Seek. Love. Walk. (Discussion Guide)

This Guide is also available as a .pdf here.

Seek. Love. Walk.

Life Group Discussion Guide

November 2013

Here’s the series description to help you frame conversation:

Seek. Love. Walk.

Imagine for a moment that you’ve been invited to take part in a great adventure—one that will require strength and courage, agility and determination—and that you’ve been given every resource you could possibly need to fully participate. Though the journey and outcome may not be clear at the outset, most of us would jump into the opportunity to know what it is to be fully alive as we take those steps of adventure.

When we respond to the invitation to follow Jesus, we say ‘yes’ to a life of this kind of epic experience…but it’s an adventure we can’t (and wouldn’t really want to) take alone: we need each other. We know that God has prepared Sandy Lake Wesleyan as a body to be a force of love, hope, and power in our region; and we’re convinced that a great adventure like no other awaits each of us as we lean into what it means to seek, love, and walk together.

Join with us as we discover more of what it looks like to live the life of purpose and adventure we can only find in Jesus…and how to live that purpose and adventure on a grand scale by intentionally living as an “SLW church.” 

What Scripture has God been pulling to the forefront of your mind from this series? 

What do you think He’s calling you to be or do through that Scripture?

How can your Life Group members help you lean into that? 

What part of following Jesus has seemed adventurous for you this week? 

What can you do to be positioned to experience more of this adventure?

If answering this question is a challenge for you, how can you be more sensitive to
opportunities for adventure in Jesus?

You’ve been hearing about some of what it seems God has for SLW in our next season—what roles do you think you, your family, your Life Group can have in some of the next-step opportunities?

What are specific ways you can Seek-Love-Walk at home/school/work tomorrow?
This week? 

Share with your Group and followup throughout the series—share stories of the
crazy-cool things God does as you take these steps.

Renovate! Discussion Guide

This Guide is also available as a .pdf here.

RENOVATE

Life Group Discussion Guide

October 2013

Here’s the description of this month’s message series:

Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.  ~ Colossians 3:10, NLT

Anyone who's ever been through a renovation knows the process can be messy, dusty, and a little frustrating…but on the other side of all that activity it seems everything changes. Rooms, levels, even whole buildings can find new life and purpose, making the journey of renewal more than worth the wait and pain of remodeling.

One of the incredible things about God's great love for us is that when we encounter Him, He begins to renovate our lives. Things can get messy and a little challenging, but we find ourselves being made into what he designed us for all along.

Join us throughout the RENOVATE series where we'll examine what it looks like to ask God to look into each room of our lives as the master architect that He is, expecting Him to make us new from the inside out. Along the we way, we'll experience the incredible adventure of being re-formed by the Holy Spirit, released into new life and purpose we may never have known existed.

• What Scripture from the series’s messages has God been brining to mind? How has this been encouraging? Convicting? Perspective-changing?
  
• What specific aspect of ‘renovation’ was discussed this week? How did this resonate with you? What about this discussion was especially challenging or uncomfortable?
  
• What thoughts or ideas from the messages have stuck out to you the most?
  
• Have you ever experienced him renovating aspects of your life? How would you explain that process to others? What are the best parts of this renovation? The hardest?

• How is God revealing Himself as the architect of your life in this season?  Has he identified areas he would like to renovate right now? How can your Group members be praying for you in this?
  
• Based on what you’ve heard and discussed, what do you think God is calling you to do or become...
• ...as an individual?
• ...as part of community (family, workplace, neighborhood, etc.)?
• ...as a local church?
  
  What does it look like to start taking action on these things?

Great Grace | Extend (Discussion Guide)

This Guide is available for download here.

Life Group Discussion Guide :: Sunday, May 12, 2013 (JXG) 

Sandy Lake Wesleyan :: Pastor Shawn

Great Grace | Extend (Week 4)

Remember, this Guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of what can be discussed, but is best used as a guide to help your Group process what God is teaching them. Read through the discussion points below and 

prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit would have you work through.

------------------------------------------------------

 Be sure to pray for, encourage each other, 

and share the victories God is giving your Group.

