PodCast - Hillside Assembly

1. God uses yesterday to prepare us for today.

2. Today is always preseason for tomorrow.

3. God uses both the good and the bad.

4. God redeems life before Christ.

5. God blessed Moses in Midian.

Family Follow-Up Questions

1. Looking Back: Think about a season in your life that felt hard or unimportant at the time. How do you now see God using that season to prepare you for what came next?

2. Learning from Moses: Moses had talent and opportunity, but he still needed training in Midian. What is one area of your life where God might be shaping your character, even if it feels small or slow?

3. Trusting the Process: God often works behind the scenes. How can your family encourage one another to be faithful in the “hidden” or ordinary seasons of life?

4. Putting It into Action: What is one small responsibility, task, or opportunity this week that feels like a “practice drill” for something bigger God wants to do in your life?

Do Your Part

1. Pray and Seek God’s Guidance

2. Take the Steps You Can

3. Seek Wise Counsel or Mentorship

4. Stay Consistent in Faith and Obedience

5. Write it Down / Make a Plan

6. Surround Yourself with Support

7. Remember What God has Already Done

3 Things to Pray About

1. Where Does Our Church Go From Here

2. Nick & Mikayla Tonn Becoming Missionaries to Japan

3. Robben Gitzel Becoming a Full-time Wellness Chaplin

God’s light meets us in our ordinary lives and turns them into extraordinary stories.

1. God Chooses Ordinary People

2. The Glory of God Breaks into the Routine

3. Good News for all People

4. From Ordinary Lives to Extraordinary Witnesses

5. Ordinary Worship the Pleases God

Family Discussion Questions:

1. Where do you spend most of your “ordinary” time during the week? How might God want to meet you or work through you in that place?

2. Why do you think God chose shepherds to hear the Christmas news first? What does that tell us about who God values?

3. Can you think of a routine moment (school, work, chores, driving, meals) that could become a place of worship this week? What would that look like practically?

4. The shepherds shared what they had seen and heard. Who is one person you could share something about Jesus with—simply from your own experience?

5. The shepherds returned to the same life, but with changed hearts. What is one way you can respond differently this week because of what God is doing in you?

1. God meets us in our faithfulness — even when we struggle to believe. (Luke 1:5–7)

2. Doubt often rises when God interrupts our normal. (Luke 1:8–20)

3. God’s response: not punishment, but mercy with purpose. (Luke 1:19–22)

4. God keeps His promises even while we’re still learning to believe. (Luke 1:57–66)

5. When we surrender our doubts, light breaks through.     (Luke 1:67–80)

Application: How God’s Light Meets Our Doubts

1. God meets us where we are.

2. God invites our honest questions.

3. God grows faith through waiting.

4. God turns doubt into testimony.

Family Discussion Questions:

1. Where do you see doubt show up in your life right now? What situations, worries, or unanswered prayers feel like “shadowy places” for you?

2. Why do you think God chose to meet Zechariah right in the middle of his struggle, not after he had everything figured out? How does that encourage you this week?

3. Can you think of a time when God interrupted your normal routine to get your attention? How did you respond?

4. God kept His promise to Zechariah even while he wrestled with unbelief. Where do you need to trust that God is still working—whether you feel strong or weak in faith?

5. What is one practical way your family can “surrender doubt” this week?
   A prayer to pray…
   a step of obedience…
   a conversation to have…
   a fear to turn over to God.

1. The Reality of Darkness

2. God Speaks Hope Before Anything Changes

3. God Works Powerfully in the Silence

4. God’s Light Arrives Right on Time

5. Jesus is the Light We Need

Family Discussion Questions

1. What is something you’ve had to wait for recently? (Christmas presents, a special event, a prayer you’re hoping God answers, etc.) How did waiting make you feel?

2. Where do you see “darkness” in the story of Christmas — or in life today? How does Jesus bring light into those places?

3. Why do you think God sometimes makes us wait before we see His answer? (Helps us grow, teaches trust, He’s preparing something better, etc.)

4. Can you think of a time God helped you or answered a prayer at just the right moment? How did that remind you that God was with you even when you couldn’t see Him working?

5. Who in your family (or someone you know) might need a little “light” this week? What could we do as a family to encourage them? (Write a prayer, invite someone over, help with a need, etc.)

Family Follow-Up Questions

1. What “surrounds” you right now? As a family, share one situation where you feel outnumbered, overwhelmed, or unsure what to do. Pray for each other by name.

2. Where have you seen God’s protection even when life felt out of control? Talk about a time when God was working behind the scenes in a way you didn’t see at first.

3. Elisha prayed, “Lord, open his eyes so that he may see.” What would it look like for God to open your family’s eyes this week to His presence, protection, or direction?

4. Doing the right thing doesn’t exempt us from tough situations. How can we encourage each other to stay faithful even when life gets difficult?

5. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” What are some practical ways we can remind ourselves — and each other — of this truth when fear shows up?

6. Elisha walked toward the problem, not away from it. Is there something your family needs to face with faith instead of fear this week?

7. How can your family practice seeing God’s “chariots of fire” — His provision, presence, and protection — in everyday moments?

1. Our Own Worst Enemy

2. The Fruit of Our Worship

3. Nip it in the Bud

Family Follow-Up Questions:

1.  What does it mean to “do what’s right in your own eyes” in today’s world?

2. How can we tell if our worship is becoming more about comfort than obedience?

3. What can we learn from Micah about what happens when we replace God with “good intentions”?

4. How can we keep Jesus at the center of our home worship and priorities?

1. Riding Alone Will Get You Killed

2. You Can't Play with Fire and Expect Not to Burn

3. Even When You're Down, God Ain't Done

Family Follow Up Questions

1. Why do you think Samson liked to do things all by himself?
   Do we sometimes do that too? Why?

2. What happens when we try to handle life without God or without friends to help us? How can we remind each other we're not alone?

3. In the sermon we learned: "You can't play with fire and not get burned." What are some things that look harmless at first, but can lead to trouble if we aren't careful?

4. Who are the people God put in your life to help you follow Him? Friends? Parents? Teachers? Church family?

5. Samson made mistakes, but God gave him another chance. What does this tell us about God's love when we mess up?

6. How can our family "stick together" spiritually this week? Idea: pray together / attend church I encourage each other I read a verse before school