Encounter God in Community
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.
Sermon 2.0 Discussion Guide
Week of December 2nd
Icebreaker
Will you go out and about through town and look at Christmas lights in December?
Scripture
Take a moment and read this weekend’s passages from Matthew 6:19-24 and Luke 12:13-21.
Observation
What do you observe within this passage of Scripture? Some basic observation questions are:
- What is the setting? What happened before this? 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 was the intended message to the audience this passage was written to?
- What is the main message Jesus is stating in both passages? What does He say will protect your hearts from the love of money?
- What was the focus of the rich fool? What is the foolishness within his focus?
- Based on the observations above, what can you apply to your life?
Application
Based on the observations above, what can you apply to your life and your understanding of God?
What has been the way you have viewed money, financial gain, or the addition of resources? Where did this viewpoint originate from or how did you come to this perspective?
What happens when a specific subject gets laser like focus? What are good things to give your focus to in your life? What happens to these good things when we give our focus to financial gain?
Read 1 Timothy 6:6-10. What are the truths about possessions and the dangers of desiring money? How does the love of money turn into a challenge to the heart and soul?
- How can we determine if we have a love of money?
Why is there a temptation to Live — Save — Give? What are your fears to living a Give — Save —Live life? How can this build your faith in God?
What are ways you can be kingdom minded in generosity? What are the hurdles you see in your life that make it difficult to being generous? What do you need to do to remove these hurdles?
What was your big takeaway from this weekend’s passage and message?
Prayer
Take time this evening to pray for these topics:
- Pray for your group to have an open heart to generosity. Pray for the Holy Spirit to show opportunities, convict where changes need to be, and to grow your faith in this area.
- Pray for your group and our church to have wisdom in the area of stewarding financial resources. Pray that we may have a focus on what God is directing us toward.
- Pray specifically for the Christmas Missions offering and the Beyond Today project at Gracepoint. Pray for souls to be impacted by the gospel through giving to these initiatives.