This Week: (These questions will follow the rest of the series and should provide wide-ranging discussion for your Group on an ongoing basis. Be mindful of the opportunity to call each other and journey to ‘more’ as a Group. If the challenge to become more like Jesus isn’t felt in your Life Group, it’s probably not happening anywhere for your Group members.)

What Scripture/portion of Scripture resonated with you the most? 

What does the Holy Spirit seem to be saying to you through His Word?

Here are the Scriptures used this morning:

• Matthew 18:21-35
• Matthew 6:14-15
• Philippians 3:7-8

What aspect of grace came alive to you this week? 

What does it look like to take that and live it out in the week(s) ahead?

What did you hear/discover that was new or fresh for you this week? 

What is God calling you to do or be with what he has shown you?

What did you wish had been unpacked a little more in the message? Why? What insights does the Group have into those questions or areas you hoped to go deeper into?

What is currently your greatest challenge in knowing, receiving, embracing, and extending grace (these are the four themes of the current series)? 

Pray for each other as these challenges are identified. 

What was this week’s ‘prayer time’ opportunity or ‘So what? Now what?’ opportunity?  

How can you participate in it as a Group? 

How can your Group pray for you as you seek to do these things on your own?

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO LET GRACE DEFINE US? TO BE A PEOPLE MARKED BY GRACE?

Great Grace | Embrace (Discussion Guide)

This Guide is available as a .pdf here.

Life Group Discussion Guide :: Sunday, May 05, 2013 (JXG) 

Sandy Lake Wesleyan :: Pastor Shawn

Great Grace | Embrace (Week 3)

Remember, this Guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of what can be discussed, but is best used as a guide to help your Group process what God is teaching them. Read through the discussion points below and 

prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit would have you work through.

------------------------------------------------------

 Be sure to pray for, encourage each other, 

and share the victories God is giving your Group.

This Week: (These questions will follow the rest of the series and should provide wide-ranging discussion for your Group on an ongoing basis. Be mindful of the opportunity to call each other and journey to ‘more’ as a Group. If the challenge to become more like Jesus isn’t felt in your Life Group, it’s probably not happening anywhere for your Group members.)

What Scripture/portion of Scripture resonated with you the most? 

What does the Holy Spirit seem to be saying to you through His Word?

Here are the Scriptures used this morning:

• Romans 3:23-24

• Genesis 3:1-6

• Philippians 3:12-21

• Romans 8:1

What aspect of grace came alive to you this week? 

What does it look like to take that and live it out in the week(s) ahead?

What did you hear/discover that was new or fresh for you this week? 

What is God calling you to do or be with what he has shown you?

What did you wish had been unpacked a little more in the message? Why? What insights does the Group have into those questions or areas you hoped to go deeper into?

What is currently your greatest challenge in knowing, receiving, embracing, and extending grace (these are the four themes of the current series)? 

Pray for each other as these challenges are identified. 

What was this week’s ‘prayer time’ opportunity or 'so what? now what?' opportunity? 

How can you participate in it as a Group? 

How can your Group pray for you as you seek to do these things on your own?

Transition Announcement (Discussion Guide)

This Guide is available as a .pdf here.

Life Group Discussion Guide :: Sunday, April 21, 2013 (JXG) 

Sandy Lake Wesleyan :: Pastor Shawn & Scott Powell

Remember, this Guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of what can be discussed, but is best used as a guide to help your Group process what God is teaching them. Read through the discussion points below and 

prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit would have you work through.

------------------------------------------------------

 Be sure to pray for, encourage each other, 

and share the victories God is giving your Group.

This week:

As you know, this week, we ‘paused’ our Great Grace series in order to have a conversation as a church family. Use this Guide as a way to direct your conversation as a Group:

It was clearly communicated that Pastor Shawn’s resignation was not a decision on his part, but discerning the will of God: An act of obedience.

What is the difference between decision and discernment? How is one done in our own strength while the other the act of a disciple?

