Don Pearson // Northview Campus // May 18, 2025

SMALL GROUP
DISCUSSION GUIDE

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 18:1-8

REMINDERS

Men @ Magnify Summer Bonfire (Wednesday, May 28, 7:00-9:00pm, The Barn 5330 Kies Road, Rockford)

All Men at Magnify are invited to hang out around a bonfire, eat snacks, play yard games, and talk about being a Godly Man in 2025. No need to register. Just bring a camp chair, a friend, your sons, grandsons, or nephews and if you want, a snack or drink to pass.

Summer is Coming!

Summer events are on the way! Stay in the know by keeping an eye on our events page.

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 18:1-8

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

KEY QUESTION:

• What prayers have you stopped praying out of discouragement or hopelessness?  How might God be calling you to persist in prayer?

GOING DEEPER:

Don asked, “Where is God in the story?” Is it about a quick formula or a long-term perspective?  He went on to explain that many sufferers do not get quick justice.  Don shared that the 1st and 8th verses serve as bookends for us to understand the parable.

Luke 18:1- “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” 

Luke 18:8- “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” 

The judge was not God-fearing, did not respect people and was unjust.  The widow was pleading for justice against her adversary.  So much of life is unfair!

Questions

• What is your normal response when you are treated unfairly or unjustly?
• Is there an example from your life where persistence paid off in overcoming suffering or injustice?  
• Why do you think the widow went to the judge?  Do you think she went to God first?

Quickly vs. Suddenly

Luke 18:7-8: “And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night?  Will He keep putting them off?  I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly.”

Don shared 2 interpretations of quickly in this passage: Quickly vs. suddenly

Quick Formula: Bother God so much that He will give in and grant your request.  It’ll be quick.

Long-Term Perspective:  Suffering feels long.  God is with us in it.  When He acts, it will be sudden.

Questions

• How do you explain the difference between quickly and suddenly?
• Is there a time when you were still suffering and felt like you hadn’t done the “formula” right?  What did you do next?  Did it make a difference?  Why or why not?
• Can you share an example from your life or from someone else’s life where suffering went on for a long time until God acted suddenly?  How did that impact your faith? Don shared what happens in the middle between Suffering and Suddenly. —  The answer is Faith!

Read Hebrews 11:1-3 and James 1:2-6.

Questions

• How do these passages help you to understand Luke 18:7-8?
• Jesus’ purpose in the parable was to tell us that we should always pray and not lose heart.  Are there situations that you have given up on that you feel differently about now?

TOGETHER IN ACTION

TOGETHER IN PRAYER

• Pray for faith to believe that God is not an unjust judge, but a loving Father who delights in you as His child.
• Pray that you will know you are a member of a spiritual family.
• Pray that you will grow in faith despite trials, suffering, and injustice.