The Sunday message is the open door to encountering what God has in store for you! Many of our Life Groups use the Sermon 2.0 Discussion Guide to go deeper into the passage of Scripture and application points from the weekend’s message. This is a time to have open conversation, ask questions, laugh a little or a lot, and learn from others. Our heart is to see your faith in God grow as you apply the truths of the Bible to your everyday life.

We believe you can encounter God through the context of relationships and want you to experience this in a Life Group! Apply the truths of the Bible and see your faith in God grow as you build new relationships with others in your group.

Icebreaker

What has been your favorite car that you’ve owned?

Scripture

Take a moment and read Matthew 7:24-27 from this weekend’s sermon.

Observation

What do you observe within this passage of Scripture? What was the intended message to the audience this passage was written to? Some basic observation questions are:

• What was happening right before this? Who is speaking and who are they speaking to? What words or themes repeat? What is confusing, is interesting, is humorous, etc? Where else within the Bible talks about a similar topic? If you were within this passage, what would you be experiencing and noticing?
• What are the two types of people and what are their foundations? What is the strong foundation built upon and what is the sandy foundation built upon? How does this parable apply to our modern day life?

Application

Based on the observations above, what can you apply to your life and your understanding of God?

No one wants their house to crumble or begin to sink. Likewise, people do not want their lives to crumble. So what are some of the reasons why people build on a shifting foundation?

• Within your life, have you experienced building on an uncertain foundation? What did you experience?

The story of the tower of Pisa is interesting including the engineers’ decisions to prolong fixing their foundation problems. How do we attempt to solve our spiritual foundation problems by just delaying them to a future date?

• What happens to our faith, to our maturity, and our lives when we spiritually procrastinate?

Jesus has shown us how to build on the rock in the Sermon on the Mount series. Review the topics covered and discuss how applying Jesus’s commands leads to a wise life.

• How have these teachings prepared and protected you when the storm of life comes?

Why do the storms of life reveal what we have built upon? Discuss whether storms are a bad or good thing for your spiritual life.

• What can be warning signs in your life that can show your cracks in your foundation?

How would you evaluate your current foundation? What are areas of strength where you know you are trusting Jesus? What are areas of weakness in which you are attempting to control with your own idea of a foundation?

Prayer

Take a few minutes to pray for specific truths from the Scriptures covered tonight.

• Thank God for the wisdom He has provided us in the Sermon on the Mount to build on a strong and certain foundation.
• Pray for God to show you if there is a crack, weakness, or a sandy foundation in your life. Ask God to help you commit to placing your faith in the truth He has shared.
• Pray for your group to be committed to living a wise life built on the rock of Jesus. Pray for those in your life living on sandy foundation and that they will turn to Jesus with their life.