Read Proverbs 16:9

It’s easy to see how this might apply to Pastor Shawn and his family, but how does this apply to your life? How do you think this applies to Sandy Lake Wesleyan as we lean into the future?

How can your Group members position each other to discern and obey rather than to make decisions which may not reflect God’s design?

“We can’t grow without change. We can’t change without letting go. We can’t let go without some loss, and that brings grief… Grief is the tunnel of growth.” ~ Rick Warren

What are your thoughts on this? How are you processing this? How can you help each other ‘walk through the tunnel of grief’ during this time?

Pastor Shawn shared the following stages of grief in the life of a believer:

:: Denial

:: Anger

:: Bargaining

:: Depression

:: Acceptance

:: Hope 

What is our call to each other during these stages of grief in sending the Cossins to their next assignment?  How is their beauty and meaning in this process? 

During this season of transition, there will be opportunity for spiritual battle in which the enemy uses the ‘D’s’--doubt, discouragement, despair, deception--to push us into fear, isolation, victim mentality. 

How do we avoid being stuck in this cycle? How do we speak truth and hope into others? How can you position yourself as one who leans forward into what God is doing and calls other people into more? What does it look like to resist the enemy; how can we help others resist him?

What is the hope in this time? What are the truths of Scripture you will choose to meditate on in the current season? How will you ensure you are positioned to embark on what is next for you and SLW?

Great Grace | Receive (Discussion Guide)

Note: This Guide is also available as a .pdf here.

Life Group Discussion Guide :: Sunday, April 14, 2013 (JXG) 

Sandy Lake Wesleyan :: Pastor Shawn

Great Grace | Receive (Week 2)

Remember, this Guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of what can be discussed, but is best used as a guide to help your Group process what God is teaching them. Read through the discussion points below and 

prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit would have you work through.

------------------------------------------------------

 Be sure to pray for, encourage each other, 

and share the victories God is giving your Group.

From Last Week (Great Grace, wk 1 | Know)

Read Philippians 3:7-11

Why is Paul’s insistence that everything he had worked for is ‘garbage’ significant?

What role does the power of the resurrection seem to play in this assertion?

What does it mean to ‘know know the power of the resurrection and participation in his sufferings?’ How is knowing the power of the resurrection and participation in the suffering of Jesus connected?

Read Philippians 3:12-13

What is significant about Paul’s ‘forward-leaning’ posture here?

How can we lay hold of the goal of new life and continue to pursue Jesus?

How do we avoid the pitfall of making our ‘pursuit’ one of more legalism?

Read Ephesians 2:3-5

What do we see as the hope of great grace in this passage?

Why is there the reminder “it is by grace you have been saved?”

Read 1 Corinthians 15:22

What does it mean that ‘in Adam all died?’ How is understanding this vital to how we live in the light of Jesus’s resurrection?

Pastor Jeremiah repeated this statement a couple times: There is nothing you have ever done which cannot be forgiven. Nothing you have ever done which must define you. No part of you which God cannot make new in the power of the resurrection.

What was your initial thought about this?

How do we move this from being something that is simple ‘head knowledge’ to allowing it to penetrate our heart.

What do you think the further ripple of this truth might be?

Our “So What? Now What?” next steps were to, over the rest of this series:

:: Ask God to teach you what you don’t yet know about grace (ask him to move you from having a definition to knowing the meaning of great grace).

:: Ask God to show you where you need to experience his great grace.

This Week: (These questions will follow the rest of the series and should provide wide-ranging discussion for your Group on an ongoing basis. Be mindful of the opportunity to call each other and journey to ‘more’ as a Group. If the challenge to become more like Jesus isn’t felt in your Life Group, it’s probably not happening anywhere for your Group members.)

What Scripture/portion of Scripture resonated with you the most? 

What does the Holy Spirit seem to be saying to you through His Word?

Here are the Scriptures used this morning:

• Ephesians 2:8

• 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

• Hebrews 4:16

What aspect of grace came alive to you this week? 

What does it look like to take that and live it out in the week(s) ahead?

What did you hear/discover that was new or fresh for you this week? 

What is God calling you to do or be with what he has shown you?

