Don Pearson // Northview Campus // May 11, 2025

SMALL GROUP
DISCUSSION GUIDE

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 17:11-19

REMINDERS

Annual Business Meeting (Sunday, May 18 6:00-8:00pm, Rockford Auditorium)

All Magnify Members are invited by the church board for an important meeting and a time of celebrating God’s faithfulness throughout the past year. Please watch for agenda items, ways to be a part of the meeting, and voting options.

*Note, anyone can attend this meeting, however only members are allowed to speak and vote

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 LIFE

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you didn’t fit in?  What made you feel that way?

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 17:11-19

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

KEY QUESTION:

GOING DEEPER:

Compare and Contrast

The men who were lepers had three similarities and three disparities:

Similarities	Disparities
All suffered the same disease.	Only one returned to give thanks.
They all called on Jesus for mercy/pity.	Only one humbled himself before Jesus.
They all obeyed His command and were healed.	Only one was made well.

Question

• All were healed, but only one was made well.  What’s the difference?

Distance

Verse 12 “…they stood at a distance.”

Psalm 10:1  “O Lord, why do you stand so far away?  Why do you hide when I am in trouble?”

Don talked about:

• Us vs. Them
• Distanced from God by our sin
• Distanced from one another by our differences and prejudices

Question: 

• In what ways are you “distanced”? 

Foreigner:  one not native to a place or community; stranger, outsider, outlander

The Grateful Man was doubly exiled because he was a Samaritan, or as Jesus called him in verse 18, “this foreigner” or “foreign breed.” At Don’s invitation, Isaac gave his testimony about feeling foreign, like he didn’t belong.  He soon realized it wasn’t true, thankfully.  Don asked two questions:

Questions

• How have you felt like a foreigner?
• What have you done to create that distance?

Faith

Hebrews 11:1, 13

Don talked about our faith during the different stages and ages in life, and how faith intersects all of life. 

Questions

• How has your faith changed as you have gotten older?

Gratitude

“Thankfulness is a flower which will never bloom well except for a root of deep humility. A deeper sense of our own sinfulness, guilt, and undeserving is the true secret of a thankful spirit.”  J.C. Ryle

Read Psalm 107:1, 8-9; Hebrews 13:15

Question

• What comes out of our mouths (fruit of our lips) is a product of our heart.  Do you have a grateful heart? Do your lips prove that?

TOGETHER IN ACTION

TOGETHER IN PRAYER

Spend an extended time of prayer thanking God for His good gifts and for who He is. Write down some of the things others are thankful for and try thanking God for those throughout the week, too. It is good to rejoice with those who rejoice. Above all, remember that every other gift pales in comparison to the gift of salvation we have by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the gift of eternal life with our loving maker, and puts every other gift in perspective.