Don Denyes // Rockford Campus // January 12, 2025

SMALL GROUP
DISCUSSION GUIDE

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 13:18–21

REMINDERS

WINTER BIBLE STUDIES (Beginning the week of January 12, 2025)

Both Men’s and Women’s Winter Bible Studies begin this week at the Rockford and Northview campuses. Registration for each is open on the events page of the website.

LEADER DEVELOPMENT CLASS (Sundays, 6–7pm – Rockford Campus, “The Pond” downstairs by the library)

We’ve had some terrific LDC’s covering the topic of how to navigate Crucial Conversations. Thank you to the leaders who have been able to make it!

This Sunday, Jan. 19, we will wrap up our discussion on Crucial Conversations with one final skill: State Your Path. We’ll talk about how to create connection in difficult conversations and speak persuasively, not abrasively. Join us!

Jan. 19: Crucial Conversations
Jan 26: No Sunday nights due to Ignite (Friday, January 24)
Feb 2: We’ll begin a series on Lead by Paul David Tripp

TOGETHER IN LIFE

Before you begin, take a few minutes to pray for those all over the world who are experiencing a crisis that you know about, such as those impacted by the California wildfires. Pray that God would use these crises to bring the gospel of hope to all needy hearts.

Icebreaker: in his sermon, Don Denyes told the story of a man who judged Thomas Jefferson by his face. Using this man’s terms, would you say you have a “yes” face or a “no” face? Explain why.

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 13:18–21

Note: If you are meeting as a group, we encourage you to read the entire text together out loud.

KEY QUESTION:

• How might God be at work in ways you can’t see?

GOING DEEPER:

Kingdom Expectations

Luke records two parables that Jesus taught back-to-back about the kingdom of God. Each parable illustrates a point about the growth of the kingdom of God: it starts out so small that it’s nearly imperceptible, yet it grows and advances until it has completely taken over.

Jesus’ disciples expected the kingdom of God to appear as soon as Jesus reached Jerusalem. They didn’t understand the big picture and God’s full plan for His Son and His people’s redemption.

Like the people of Jesus’ day, we can have a vision of how we expect God to be working in our lives and in the lives of the people around us, and we can miss what God is inviting us into through circumstances that don’t go as we desire or expect.

The Kingdom of God Grows Like a Mustard Seed

The gospel of Luke talks about the kingdom of God thirty-two times, which is more than any other gospel. This makes the kingdom of God a major theme of Luke’s narrative. It’s clear Jesus wanted those who came to hear Him speak to understand truths about the kingdom of God and its present and eternal realities. Read Luke 4:43 and 8:10.

QUESTIONS

• Do you think the kingdom of God is advancing or diminishing in the world today? Why?
• Do you see your role as a disciple of Jesus Christ to be planting seeds of faith and truth in the lives of those around you? What are some of the ways you aim to do this today?

The Kingdom of God Grows Like Leaven in a Lump of Dough

When the Bible speaks of leaven or yeast infiltrating something, it’s a word picture for how positive or negative influences can infiltrate and affect everything around them. A little bit of leaven is added to a small amount of flour, and suddenly it spreads throughout the flour and the whole thing comes alive! The kingdom of God does the same, infiltrating hearts and minds and bringing people to new and eternal life.

QUESTIONS

• Can you remember a time when a small “seed” (a word spoken to you, an example set by another person, a short interaction) yielded big results in your life? What was that like?
• Talk about a time when a prayer or a dream didn’t come to fruition in the way you hoped it would or expected it to. Looking back, can you see how God used it to advance His kingdom in your heart and life?

The Growth of the Kingdom of God is Both External and Expansive and Internal and Pervasive

Read Jesus’ words in Luke 17:20-21.

QUESTIONS

• Where could the kingdom of God be in your midst right now in a way that might not be readily apparent to others? What seeds are being planted and growing?

 

TOGETHER IN ACTION

Commit to praying that God will advance His kingdom in your heart and in the hearts of the people in your life.

Ask God to show you ways in which you can advance His kingdom in your sphere of influence in your prayers, your thoughts, your words, and your actions.

TOGETHER IN PRAYER

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. – 1 Corinthians 15:58

Pray together as a group:

• That God will advance His kingdom in your heart and in the hearts of the people in your life.
• That God will show you ways in which you can advance His kingdom in your sphere of influence in your prayers, your thoughts, your words, and your actions.
• That God would give you the eyes to see His kingdom advancing, even in the seemingly imperceptible ways. And the faith to believe it is advancing even when you can’t see it.