What did you wish had been unpacked a little more in the message? Why? What insights does the Group have into those questions or areas you hoped to go deeper into?

What is currently your greatest challenge in knowing, receiving, embracing, and extending grace (these are the four themes of the current series)? 

Pray for each other as these challenges are identified. 

What was this week’s ‘prayer time’ opportunity (Hint: it involved repentance vs. apology; and moving into the way of grace)? 

How can you participate in it as a Group? 

How can your Group pray for you as you seek to do these things on your own?

Great Grace | Know (Discussion Guide)

This Guide is available as a .pdf here.

Life Group Discussion Guide :: Sunday, April 07, 2013 (JXG) 

Sandy Lake Wesleyan :: Pastor Jeremiah

Great Grace | Know (Week 1)

Remember, this Guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of what can be discussed, but is best used as a guide to help your Group process what God is teaching them. Read through the discussion points below and 

prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit would have you work through.

------------------------------------------------------

 Be sure to pray for, encourage each other, 

and share the victories God is giving your Group.

From Last Week (King Me, wk 4 | Jesus):

Pastor Shawn said, “We’re all looking for a king.” What do you think he meant by that? What are ways we can see the truth of this both in and around us?

Read Ephesians 2:1-3

How does this show the reality that ‘everybody gets lost, we all lose courage & live in fear, we were all created to be wise, it live foolishly?

Read John 1:9-13

What sticks out to you? 

What seems significant about Jesus’s interaction with those around him?

What is the great hope seen here. 

Read 1 Peter 1:3-4

How is the Resurrection of Jesus vital to our adoption?

What does Jesus’s resurrection do?

What do you think it does beyond what’s shown in this Scripture?

Read Ephesians 2:8-9

Why would the writer highlight the difference between ‘works’ and ‘grace’ here?

What is significant to us as we seek to live in the light of the resurrection?

This Week:

Have you ever tried to force some part of your life to take the shape or form of something else? What did that entail? What was the end result?

Read Philippians 3:7-11

Why is Paul’s insistence that everything he had worked for is ‘garbage’ significant?

What role does the power of the resurrection seem to play in this assertion?

What does it mean to ‘know know the power of the resurrection and participation in his sufferings?’ How is knowing the power of the resurrection and participation in the suffering of Jesus connected?

Read Philippians 3:12-13

What is significant about Paul’s ‘forward-leaning’ posture here?

How can we lay hold of the goal of new life and continue to pursue Jesus?

How do we avoid the pitfall of making our ‘pursuit’ one of more legalism?

Read Ephesians 2:3-5

What do we see as the hope of great grace in this passage?

Why is there the reminder “it is by grace you have been saved?”

Read 1 Corinthians 15:22

What does it mean that ‘in Adam all died?’ How is understanding this vital to how we live in the light of Jesus’s resurrection?

Pastor Jeremiah repeated this statement a couple times: There is nothing you have ever done which cannot be forgiven. Nothing you have ever done which must define you. No part of you which God cannot make new in the power of the resurrection.

What was your initial thought about this?

How do we move this from being something that is simple ‘head knowledge’ to allowing it to penetrate our heart.

What do you think the further ripple of this truth might be?

Our “So What? Now What?” next steps were to, over the rest of this series:

:: Ask God to teach you what you don’t yet know about grace (ask him to move you from having a definition to knowing the meaning of great grace).

:: Ask God to show you where you need to experience his great grace.

Take time as Group to pray for one another--that he would answer these questions for you and show you where he desires the power of resurrection to be seen and known in your life.

Continue to challenge each other to pray these things throughout the rest of the Great Grace series. 

King Me | Solomon (Discussion Guide)

A pdf of this Guide is available here.

Life Group Discussion Guide :: Sunday, March 24, 2013 (JXG) 

Sandy Lake Wesleyan :: Pastor Shawn

King Me | Solomon (Week 3)

Remember, this Guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of what can be discussed, but is best used as a guide to help your Group process what God is teaching them. Read through the discussion points below and 

prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit would have you work through.

