Kurt Dillinger                                                    Rockford Campus                                          February 11, 2024

 

Making Known the Father’s Heart for Life

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE

 

REMINDERS

Ignite 2.0 (Feb. 25 5:30pm) – We’re excited to re-try the Ignite event to celebrate and encourage our volunteers. Even if you signed up last time, please sign-up again for this new date:  https://magnifychurch.org/event/ignite/

Leader Development Class (Sunday nights) – We relaunched the LDC this Winter and so far, it’s been GREAT dialogue. This Winter, we’re going after topics that are incredibly relevant to your leadership including:

• Crucial Conversations
• Gospel Conversations

Please plan to come to 3-4 over the coming months to be sharpened and equipped as a leader!

 

TOGETHER IN LIFE

This Sunday is a big day for American sports. Growing up, what were parents like when it came to sports? Was one more into it than the other? Did they gravitate toward different sports? Were they more likely to watch or play? Did they encourage you to be athletic?

 

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

Every year we set aside time as a church to remember the sanctity of human life, with special concern for the lives of those in the womb. Instead of one key passage, this week’s message explored three key texts.

 

Likeness

Read (out loud, as a group): Genesis 1:27 & 2:7. See also Gen. 2:21–22.

Human beings were made in God’s image, set apart uniquely from everything else God made. This includes capacities we have that the rest of creation doesn’t, including the capacity to have a loving relationship with God.

QUESTIONS

• Answer Kurt’s question from the sermon: what comes to mind when you think about God? Try to give an honest answer rather than a textbook answer.
• Scholars debate what “the image of God” means, but it’s easy to see the ways that humans are unique in God’s creation. What are some of the unique capacities we have as human beings, whether from Kurt’s list or from your own studies?
• In what ways is it easy to see and remember God’s image in others (and in yourself)? In what ways is it hard to see and remember?
• Is there anyone in particular that you are tempted to devalue or denigrate? Why?

 

Loving

Read (out loud, as a group): John 3:16

God showed His love for us in this way: He gave up what is most precious—His Son—for people who were not just in need but who were His enemies. Jesus came to make a way for us back to God the Father, by faith, for eternity.

QUESTIONS

• If the gift of God is Jesus Christ Himself, how valuable is that gift? What does it say about the Giver?
• In what ways does the value of the Gift and Giver honor the one receiving the gift? Is this a gift we deserved? Is there anything someone could do to be worthy of such a valuable gift?
• Are there any obstacles that prevent you from believing God loves you?

 

Kurt connected the gift of eternal life with the value of being “pro-life.” Leaving politics behind for a moment, in what ways is God pro-life? You may want to consider verses like John 1:3–5; Acts 17:24–25; 1 Cor. 3:6; 1 Cor. 15:21–22; and Rev. 21:5.

 

Living

Read (out loud, as a group): Ephesians 5:1–2

If every human being has dignity and worth because of creation, and if every human being is further honored by being someone for whom Jesus was willing to come and die, then our lives should reflect the love God has for people.

QUESTIONS

• In what ways does God show His love for others? What does it mean to say that Jesus “walked in love”?
• What ways of loving others come easily to you? (E.g., welcoming, serving, listening, giving.) Which ways of loving others are more challenging for you?
• Abortion is a subject that can really stir up people’s passions. In what ways do we sometimes fail to love others when we talk about this subject? In what ways do we sometimes fail to love others when we don’t talk about this subject?
• Is there anything that you need to change about the way you care for the unborn? Is there anything you need to change about the way you care for those who are pro-choice?

 

TOGETHER IN PRAYER

Take time to pray as a group for the unborn in your neighborhood, in West Michigan, in our state and nation, and around the world.

• Pray for expectant mothers, for their health and well-being.
• Pray for expectant fathers, for their hopes and fears.
• Pray for those with unexpected or unwanted pregnancies, that they would not seek abortion as a way out.
• Pray for those with medical complications, that they would be spared from having to choose between the life of the child and the life of the mother.
• Pray for those with birth defects, that their expecting parents would see their value and protect their lives.
• Pray for those in positions of leadership, that their hearts would be soft to what matters most to God.