NOTE: Alex mentions Matthew 6, but the passage is actually Mark 6. In our September 28 Sunday gathering we get closer to the conclusion of our series about rage. This week's discussion questions are below:

When was the last time you experienced real silence? What did it feel like? Refreshing,

uncomfortable, strange?

The sermon compared silence to oxygen being cut off from a fire—anger burns out in

quiet. How have you seen silence defuse anger in your own life (or in others)?

Why do you think our culture is so afraid of quiet? What do we lose by always filling

silence with noise?

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Why do you think stillness and

knowing God are connected?

Jesus “often withdrew to lonely places to pray” (Luke 5:16). Why do you think solitude

was so central to his life and ministry? What does that show us about our own need for

it?

The sermon mentioned that in silence, sometimes we face not just God but also our

enemy and our own inner struggles. Why do you think those things surface when we

slow down? How should we respond when they do?

Where in your life do you find it hardest to create space for silence and solitude?

When you do have a moment of quiet, what is your first instinct—to lean into it or to fill it

with something? Why?

What small “on-ramp” could you try this week such as: 2 minutes of quiet before

grabbing your phone, a short walk without headphones, a time of examen prayer?

10. If cultivating outrage is automatic, but cultivating peace is intentional, what intentional

practices (besides silence) do you think help us become people of peace?

11. How might building a rhythm of silence and solitude prepare you to engage a noisy and

angry world differently?