Jesus 120

There are many giants that we face in our spiritual lives. We have the choice to turn and run from them like the Isrealite army did from Goliath, or stand and fight like David. Through our daily battles, God prepares us, so when the real giants stand before us, we are ready to rely on Him and defeat those giants with the weapons He gives us and full confidence in His strength.

Key verses: Hebrews 11:32-34, 1 Samuel 17:4-11, 16, 24, 28, 34-40, 43-47

1. What were the giants (besides Goliath) that David was facing? Have you experienced similar giants in your own spiritual walk? Were you defeated by them? How did you stand against them?

2. God’s people were discouraging David from fighting. As the body of Christ, how can you not be a part of the crowd that is fearful in the face of giants (even if they aren’t your giant to fight)?

3. Why is this “giant” of fear and in-action sometimes the hardest to overcome? What is the best way to “fight” it?

4. The armies of Israel were afraid of Goliath, but David’s brother Eliab goes even further; he attacks David and questions his abilities and intentions. Would you have been able to face a giant after hearing something like that from your own brother? Why do you think his brother was so critical? How do you think David was able to stay strong in that adversity? How does that translate into your own life?

5. Is comparison a giant that you have faced in your life? Why does this giant stop many people from facing the bigger battle before them? How did David move past the giant of comparison?

6. What weapons did David have in his fight against Goliath? (past preparation, using what was available to him, His God)

7. Why is it important to fight the “lions and bears” in your daily life? How can they prepare you for the bigger battles ahead? What are some specific examples of lions and bears in your life that prepared you for something bigger?

8. David’s most important weapon was his God. He truly believed that God would win His battle for him. How might your own life battles look different if you had faith in God like David?

Too often, we get caught up in trying to achieve on our own, but Jesus told his disciples that they only needed the faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains. God wants to include us in His great plans and all he asks is that we have faith that He will do what He promises. Mustard seed sized faith can grow if we are rooted and grounded in Christ.

Key verses: Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 17:1-8, 14-18, 20, Judges 7:13-8

1. Hebrews 11:6 directs us to change our perspective to one that working towards pleasing God instead of self or others. Where is your perspective now? How do you know that? How can you begin shifting your perspective?

2. Have there been times in your life, or have you witnessed in other’s lives, a faith “big” enough to lead to action? How did it feel?

3. When you have felt that your faith was too small, how did you compensate?

The disciples didn’t have “enough faith” after they had just seen Jesus transfigured and heard God claim Him as His son. How does that encourage or discourage you in your faith?

4. How does the seed of your faith grow? What have been things in your past, or things in your life right now that have grown your faith?

5. Why did God shrink the size of Gideon’s army so dramatically? How did Gideon respond? What about the enemy?

6. Why does God allow us to participate in His plans?

7. How can we pray for each others’ faiths to grow?

In this series on Faith we are exploring how faith enables us to walk on our journey towards home. In today’s sermon we discuss the importance of having an aim in life, a vision of where we are heading. Thank God that He has given us His word and His presence to not only give us an aim, but also be our road map. The question before us today: Will we accept God’s Word by faith and let it be our ultimate guide in life?

Key Verses: Hebrews 11:1-3, Proverbs 29:18, 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Romans 10:17

Life Group Questions:

1) Why do we need Vision (or an Aim), in order to grow and progress in life? What happens when we live without an aim? What about when we aim at the wrong thing? Can you relate to living aimlessly, or aiming at the wrong thing? If so, what affect did that have on your life?

2) Why is recognizing our own blindness an important part of having faith? How can that actually help us find our aim?

3) What are some of the biggest obstacles to trusting God’s Word to be our ultimate guide? How can our trust in the Bible be increased? How do we balance using our mind, and also stepping out in faith to trust the Bible?

4) What did you think of the Billy Graham story where he decides to take the Bible as God’s Word? Have you ever had a similar point in your life where you decided to take the Bible as God’s Word? Would you say you are now basing your life on following God’s Word? Why or why not?