------------------------------------------------------

 Be sure to pray for, encourage each other, 

and share the victories God is giving your Group.

From Last Week (King Me, wk 2 | David):

“In everything He did, David had great success because God was with him.”

What does this have to do with the matter of submission to God’s authority in our lives?

How do we remain in a position of living under God’s favor rather than pursuing our own authority/glory/leadership?

Read 2 Samuel 5:1-5

The ‘gap’ between David’s anointing as king and stepping into that role is significant (twenty years-ish). What does this speak to you about waiting for God’s promise? What else seems significant to you in this passage--what is God calling you to do with that insight/observation?

Read 2 Samuel 11:1-3

How do we see that David ‘neglected his duty?’ 

What are ways we can be found not doing our duty (the things God asks/leads us to do)? (See below for further discussion of the cycle seen in this passage.)

Read John 14:21 

What is evidence of our love for God? What happens when we love God?

Pastor Shawn unpacked the cycle of love-trust-obey-know seen in John 14:21 and how we can compromise in any of these. We discussed the following three factors:, and discussed the three factors that line up to create a day ripe with opportunity to fall--we called them a DOT day:

Desire (shifting love for desire) | We can determine love or desire by asking, “Who does this say I love”

Opportunity (creating an opportunity to fulfill our desire) | We can determine trust or desire by asking, “Who’s agenda am I following?”

Time (making/dedicating time to fulfill our desire) | We can determine obedience or dedicating time by asking, “Who’s authority am I under?”

“We reveal our true king by what we do today.” What does this mean? What is God revealing to you about kingship in your life? What does it look like to position Him as King through what you do today?

We were asked, “What is one thing you can do this week to avoid a DOT day?” Answer this question with your Group--take time to pray for each other and hold one another accountable to what is identified.

This Week: (invite your members to live-sent.blogspot.com for “10 Heart Questions)

Read Genesis 49:10-11 | What jumps out to you as you read this passage in light of Palm Sunday and our observance of Holy Week? Why is it significant that this hope was prophesied long before Moses, much less the other promises of Messiah?

“The impact of our life is not governed by abilities but the condition of our heart and location of the crown.” 

:: In what ways is this statement full of hope?

:: How does this serve as a warning?

:: How have you seen this in the people who have gad the greatest impact in your own life?

Read 1 Kings 3:1-3

:: What is significant about the ‘except’ in this passage?

:: How does this line up with what’s in 1 Kings 2:1-4? What kind of tension might this have brought in Solomon’s life?

Read 1 Kings 9:4-5

:: This is the third direct communication Solomon had regarding the need for an obedient heart. Why is this significant in the life of Solomon (cf. 1 Kings 11:12-13)?

:: Only 8 of the following kings in either Israel or Judah had a heart for God--why is this important to know? How does this put perspective on the decisions we make each day as far as our own obedience and heart for God?

“In Christ, we have freedom and can choose--any time we sin, it’s a choice.” How did this statement resonate with you? What are ways we can be vulnerable to making a choice that moves us away from the things of God? How can we be positioned to consistently choose the way of Jesus? (cf. Psalm 111:10a and Psalm 119:11)

We were asked, 

“How is your heart--the center of your will?” 

Read Proverbs 4:23.

:: Why is it significant that Solomon wrote this passage?

:: How can we discern ‘how our heart’ is doing? 

Matthew 6:19-21, 24 | What is one of the ways we can determine how our heart is doing shown here? What does this show us about a divided heart?

We were asked, “What are you indulging in your life that will keep you from having a heart for God?” 

(Why not take time as a Group right now to ask the Holy Spirit to search and show you individually the condition of your heart? Share what He shows you with someone you trust in order to journey with them as God calls you to living with an undivided heart.) 

What does it look like to “reposition the Crown & make Jesus King,” or to reaffirm Jesus as King? | to Remain in the Know-Love-Trust-Obey cycle?

King Me | David (Discussion Guide)

This Guide is available for download as a .pdf here.

