GCF Hays

In our short series, FIND, TELL, BRING, we covered a biblical-based and natural way to evangelize in your circle of influence. Find someone that you love. Tell them what you know. Bring them with you.

What is your biggest takeaway from this series?

Which of the three (FIND, TELL, BRING) will be the biggest challenge for you? Why?

Who are the unchurched on your FIND list? Tell us about them.

What has the Lord done for you and how has He shown you mercy? Are you prepared to tell that story?

Who on your FIND list is just one invitation away from eternal life? Have you invited them to Easter Sunday? What's stopping you?

Life Group Questions

1. What was your biggest takeaway from Sunday’s message?

2. Have you invited Jesus into your life? If so, have you fully given your life to Him?

3. Stephan provided a checklist for us to examine five areas of our lives:
- Relationships
- Spiritually
- Geographically
- Occupationally
- Fear

Checklist:
- Fully surrendered to God
- Not quite there yet, but “under construction”
- Not there yet

When going through your checklist, which areas did you mark as “fully surrendered” or “not there yet” and why?

4. Did anything speak to you so clearly that you think you need to make changes in your life? Are you willing to share?

Life Group Questions

1. Tell us about your first experience when you walked into GCF Hays. What did you experience? How did it impact you?

2. What was your biggest takeaway from Sunday’s message?

3. Pastor Mike used an illustration about getting saved and entering the Kingdom of God but never leaving the foyer. How far have you ventured into the Kingdom? Are you still in the foyer? What is holding you back?

4. Who do you know that you can invite to church to introduce them to the culture of GCF Hays/GMI?

Life Group Questions

Key Verse: Philippians 4:6-7 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1. What was your biggest takeaway from Sunday’s message?

2. Which one of the eight reasons to choose gratitude have you started working on this week? If you have not, why not?
• Gratitude is a matter of obedience.
• Gratitude draws us closer to God.
• Gratitude is a sure path to peace.
• Gratitude is a gauge of the heart.
• Gratitude is the will of God.
• Gratitude is a result of being filled with the Spirit.
• Gratitude reflects Jesus’ heart.
• Gratitude gets us ready for heaven.

3. Who is one person in your life that you need to express more gratitude toward on a regular basis? Why did you choose this person?

4. Can you identify with Beth Moore’s version of Philippians 4:6-7? If so, how? If not, why not?

"Do not be calm about anything, but in everything, by dwelling on it constantly and feeling picked on by God, with thoughts like 'and this is the thanks I get,' present your aggravations to everyone you know but Him. And the acid in your stomach, which transcends all milk products, will cause you an ulcer, and the doctor bills will cause you a heart attack and you will lose your mind."

Life Group Questions

1. Have you at times taken God’s gifts for granted and think of them as common, ordinary stuff? How can we combat this in order to be thankful always?

2. God is always faithful, although we are prone to wander, He is not. How can this truth be used practically to share God’s love to a “lost'' person?

3. Do your close relationships help challenge and grow you to a greater walk with Christ? Please share an example of this currently in your life.

4. Pastor Josh spoke about being grateful for God’s calling on your life. What is your calling? Do you daily seek it out and express gratitude to God for it?

Life Group Questions

1. Pastor Ryan explained 5 practical ways that we can cultivate a lifestyle of gratitude:
• Speak up --- Don’t just think it; say it.
• Sing out --- Combining the power of expressing gratitude with the power of worship.
• Kneel down --- Training our hearts to filter everything through the goodness of God.
• Privately & publicly --- Quick to give thanks when no one is looking & when everyone is looking.
• When & where --- Morning & evening, and transforming parties & celebrations into deliberate moments of gratitude.

Which of these 5 was the biggest for you, and why?

2. The following are some of the key quotes from this teaching:
• Real gratitude is doing grateful things out of a grateful heart.
• All too often, we let thoughts in our mind suffice for gratitude.
• Gratitude is the tune that we sing & dance to.
• Is the overall makeup of your prayers out of balance? (not enough giving thanks)
• Did you really celebrate your anniversary (give thanks to God & to each other), or just go out to dinner?

Which of these impacted you the most, and why?

3. The following are some of the verses we looked at in this teaching:
• Hebrews 13:15 – “Let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God; that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.”
• Psalm 145:4 – “One generation will commend Your works to another; they will tell of Your mighty acts.”
• 2 Samuel 12:20 – “Then David got up from the ground, and he washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshipped.”
• Psalm 35:18 – “I will give You thanks in the great congregation; I will praise You among a mighty throng.”
• 1 Chronicles 23:30 – “The Levites are to stand every morning, thanking and praising the Lord, and do the same in the evening.”

Which of these speaks the loudest to you in this season of life, and why?

Life Group Questions:

1. Which story impacted you the most on Sunday? How did it make you view ingratitude or gratitude differently?
• Edward Spencer
• Richard Wurmbrand
• Martin Rinkart
• Tony O’Brien

2. Pastor Josh shared; gratitude is not always something we reject, in fact, many times it is something we simply neglect. How are you doing with gratitude within your family? Does everyone know how grateful you are for them?

3. All of us suffer from ingratitude from time to time. Which of these factors of ingratitude do you need to work on this month? Why is this one your goal?
• Unrealistic Expectations
• Forgetfulness
• Entitlement
• Comparison
• Blindness to God’s Goodness
• Circumstances

4. Who are five of the most grateful people you know?

Life Group zoom meeting link:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/4550786100

Life Group Questions

1. If you had to give an honest assessment of your overall life, what would be the percentage split between Whining & Worshipping (for example, 60/40)?

2. In which area of your life do you whine the most?

3. What specific steps can/will you take to change this?

4. Pastor Josh gave us five portraits of comparison between a Whiner & a Worshipper.
• A grateful person is a humble person, while ingratitude reveals a proud heart.
• A grateful person is God-centered (and others-centered), while an ungrateful person is self-centered.
• A grateful person has a full heart, while an ungrateful person has an empty one (always needing something else).
• A grateful heart is revealed by thankful words, while an ungrateful heart will manifest in complaining.
• Grateful people are live-giving springs, while ungrateful people are a drain on others.

Which area spoke the strongest to you and why?