A Listening Heart // Rockford Campus // September 8, 2024

 

Storytellers: A Listening Heart

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE

 

REMINDERS

Join us at the Groups Summit on Sunday, September 29th for an evening of fellowship and fun as we circle up around our value of RELATE. We will be hearing stories and teaching about why Groups matter so much to Magnify Church—past, present, and future. All groups should plan to attend, as well as anyone who is interested in joining a group or who wants to learn about groups at Magnify.

We’ll be hosting a social time between 5:30–6pm with hors d’oeuvre and small desserts. Programming starts promptly at 6pm. You can find more information on the events section of the website.

 

LEADER DEVELOPMENT CLASS (Sun. Oct 6, 6–7pm – Rockford Campus Room 300)

We’re relaunching our LDC this fall! Come join fellow group leaders from various ministries to both get sharper and help sharpen others in faith. Whether you’ve led a group for 20 years or you’re just getting started, this class is open to all leaders young and old. No RSVP necessary.

New Leaders:  Please plan to attend 8 of these classes over the course of Oct. 2024 through April 2025.

Veteran Leaders: Please plan to attend 4 of these classes between Oct. 2024 through April 2025.

 

TOGETHER IN LIFE

In Sunday’s sermon, Stu talked about the importance of taking care of how we hear or listen to God and others. Thinking back over your life, what is some of the best advice that you have ever received? Did you take this advice at the time it was given to you?

 

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 8:4–15 | A Listening Heart

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

 

THE FOUR SOILS

• What are the four types of soil that Jesus illustrates in this parable?
• In verses 11–15, which of these four soils does Jesus say heard the Word of God? Yet which of the four soils allowed the seed to grow deep roots and bear a full crop of fruit?
• If each of the soils heard the Word of God, why did only one yield a full crop of fruit?
• What do you think Jesus intends for us to get out of this parable?

 

TAKING CARE HOW WE HEAR

In verse 18, Jesus says, “Take care then how you hear.” The word He used for “hear” means not just to hear what was said but to receive the message.

• Looking back at verses 4-15, how many times does Jesus use the word “hear” or some form of it?
• Why do you think this is? What does this parable tell us about the importance of hearing, or receiving God’s message, in the Christian life?
• Jesus told the people to “take care” how they hear. What does this suggest about our personal role in hearing the Word of God?

As followers of Jesus, we each have the ability to hear from Him through the Spirit of God, the Word of God, and the people of God, and we often need all three in order to correctly receive the message. Consider for a few minutes the ways in which you take care to hear on a daily basis. What habits do you have in place in order to hear and be transformed by the Word of God?

 

HOLD FAST

In verse 15 Jesus says, “As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”

The phrase “hold it fast” or “hold fast” is used several times in the New Testament, including in Jesus’ letters to the churches in Revelation. Turning in your Bibles to the book of Revelation, read the following verses: Revelation 2:13, 25; 3:11.

• What do you think it means to “hold fast” the Word of God?
• How does this relate to Jesus’s illustration of the four soils?
• In Luke 4:15 what does Jesus say the result will be of holding fast to the Word of God?
• In Revelation 3:11 what does Jesus say will be the eternal result of holding fast to the Word of God?

 

TWO QUESTIONS

At the beginning of his sermon, Stu stated that this parable invites us to ask two questions:

QUESTIONS:

• What does this parable tell us about the world and about how God’s Word goes forth and is received or not received by human hearts?
• What does this parable show us about each of our hearts as they actually are (i.e. is there any conviction here for me)?

Take a few minutes to consider each of those questions and share as you are comfortable.

 

TOGETHER IN ACTION

Our next steps as a church this week are to:

• Ask someone who loves you, “Am I a good listener to God and others?”
• Identify the soil that most accurately reflects your heart. Share this with your group or a fellow believer and ask them to pray for you.
• Name some of the thorns in your life (cares / worries, riches, pleasures) that are choking out faith and obedience. Bring these to God daily in repentance and prayer.

 

TOGETHER IN PRAYER

“Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.” – Psalm 85:8

• Pray that each of you would have ears to hear what God is saying to you in His Word.
• Pray that God would soften your hearts to receive it.
• Pray that God would cause you to grow roots down deep into His love, so that you can withstand the trials of life with faith.
• Pray that God would help you uproot thorns (worries, cares, and pleasures that are choking out your obedience or your faith) or put anything that has taken first place in your life in its right place.
• Pray that God would make your hearts to be good soil that gladly receives His Word, holds it fast, and yields a harvest of righteousness with patience