Matt Zainea Rockford Campus Jan. 7, 2024
Storytellers
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE
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REMINDERS
Ignite (Jan 14, 5:30pm) – There’s still time to sign-up! Check it out here: https://magnifychurch.org/event/ignite/
Leader Development Class (Sunday nights) – Please join us on Sunday nights starting 1/21 for the LDC! Our goal is that all our leaders would be connected into trainings at least 4 times a year to keep sharp and to help sharpen others. For questions or suggestions on class topics, please reach out to Trent Heaton ([email protected]).
Group Status Check – Please give us an update on where your group is at. How are things looking? What’s going well and what’s not? Are you open to new people joining or looking to establish new leaders? Give us a holler so we can support you well.
TOGETHER IN LIFE
This is the first Sunday of 2024 so… any resolutions for the New Year? Share a brief history of resolutions in your life and any high or low moments that came with them!
TOGETHER IN THE WORD
THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 3:15-38
Note: We encourage you to read the entire text together as a group out loud.
GENEALOGY
Tracing one’s family tree is for some a hobby and for others a way of exploring their roots. For those in Jesus’ day, genealogies were traced for generations as a source of remembrance for God’s provision and as a potential source of pride for having a “good line”.
TRY THIS: Look up Matthew 1 and compare it with Luke’s genealogy. What’s similar? What’s different? Why do you think this is?
QUESTION: Have you or anyone in your family done any genealogy work? What have you found? If you haven’t how far back can you name people in your family tree? What stands out to you as significant about these?
PROVIDENCE
God’s Providence plays out in the lives of people as they live. God has Plans, Provision, and Protection for those according to his purposes. One definition of Providence is “his right and power to do all that he decides to do.”
QUESTION: How would you describe God’s “Providence” (or Sovereignty) to someone unfamiliar with Christianity?
“God’s Providence is always personal” – in all the debates we can have on free will and God’s Sovereignty, we can always know He has YOU in mind and has chosen YOU to play a part in His BIG STORY of rescue.
God’s Providence is on display through the genealogy of Jesus. Just take a look at a few of these names and the way God works His rescue plan for His people…
| V38 – Adam | Forerunner to all humanity | Genesis 1-4 |
| V36 – Noah | Increasing Evil & Cleansing | Genesis 6-10 |
| V34 – Abraham | Promise and Provision of a Family | Genesis 12-25 |
| V34 – Isaac | Trial of Only Son | Genesis 22 |
| V34 – Jacob | Establishment of Israel | Genesis 32 & 35 |
| V31 – David | Kingdom Strife & Promised Succession | 1 Samuel |
QUESTION: What did God do for His people in these stories? What did He deliver them from? What did He use to deliver them? What did He deliver them to?
There were many times throughout all of Israel’s history to be tempted to be afraid and grasp for control. One example is Israel’s demand for a king. God was to be the head over the people and they rejected Him and His leadership. So they figured a way for themselves to gain power and control when they felt like God was failing at His job.
QUESTION: How can hard times tempt us to believe that God is not in control? Have you had a hard time where you struggled with God’s Providence?
In any of the examples from the previous questions, did God’s plan ever stop? Was there ever a point where God couldn’t fulfill His plan? NO!
QUESTION: What sense of peace can we have because of this?
READ: Isaiah 41:8-10
This message from God was to His people who were in exile and cast out of their homeland. They were helped captive and had lost heart.
QUESTION: What do these reminders help us to know?
ZOOM OUT: How can genealogies be helpful to God’s people as they look back over the course of generations? What does this tell us about His faithfulness to keep His word?
CHALLENGE: Take a few minutes either in your group time or through the week to look up and share different passages of Scripture that claim God’s promises for His people. Some good examples to get you started are 1 Peter 1:3-4 and Revelation 19.
QUESTIONS: Will God’s plan happen whether we choose to follow Jesus or not? What are the benefits and costs of choosing to follow Christ vs. not? What are the “benefits” and costs of NOT following Christ?
PROVIDENCE IN CHUCK’S STORY
(if you want to watch it as a group, go to the MagnifyChurch.org website and follow the click trail: WATCH > PAST SERVICES > WATCH ONLINE > STORYTELLERS > “PROVISION & FAITH” > go to the 1:15:50 timestamp mark – til the 1:21:12 mark)
QUESTION: What were some of the markers of God’s Providence in Chuck’s story? How did Chuck experience change after repentance?
Repentance and Forgiveness are two of the greatest gifts God has given to humanity. Through it, we have the power to overturn past hurts and wounds, we have the power to bring to Christ all of ourselves, and we have the ability to mend between people even the ugliest of problems.
CLOSING THOUGHT: Where in my life am I living my story and not God’s story? What do I need to repent of?
TOGETHER IN ACTION
Discuss talk about the Closing Thought for this week and take a risk to share. We firmly believe that when we drag the darkness into the light, we have the opportunity to allow Christ to forgive our brokenness and start the process of healing.
Challenge take time this week to consider those in your life that God has provided to remind you of His provision and protection over you, whether good or bad. Share with your group as you process and allow them to know you more and support you better as a result.
TOGETHER IN PRAYER
Pray for the New Year and all the hopes, dreams, and vision for what 2024 might hold for you personally and also for your group.
