Jan. 13 - "Lump" (segment 010)

Discussion guide questions:

Rob sits in his house, holding a small white ball. He starts telling a story about how he found the ball in the family's "junk drawer." When he asked his wife about the ball, she said she didn't know where it came from. They asked their younger son, and he said the same thing. When they asked their older son, he said he didn't know where it had come from either. The older son, though, started acting strange, "like he was some kind of character off of a tv show." Later, the story continues, the two boys were fighting. When Rob's wife asked the older son if he hit his little brother, he started the same bizarre character-act. He told his mom he didn't know what happened, and his mom said, "Kind of like you don't know where that white ball came from?"

• Have you ever gotten busted for something you'd done? What was it?
• Do you think it's possible to keep something secret and never get busted for it?

After he was caught lying, Rob's son ran upstairs. He hid in the middle of his parent's bed under a pile of blankets.

• What are the ways you avoid dealing with your junk?

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. People reap what they sow. - Galatians 6:7 (TNIV)

Rob was driving home when his wife called and told him what happened. He started wondering what he was supposed to do with his son.

• Do you have people around you who are struggling with something and keeping it to themselves?
• If so, are you having a hard time figuring out what to do?
• What are your options?

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. - Galatians 6:2 (NIV)

When he found his son hiding under the covers, Rob pulled the blankets back to reveal the tired, sweaty, curled up little boy. He says that his son had a choice either to pull the covers back over his head to keep hiding or to remain totally exposed. Rob hugged his son and told him, "There's nothing you could ever do to make me love you less."

• Do you have anything in your life you're hiding, something you're ashamed of?
• Are you ready to deal with it?
• Do you have people around you that could never do anything to make you love them less?
• Is this really how we should feel about all other people?

Nothing can separate us from God's love - not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord! - Romans 8:38-39 (CEV)

• Do you believe, deep in your heart, that God loves you no matter what you've done or will do?

Class discussion: things we've done in the past that we got busted on and how that made us feel, things that we've never been busted on, avoiding our "junk" and the downward spiral it creates, people in our lives that we love unconditionally, the disintegration of the sense of community in neighborhoods and in society.

Action items for the week:

• Do one thing that will create a greater sense of community where you live, work or play.
• Think of 1 person who could never do anything to make you love them less and figure out a way to let them know how you feel.
• Clean out your junk drawer.

Video note: Like "Rain" and "Kickball" before it, "Lump" is based on a real story from Rob's life with his family. The white ball in the film had been taken from a family friend's house and was returned by Rob's son a few days later.