Sermon Guide

Rev. Floyd Flake’s sermon & discussion guide

The Personal of Faith

• At what age did you first remember having a faith experience?
• How have you developed your faith?
• Have you ever felt estranged from your faith?
• How do you handle questions about your faith?
• Is your faith community able to speak to your personal doubts or fears about your faith?
• Where else or who else might you go to other than a pastor/rabbi/imam for questions about faith?
• How does your “walk” with God today reflect your experiences from your youth?

The Community of Faith

• How does faith guide your work with other people?
• What about your personal faith experience informs your work in the community where you live or work?
• Despite the fact that we live in the most pluralistic country in human history, how much do you really know about other faiths?
• In what ways are your faith experiences similar to those of other faiths and denominations? How do you share the substance of your faith beyond the borders of your church/synagogue/mosque?
• Does your community of faith engage other faith communities in meaningful ways? Such as? Is there a rabbi, imam, or a minister from another faith who you encounter in real life or the media who enriches your understanding of your faith? Your understanding of their faith?
• How do you reach out to those who have allowed their faith to lay dormant and are seeking to reconnect with their faith?
• Is your house of worship racially or culturally homogeneous?

The Works of Faith

• Are there meaningful ways that people who are “seekers” or seeking to reclaim their faith can engage in the process of discovery or rediscovery?
• Are you part of an inviting faith community? If so, how do others enter that community?