Life Group Discussion Guide :: Sunday, March 17, 2013 (JXG) 

Sandy Lake Wesleyan :: Pastor Shawn

King Me | David (Week 2)

Remember, this Guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of what can be discussed, but is best used as a guide to help your Group process what God is teaching them. Read through the discussion points below and 

prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit would have you work through.

------------------------------------------------------

 Be sure to pray for, encourage each other, 

and share the victories God is giving your Group.

From Last Week (King Me, wk 1 | Saul):

Read 1 Samuel 8:4-7

How were the people rejecting God as King?

What reason do the people give for wanting a king?

How can we do the same thing? 

Do you think in searching for our own kings, we can reject God, too? How can we avoid that?

Read 1 Samuel 10:1

How do we see God allowing a leader but retaining Kingship for Himself?

Why is this significant?

Read 1 Samuel 11:12-15

Samuel recognizes and affirms a kingship--who’s is it (hint, it isn’t Saul’s)?

Why is it significant that the people confirm Saul ‘as king in the presence of the LORD.’

Read 1 Samuel 12:16-19

What sticks out to you as part of this rebuke from Samuel?

How was ‘asking for a king’ an evil thing?

How do we see God’s desire for us to choose him in this and other passages?

Why is this a sign of God’s sovereignty and love?

How does this change the way we understand the people’s rejection of God as King?

“Israel ultimately kinged themselves...taking authority which should have been God’s alone and assuming it as their own.”

We do the same thing of making what God is doing more about ourselves than God. How can we maintain a focus on who God is, what he is doing, and what he desires?

How do we do this when it not only means possibly missing out on 

                personal benefit but can be tremendously costly?

“If you add anything to Jesus as a requirement for being happy, that’s your real king.” ~ Tim Keller

How did this resonate with you? What part of this did you resist--how is that resistance evidence of yearning for more than Jesus? What have you ‘added to the happiness equation’ in your life? 

This Week:

Read Romans 7:15 & 19 

Have you ever experienced this struggle? How did you navigate a time(s) like the conversation Paul shares here? What is the hope found within the context of this passage?

Read 1 Samuel 17:32-37

What is significant to you in this passage?

What is the significance of David’s insistence that God, not David, will fight the battle before him.

“In everything He did, David had great success because God was with him.”

What does this have to do with the matter of submission to God’s authority in our lives?

How do we remain in a position of living under God’s favor rather than pursuing our own authority/glory/leadership?

Read 2 Samuel 5:1-5

The ‘gap’ between David’s anointing as king and stepping into that role is significant (twenty years-ish). What does this speak to you about waiting for God’s promise? What else seems significant to you in this passage--what is God calling you to do with that insight/observation?

Read 2 Samuel 11:1-3

How do we see that David ‘neglected his duty?’ 

What are ways we can be found not doing our duty (the things God asks/leads us to do)? (See below for further discussion on the cycle seen in this passage.)

Read John 14:21 

What is evidence of our love for God? What happens when we love God?

Pastor Shawn unpacked the cycle of love-trust-obey-know seen in John 14:21 and how we can compromise in any of these. We discussed the following three factors:, and discussed the three factors that line up to create a day ripe with opportunity to fall--we called them a DOT day:

Desire (shifting love for desire) | We can determine love or desire by asking, “Who does this say I love”

Opportunity (creating an opportunity to fulfill our desire) | We can determine trust or desire by asking, “Who’s agenda am I following?”

Time (making/dedicating time to fulfill our desire) | We cand determine obedience or dedicating time by asking, “Who’s authority am I under?”

“We reveal our true king by what we do today.” What does this mean? What is God revealing to you about kingship in your life? What does it look like to position Him as King through what you do today?

We were asked, “What is one thing you can do this week to avoid a DOT day?” Answer this question with your Group--take time to pray for each other and hold one another accountable to what is identified.

This Week's Discussion Guide

This Guide is available for download as a .pdf here.

Life Group Discussion Guide :: Sunday, March 10, 2013 (JXG) 

Sandy Lake Wesleyan :: Pastor Shawn

King Me | Saul (Week 1)

Remember, this Guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of what can be discussed, but is best used as a guide to help your Group process what God is teaching them. Read through the discussion points below and 

prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit would have you work through.

