September (1 of 1): Small Group Discussion Guide
Your Brokenness is God’s Beginning
Our brokenness is not the end but the doorway to being brought home by God. The woman shows us in Songs 7:10 (“I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.” NIV) that desire — once weaponized against her by sin and shame — is redeemed by God into belonging, restoration, and the rewriting of her past. The gospel does not demand self-improvement first; it meets our exile, reunites our fractured self, and declares us beautiful and at peace.
Announcements
We are asking all who participate in Restore’s community to give if they are able! Thanks to your generosity, we have begun to close our budget gap! However, we still currently have a monthly budget deficit. You can give safely and securely HERE!
Resources
The Way of Love by Anthony De Mello
Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen
Abba’s Child by Brennan Manning
Sermon Video
Sermon Text
Song of Songs 7:1-11
1 How beautiful your sandaled feet,
O prince’s daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
the work of an artist’s hands.
2 Your navel is a rounded goblet
that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
encircled by lilies.
3 Your breasts are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
looking toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.
6 How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
my love, with your delights!
7 Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts like clusters of fruit.
8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree;
I will take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine,
the fragrance of your breath like apples,
9 and your mouth like the best wine.
She
May the wine go straight to my beloved,
flowing gently over lips and teeth.[b]
10 I belong to my beloved,
and his desire is for me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,
let us spend the night in the villages.
Genesis 3:6
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said,
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.
Genesis 4:6b
…sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.
The parts of us that still believe we are in a theater of war require nothing less than to have someone we trust usher us into a place of peace. - Curt Thompson
Because he has rewritten the story, we are no longer prisoners of our worst selves, nor of the evil powers that would destroy us. At any moment of our lives, God may break through with yet another miracle of rewriting. - Flemming Rutledge
Our past cannot frighten us. - Karl Barth
What could be worse than not being at home in our own house? What hope do we have of finding rest outside of ourselves if we cannot be at ease within? - St. Teresa of Ávila
Discussion Questions
When has desire (yours or someone else’s) been weaponized against you, leaving you feeling used, shamed, or unseen?
Is there a part of your past that still haunts you or feels like it defines you? What would it look like for God to “rewrite” that story
Where do you still live as if you’re in a “theater of war” — defensive, guarded, waiting to be hurt?
What pieces of yourself feel irreconcilable or too broken to ever be beautiful?
How do you typically try to “self-improve” before you feel worthy — and how does that differ from the gospel that declares you already loved?
What would it mean for you, personally, to say with confidence: “I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me” (Song of Songs 7:10) when speaking of God’s love for you?
