do you stay faithful to the Lord and others?
- Where are men and women usually tempted in the area of unfaithfulness and how can you help as a spouse in those areas?
- How much do you share and not share with your spouse/dating partner when it comes to sexual sin?
Week 10: Song of Solomon 8:8-14
- What have your big take-aways from this series been?
- What has been the most challenging lesson? What has been the most encouraging?
- Do you view sexuality, dating, marriage or God any differently after going through this series?
- What does your next step towards Christ look like based off this series?
- Take some time to pray over personal holiness, couples (dating, engaged, married) and each other’s relationship with Jesus.