5) What can we learn from Samuel and how he responded to hearing God’s voice (see: 1 Samuel 3:1-10)? How can you apply that in your life today?

6) What is the biggest obstacle keeping you from following God’s Word by faith right now?

We are called to walk by faith and not by sight. We sometimes believe that faith is an action that we have to initiate between us and God, but we need to remember that the first step of faith is recognizing that God has a plan for us. He is looking at us, ready to wrestle though our doubt and grow our faith through His abiding presence.

Key verses: 2 Cor. 5:1-7, Heb. 11:1, 32-34, Judges 6:11-17, 22-27

1. What has been your definition of faith? Has that definition changed since Sunday’s sermon?

2. Can you relate to how Paul describes this life in 2 Cor. 5:1-4? Do you live in fear that you could be exposed as a fraud? Do you believe that God has called you to a life of meaning and purpose of lasting significance? Why or why not?

3. When God calls to Gideon, he is hiding in a cave, but God calls him a mighty man of valor. Why is this significant? What does God see in Gideon that he doesn’t see in himself? Have you ever felt that way about the way God sees you?

4. God doesn’t chastise Gideon when Gideon questions him. Often we think that faith is just blind belief, but God allows Gideon to question him. How does this change your definition of faith? What would have been the wrong way for Gideon to deal with his unbelief? How have you dealt with your questions in the past? How would be a better way?

5. What obstacles (idols) are keeping you from walking by faith and not sight right now?

Every person has a God initiated desire to have a lasting impact on this world. However, we are often held back by comparison, control, and fear. We forget that the calling that God puts on our lives is not something that we have to achieve, but we just need to be willing to abide in Him and trust that He will fulfill His purpose.

Key verses: John 15:5,16, I Cor. 1:8-9, 26-29, 1 John 3:1, Ps 1:1-2

1. Alex said that his former definition of a calling was finding what you’re good at and working really hard to be really good at it, and then God judging if He can use it. Can you identify with that definition? Why is that a tempting way to define a calling? How does that tie back to our lack of trust in God? How does it take the focus off Him?

2. Do you believe that everyone is called to something? Are you? What do you think your calling is right now? Is there a calling you have been afraid to really trust God to guide you in?

3. How does the idea of the kingdom of Jesus vs. the kingdom of self affect your personal calling? How do Christians (you specifically) sometimes lean towards the kingdom of self with the calling on your life?

4. “The Lord must do a work in you before He can do a work through you.” What does that look like for the call on your life?

5. What does “much and lasting fruit” look like as it specifically relates to the call on your life?

6. What are some of the roots that are important to out down to follow God’s call on your life?

7. How has comparison crippled you in the past? Have you been able to overcome it or do you still struggle? What would be some practical steps to take to work through that?

8. How does comparison devalue what God has created?

9. How have you tried controlling the calling on your life? Why is it so tempting to be in control?

10. How does embracing our weakness help deal with fear? What are some weaknesses that cause you to have fear about your calling?

11. In your heart of hearts, do you really believe that God is more interested in our obedience than our performance? Has your life demonstrated that?

12. Have you allowed yourself to really abide in Him and trust His call for your life? What changes do you think you could or should make to leave a place of comparison, control, and fear and enter into abiding with Him?

The Holy Spirit wants to be an active and integral part of our day to day lives. However, we have a tendency to minimize Him to a doctrine instead of a person. If we are willing to embrace a relationship with Him, He wants to enhance and enrich our spiritual lives through His gifts, fruits, and an active relationship with God through Him, but we must be willing to be vulnerable and give ourselves over to His control.

Key verses: Luke 11:1-13 and 10:38-42

1. In Luke 11:1, why do you think the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray? How does He answer them?

2. Why is it easy to focus on the Lord’s prayer as an outline for how to pray? What are we missing if we do that?

3. What is the significance of the story in verses 5-8 as it relates to the guideline He gave them for prayer?

5. What does it look like to pray with reckless, shameless persistence? Have you ever done that or experienced someone else doing it? How did that impact you or those around you?

