High School Girls Small Group - Galatians

Last year, we decided that the best format for our group was just reading the bible together and then discussing. We started by reading through most of Genesis. That was really good because it gave the girls some history and foundation to our faith. We just finished 1 Peter and that was really awesome!

The next book that we are starting is Galatians. I'm very excited to start digging into this book with the girls. Last night, I wanted them to get to know the author, Paul, as we hadn't really dug into any books that he had written. I feel its important to get to know who is writing and who they are writing to in order to truly understand what is going on. So, I broke the girls up into groups of 2 or 3 and then gave each girl 10 sets of verses and some questions to go off of and asked them to build a "character profile" of Paul. They really enjoyed getting to know the background of who this person was and how he came to know God.

I recently read that there were somewhere around 2150 people named in the bible. "Character Profiles" are a great way of studying God's word and it breaks things up sometimes when you are in a rut. I wanted the girls to discover a new way of reading God's word.

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you the verses and the questions. These questions can apply to any person which is why they reference he/she:

Acts 7:54 - 8:3

Acts 9:1-31

2 Corinthians 10:1-11

2 Corinthians 11:6

Acts 22:1-5

Acts 23:11

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

1 Thessalonians 2:2

2 Corinthians 6:3-13

Some Questions To Consider About Paul:

1. Who wrote what we know about this person?

2. What did people say about him/her?

3. What does his/her name mean? Why was he/she given that name? Was it ever changed?

4. Where did he/she live? What was his/her home life like? What were the characteristics of his/her parents? Did they influence him/her?

5. What was his/her occupation?

CHARACTER

1. What type of person was he/she?

2. What were the outstanding strengths in his/her character?

3. What were his/her particular faults and weaknesses?

4. How did he/she respond to failure? Did he/she get discouraged easily?

5. How did he/she respond to adversity? Did he/she handle criticism well?

6. How quickly did he/she praise God for the good/bad things that happened to him/her?

7. How quickly did he/she obey God when told to do something?

8. How did he/she get along with other people? Was he/she a loner? Was he/she a team person?

9. What influence did he/she have on others?

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

1. Was there any great crisis in his/her life? How did he/she handle it?

2. Are there accomplishments for which he/she is remembered?

3. Did he/she experience a divine 'call?' How did he/she respond to it?

4. What crucial decisions did he/she have to make? How did they affect him/her?

5. Where did he/she succeed? Where did he/she fail? Why?

6. What part did he/she play in the history of God’s plan?

Why do you think God allowed this person to be mentioned in the Bible?

Is there a lesson in this person's life that can help or encourage me?
What can I learn from Paul to apply to my own situation?