“Jacob was left alone;” - Genesis 32:24a

Module Two: Have Mercy

In preparation for this week's material, please read Chapters 2 & 3 of The Samaritan’s Friend.

After you have completed the above, choose one of the the following:

  • Podcast: The Lonely Hour Podcast offers us space to reflect on loneliness and solitude during the lenten season. While we recommend listening to the first episode to gain context about the podcast, feel free to choose an episode that has a subject that interests you.

  • Poem: “Experience” by Carl Sandburg

  • Video: “The Longest Way” The following video on a man's journey from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan contains explicit language.

This is a stroll from July 31st, 2016 in Khorgas, China until January 25th, 2017 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Lots of cats and dogs to be petted along the way. And the stroll is not over, yet.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Mary and the narrator have a conversation about Jesus’s birth in chapter two, but she never really answers the underlying question. For some, the virgin birth is an essential belief. What is one of your essential beliefs

  2. Simon, the Pharisee, was very concerned about religious practices like tithing and fasting. Are there spiritual practices that are important to you?

  3. How do you keep your practices from becoming badges of honor?