6. What does the statement “there is a difference between earning and effort” mean as it relates to prayer?

6. Luke 11:9-10 is often quoted about prayer, but do you really trust that it is a true promise? How do you go beyond just asking? How have you seen this promise fulfilled?

7. Jake said, “don’t let the circumstance of a particular situation tell you who God is.” Why is it so easy to let situations define God’s character? How can you actively keep from falling into that temptation?

8. Feeling overwhelmed by life or situations can lead us to question God’s character, but why should it do the opposite? How can you shift your perspective to trust that He is in control instead of allowing circumstances to dictate your view on Him?

9. Revisit these questions with your group, maybe with a time of quiet reflection or a discussion together:

- Are you open to the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit?

- Are there gifts that He has already given you that maybe you haven’t been aware of,

or aren’t consistently using?

- Are there gifts you have been closed off to?

Some of the Spiritual gifts are more comfortable than others to discuss and utilize, but God has things for us that are beyond what we can even comprehend. This week, we discuss speaking in tongues and prophesy, why they are important to the body, and how we can dive deeper in our walk with the Holy Spirit by praying to receive them.

Key verses: 1 Corinthians 14:1-15, 18-19, 39-40, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, 1 John 4:1 (there are also a lot of verses in Jake’s notes this week for reference if you have need for more scripture in your discussion)

1. In 1 Corinthians 14:1, Paul says first “Pursue love,” why is it so important to pursue love first when discussing and using these Spiritual gifts? What can be some problems that would arise when these gifts are sought after without love? Have you experienced someone trying to use one of these gifts outside of love? What did it look like? How did impact you and the body of Christ?

2. What are some of the benefits of the private prayer language we discussed Sunday? Has this been something you have experienced? If so, what are some of the benefits you have experienced? In not, what has been a reason you haven’t? Are you interested in praying and asking for this gift? Why or why not?

3. Why do you think that in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 Paul says it is important to pray with the Spirit and the mind? What does that look like? Is that something you have experienced? Do you think it would (or does) enhance your prayer life? Why or why not?

4. What do you see now is the definition of prophesy? Why is it an important part of the Christian faith and the body of Christ? Why is it important to be discerning about prophesy even with someone you trust? (look back to 1 John 4:1, Acts 17:10-12)

5. What is the danger in speaking in tongues in a corporate setting? What do you think could be some benefits? What are some appropriate ways that tongues could be used in a corporate setting? Why is it so important to make sure they are used in an “orderly” way?

6. Why did Paul interject the chapter about love (1 Corinthians 13) in the middle of the chapters about Spiritual gifts? What verses stand out to you in this chapter as they relate to these gifts and why?

7. Do you still have any lingering questions about these or other gifts?

This week we finished our overview of the Spiritual gifts, and we discussed the roles that God uses to build up the body of Christ through His gifts. As members of the body, we can get comfortable with a gift or role that we feel like we have been designed for, but are you willing and open to ask God what He has for you? The Holy Spirit has so much more for us than we can every imagine, but we have to be willing to let go of our own skepticism and trust that His plans are greater than our own.

Key verses: 1 Cor. 12:8-10, Ephesians 4:11-12, Romans 12:6-8

1. Do you have any lingering questions about the gifts that we have discussed in previous weeks (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, administration, mercy, faith, and healing.)

2. What does the word miracles bring to your mind? Jake said that miracles are God energizing a prayer or attribute in our lives to do something we could not do on our own. After Sunday, can you think of some times that God has performed miracles in your life? Do you believe in miracles? Why or why not?

3. Distinguishing between or discerning spirits sounds like just identifying evil spirits, but what do you know now that it can mean? How does this spiritual gift benefit our everyday lives? Why do you think this gift comes with a warning? Have you ever become skeptical of what God is saying to you because you think you are too discerning?

