Life Doesn’t Always Move at Our Preferred Pace

About The Podcast

Growing up in an “unhealthy, negligent” household, Paul Bullard waited a long time to find people who felt like family and discover his purpose in Christ. In the waiting, Paul learned a lot about stewarding God-given talents and living by His timing. He now works as a staffer at Highlands College in Birmingham, Alabama and talks this week with Redeemed founder Paul Amos about how his path has shaped him as a disciple.

Show Notes

Timestamps

Discussion

1. How involved were your parents in your life when you were young? Did they seem to take a genuine interest in your activities, joys, and struggles? Did one parent shoulder the majority of the child-rearing work? How do you think that involvement—or lack of it—shaped you into the person you are now?
2. As Psalm 68 says, “God sets the lonely in families.” Did you ever go through a period of your life when you felt alone or isolated, and found a sense of belonging with an adoptive “family” to whom you weren’t biologically related. How did you find your way to them? What did they provide in your life that you were most in need of during that time? Psalm 68:6
3. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus instructs us to take up our cross and follow Him—but as Paul Bullard mentions, that cross is different for everyone. Talk about what you feel like your “cross” is, with the understanding that it doesn’t have to be a burden, rather a calling. How did you come to that realization? If you don’t feel like you’ve found your cross yet, do you have a supportive group of friends or relatives who can guide you toward it? Matthew 16:24-26
4. What was the time in your life when you felt most frustrated waiting for something? What did that wait feel like, and what advice did people offer you during that time? In what ways did you change as a person over the course of that wait? Did you change in certain ways that made you more capable of handling or appreciating the thing you were waiting for when it finally arrived? Psalm 37:7
5. What’s a talent you have that not a lot of people know about? When did you discover you had that ability, and what have you done (or are doing now) to fine-tune it? How could you use that talent to help others and glorify God?