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.

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

 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.