------------------------------------------------------

 Be sure to pray for, encourage each other, 

and share the victories God is giving your Group.

From Last Week (Truth & Dare, week 5 | Submission):

“There are four influences that we allow to shape the way we live:

God | Others | Enemy | Self

We segment and divide how much influence any of these may have in us.

:: How have you seen this in your life?

:: What Scriptural examples can you think of that illustrate some of these?

:: How can we tell which of these has primary influence in our lives?

Pastor Shawn shared the following Seven Realities which have an impact on the way we submit to the authority of God/Scripture in our lives (how have you seen each of these play out in your life/the lives around you? What is the call to us in each of these principles?):

1. What we value determines how we live.
   ~ We don’t pursue what we don’t value. How can we tell what we value?
   ~ Read John 14:15 -- what does this say to us about pursuit, value, and authority?
2. We give authority to what we value.
   ~ Value creates influence, influence is authority.
   ~ Read John 21:15-17 -- what does this say about influence, authority, and what we value?
3. Who we give authority to determines what we do.
   ~ What examples from Peter’s life did Pastor Shawn use to illustrate this? Can you think of other examples in life/Scripture that show the same principle?
4. Going first takes courage
   ~ Living out the Bible is increasingly seen as ‘wrong’ in our culture… so how can we have the courage to live this out?
   ~ Read Matthew 14:25-30 -- how does this passage show us this truth?
5. Our lack of understanding limits our readiness to engage in the things God wants us t0.
6. God wants to be caught more than taught--He values pursuit more than knowledge.
   ~ What are symptoms we value knowing more than pursuing? How can we know we’re chasing after him?
7. Personal surrender is ‘table stakes’
   ~ Our salvation gets us ‘in the game’ but running and winning the race takes sacrifice and cost.
   ~ Read & discuss James 4:6b-10 --what is the call to greater submission?

This week:

Pastor Shawn said, “We’re all looking for a king.” What do you think he meant by that? How do you see this in your own life? In those around you?

Read 1 Samuel 8:4-7

How were the people rejecting God as King?

What reason do the people give for wanting a king?

How can we do the same thing? 

Do you think in searching for our own kings, we can reject God, too? How can we avoid that?

Read 1 Samuel 10:1

How do we see God allowing a leader but retaining Kingship for Himself?

Why is this significant?

Read 1 Samuel 11:12-15

Samuel recognizes and affirms a kingship--who’s is it (hint, it isn’t Saul’s)?

Why is it significant that the people confirm Saul ‘as king in the presence of the LORD.’

Read 1 Samuel 12:16-19

What sticks out to you as part of this rebuke from Samuel?

How was ‘asking for a king’ an evil thing?

How do we see God’s desire for us to choose him in this and other passages?

Why is this a sign of God’s sovereignty and love?

How does this change the way we understand the people’s rejection of God as King?

“Saul’s biggest issue is that he didn’t have a heart for God...Israel’s choice of him as king revealed they didn’t have a heart for God either.”

How do our choices of who has influence in our lives reveal our heart?

What are ways we can discover if we have a heart for God?

“Israel ultimately kinged themselves...taking authority which should have been God’s alone and assuming it as their own.”

We do the same thing of making what God is doing more about ourselves than God. How can we maintain a focus on who God is, what he is doing, and what he desires?

How do we do this when it not only means possibly missing out on
                personal benefit but can be tremendously costly?

“If you add anything to Jesus as a requirement for being happy, that’s your real king.” ~ Tim Keller

How did this resonate with you? What part of this did you resist--how is that resistance evidence of yearning for more than Jesus? What have you ‘added to the happiness equation’ in your life? Pray with one another as a Group that the Holy Spirit would reveal to each of you what true king you have followed and how to seek him first and foremost. How can you affirm Christ as King individually and as a Group?

This Week's Discussion Guide

This guide is available for download as a .pdf here.