4. What were the different types of tongues? Have you ever experienced someone speaking in tongues? Does this idea make you nervous? Why or why not? Do you think that the skepticism that comes from discernment could be holding you back from experiencing this gift? Why do you think the interpretation of the tongues is also a gift? Why is it important?

5. Have you been one of the 5 roles (apostles, evangelists, shepherds, prophets, and teachers)? Is there one role that you identify with more than another? Which role makes you uncomfortable? Why? How can you open yourself to being whichever role that God calls you to, even if it’s just for a season?

The Holy Spirit’s gifts are diverse and exciting. He wants to equip us for our daily interactions and circumstances, but it is important to understand what the gifts are, how we can pray for them, and what they look like in our lives, so that we can recognize His hand at work in us. This week, we continue our discussion of the spiritual gifts with giving, leadership, administration, mercy, faith, and healing.

Key verses: Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28, Ephesians 4:11-12

1. When you hear the word giving, what comes to mind? Why? How else can you give? What is something that someone has given you that was not a financial gift that has impacted your life?

2. What is the difference between giving cheerfully and just giving out of obligation? Why do you think that matters to God? How is the giver’s life impacted by the attitude they have?

3. Why is giving important?

4. Jake said that a good leader must rule their own lives well; what does that look like? Do you think you rule your life well? Why or why not?

5. Why is it important to know your leaders? Why does knowing and respecting your leaders go hand in hand?

6. Where are some places in your life where you are a leader (maybe you haven’t thought of yourself as a leader until now)? Are you acting as a servant leader in that role? What specific actions or attitudes could you change to become the type of leader that Jesus is?

7. What is the difference between an administrator and a leader? Why are they both important? Do you feel yourself fitting more naturally in one of those two roles? Why?

8. How have you been shown mercy in your own life? Is there a time where you wished someone would show you mercy and it wasn’t? How can you be more like Jesus in the way you show mercy to others? Why is it important to put action to the feelings of empathy as a believer?

9. The point of faith is the object of the faith not the person who has faith… what does that mean to you? When in your life, has God been faithful to you even though your faith was small? How does being a person of faith change you?

10. What are the different ways that Jesus healed people? Do you believe that you have the power to heal the way Jesus did? Why or why not? How have you seen God heal you or others (physically, emotionally, spiritually)?

The Holy Spirit has valuable gifts that He wants to give us, but fear or ignorance can hold us back from receiving them. As Christ followers, we have a responsibility to be open and earnestly seeking each of the gifts of the Spirit to follow His path for our lives and to minister to the rest of the body.

Verses: 1 Corinthians 12:1, 4-7,8-11, 28, Romans 12:6-8, Ephesians 4:11-12

1. In 1 Cor. 12:1, Paul says that he doesn’t want his fellow believers to be uniformed about the Spiritual gifts. Do you feel uninformed? Do you want to know more, or have you chosen to ignore? Why or why not?

2. Do you believe the statement from 1 Cor. 12:6 that the gifts are for all and everyone? Are there some of the gifts that we discussed this week (prophecy, serving, and teaching) that you feel like you are experienced with? Or are there any that you feel nervous about/fearful of? Why?

3. Before Sunday, when you heard the word prophecy, what does it make you think? Did the sermon this week change your definition of Biblical prophecy? How?

4. Hearing this new definition, do you think that you have experienced prophecy in your life? Have you prophesied to someone or had someone prophesy into your life and you did not even realize it was prophecy? How did you respond? What impact did it have in your life?

5. What is the benefit that comes from obeying and conveying a message that you feel is from the Lord? What is the risk that you see associated with it?

6. How have you experienced service in your life (giving or receiving)? Has there been a scenario when you would normally not want to serve, but you felt that the Spirit was equipping you? Have you been the recipient of service that you know was Spirit driven? How did you know?

How can you tell the difference in a teacher who is a master of their craft and one that is less equipped? How does that translate into the way we use the spiritual gift of teaching? What is our responsibility to the Spirit in the realm of teaching?