Trent Heaton Rockford Campus August 6, 2023
Seek (Part 5: Fasting)
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE
REMINDERS
Our annual Praise in the Park and Beach Baptism events are both coming up this month. Hope to see you there! Consider attending one or both as a group.
TOGETHER IN LIFE
Lots of significant life events happen around food. Share a food-related memory with your group; it could be a best or worst experience, something funny, or something meaningful.
TOGETHER IN THE WORD
THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Matthew 6:16–18
Note: We encourage you to read the entire text together as a group out loud.
Big Idea
Fasting is often misunderstood, but Jesus expects us to do it. By setting aside food for a time—in a spirit of prayer—we humble ourselves before God, practice dependence on Him, redirect our hunger and thirst toward righteousness, and often experience greater unity with fellow believers.
Warm Up Questions
- Many people are uncomfortable talking about fasting because of this passage and the desire to keep their practices a secret. On a scale of 1 to 10, how uncomfortable are you in talking about fasting? Why? Is it more or less than talking about giving?
- Describe a typical meal in your house growing up. Did your family eat together or separately? Was it formal or anything but? Did your parents enjoy cooking or did you eat out a lot? Was food often a topic of conversation?
- Compare and contrast your family food traditions with your family’s fasting tradition. Was it something practiced together, talked about, or in some other way modeled for you? Were there rules and norms, whether spoken or unspoken?
Hunger and Longing
What we long for reveals a lot about who we are. The stronger our hunger, the more it focuses our actions and efforts. Trent mentioned football star Tom Brady as an example of getting what you long for and realizing there’s something more. (You can view the video here.) Fasting creates a physical hunger in us that can help us reveal and redirect those deeper longings in obedience to God.
QUESTIONS
- If a stranger next to you on an airplane asked what you were living for, what would you say?
- If you asked your closest friend or family member what they think you are living for, what would they say?
Humility and Surrender
At the heart of fasting is humbling yourself before God. A great model for this is tax collector depicted in Luke 18:9–14. It ends with the words “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Fasting is an act of humility that includes the whole self. As Chesterton reminds us, the Christian life has been found difficult and left untried, and this is often true of fasting for similar reasons.
QUESTIONS
- Which of the prayers in the Luke 18 passage sounds more like your prayers this past week? Why do you think this is?
- Has your experience with fasting been humbling? If so, was there something in particular that contributed to that? If not, why?
- Is there a particular area of your life that you have difficulty surrendering to God? Is it possible that pride is a contributing factor in this area? How might a more humble approach look different?
- Have you fasted about this area of your life? If not, is there anything preventing you?
Activity: Biblical Fasting Quiz
Without looking at any notes or helps, how many of the dos and don’ts of biblical fasting can you remember from the sermon? Use a sheet of paper or equivalent to make two columns—one for what biblical fasting is, the other for what it is not. (If you want to spice things up, divide into teams and compete! Set a timer for 2 minutes and compare lists at the end, or work on the same list but use different colors to note which answer came from which team. The team with the most right answers wins.)
When you have finished, consult the list of answers below and compare. What items did you miss? Did any surprise you?
How to Fast
Fasting is ultimately meant to be practiced. Trent challenged us this week to do just that. He suggested that if we are new to fasting, we should fast with an open mind, not let illegitimate excuses get in the way, and “just do it.” While it is possible to do it spontaneously and with nothing in mind, it’s far better to make a plan with a specific purpose and prepare accordingly. If you’re not new to fasting, consider “mixing it up” and changing your routine; one way might be fasting with someone rather than going solo.
PLAN
- When will you fast? From what? For how long?
- What will you fast toward? A specific request in your life or in the life of someone you care about that you could pray and fast toward?
- Will you include anyone else? If your group is struggling with fasting, consider fasting together.
- As you fast, meditate on the question “what am I hungry for?” Use this time to try and discern and evaluate your longings.
- As you fast, meditate on Jesus as the bread of life (John 6). Know that He sustains, and trust in His goodness and faithfulness.
TOGETHER IN PRAYER & ACTION
Re-read John 6:32–35 out loud together. Spend time in prayer thanking Jesus for satisfying all of our needs in His life, death, and resurrection. He is God in the flesh, who came down and tasted hunger for us and for our salvation. He fasted for 40 days before being tempted, enduring every test in physical weakness so that He might be our great high priest and faithful mediator. We look forward in hope to the day when we will feast with Him in the New Heavens and New Earth, in unhindered fellowship with Him and with one another. For now, the bridegroom has been taken from us, and in our praying and fasting we long for His return.
Biblical Fasting Quiz Answers
| What It Is – May be food and/or drink – May be total or partial – May be corporate or individual – ALWAYS with prayer – May be prescribed or voluntary – Involves the whole self – For the purpose of mourning, grieving, remembering, commemorating, consecrating, or seeking – Necessary for our spiritual health – Transformative – Uniting (when done corporately) |
What It Isn’t – Extra credit / good karma – A means of control / leverage against God – Dieting – About you! |