Life Group Discussion Guide :: Sunday, March 3, 2013 (JXG) 

Sandy Lake Wesleyan :: Pastor Shawn

Truth & Dare | Submission (Week 5)

Remember, this Guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of what can be discussed, but is best used as a guide to help your Group process what God is teaching them. Read through the discussion points below and 

prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit would have you work through.

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 Be sure to pray for, encourage each other, 

and share the victories God is giving your Group.

From Last Week (Truth & Dare, week 4 | Unity):

Pastor Nate asked, what are some things a person could do to cause division in a church? 

:: What were some things the people in your Group came up with?

:: Do you think it was helpful to identify some of these things? Why or why not?

Read John 17:20-23

:: Why is it significant that Jesus prayed all of his later followers would be ‘one?’

:: What is ‘complete unity?’

:: What do you think this looks like in how we live and interact today?

:: This is part of Jesus’ prayer immediately before his arrest and eventual crucifixion--how does this lend a sense of urgency and purpose to Jesus’ prayer?

“The world will know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God...that God loves them by our unity.”

:: What are other things we tend to treat as more important than unity?

:: If we are not united, what happens to the other vehicles of ministry?

Pastor Nate asked, what can we do to promote unity?

:: What were some things people in your Group came up with in response to this question?

:: As we seek to know and love Christ more, we will grow in passion for what he is passionate about. How are His passions for unity and those who don’t know him connected?

Last week’s truth:

Our ability to live as one & be a unifier is more about our relationship with Christ than one another. -- What is the inherent call in this truth?

:: Read Ephesians 4:1-3

Why is the phrase, “make every effort” important here? How do we do this? 

:: Read Colossians 3:12-14 | What are examples of how we can live this out?

:: Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a | How does the fact that ‘God is love’ impact the way we read this passage? |  How should the fact that ‘love always...perseveres’ change the way we interact with each other and pursue unity?

Read John 15:9-14 | What is the command here? Why is it significant that this is a command, not just a suggestion or principle? What are ways we easily find ourselves living in rebellion against Jesus in this area?

This Week:

We were reminded of the Truth & Dare Series’ opening question--”What is the Bible to you?”

:: What do you think some of the answers are to this that others might give?

:: Has your answer changed at all over the course of this series?

“There are four influences that we allow to shape the way we live:

God | Others | Enemy | Self

We segment and divide how much influence any of these may have in us.

:: How have you seen this in your life?

:: What Scriptural examples can you think of that illustrate some of these?

:: How can we tell which of these has primary influence in our lives?

Pastor Shawn shared the following Seven Realities which have an impact on the way we submit to the authority of God/Scripture in our lives (how have you seen each of these play out in your life/the lives around you? What is the call to us in each of these principles?):

What we value determines how we live.

~ We don’t pursue what we don’t value. How can we tell what we value?

~ Read John 14:15 -- what does this say to us about pursuit, value, and authority?

We give authority to what we value.

~ Value creates influence, influence is authority.

~ Read John 21:15-17 -- what does this say about influence, authority, and what we value?

Value creates influence, influence is authority.

~ Read John 21:15-17 -- what does this say about influence, authority, and what we value?

Who we give authority to determines what we do.

~ What examples from Peter’s life did Pastor Shawn use to illustrate this? Can you think of other examples in life/Scripture that show the same principle?

Going first takes courage

~ Living out the Bible is increasingly seen as ‘wrong’ in our culture…so how can we have the courage to live this out?

~ Read Matthew 14:25-30 -- how does this passage show us this truth?

Our lack of understanding limits our readiness to engage in the things God wants us t0.

God wants to be caught more than taught--He values pursuit more than knowledge. 

~ What are symptoms we value knowing more than pursuing? How can we know we’re chasing after him?

~ What are symptoms we value knowing more than pursuing? How can we know we’re chasing after him?

Personal surrender is ‘table stakes’

~ Our salvation gets us ‘in the game’ but running and winning the race takes sacrifice and cost.

~ Read & discuss James 4:6b-10--what is the call to greater submission?

Our challenge is to desire God -- how can you and your Group spur oneanother on in this pursuit? What does it look like to do this together? Take time to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what he desires in this area.