Matt Zainea Rockford Campus March 3, 2024
Storytellers: The Call to Discipleship
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE
REMINDERS
Leader Development Class (Sunday nights)
We relaunched the LDC this Winter and so far, it’s been GREAT dialogue. This Winter, we’re going after topics that are incredibly relevant to your leadership including:
- Crucial Conversations (March 3, 10, 17)
- Gospel Conversations (Apr 7, 14, 21, 28)
Service Opportunities Needed
Our 5/6 middle schoolers are in need of a few service ideas for March 10 from 6:15–7:00pm that are relatively close to the church or could be done here and then later delivered elsewhere. If there are any ideas you have that you could share, please let us know ([email protected]).
Administrative Help Needed
We are in the process of hiring a new assistant for Groups Ministry. If you or someone you know is highly organized and has a heart for Groups, please send them to take a look at the details here: https://magnifychurch.org/jobs/
TOGETHER IN LIFE
What year was it when you first put your faith in Jesus? What things were popular in the broader culture that year? Did you participate in them yourself?
TOGETHER IN THE WORD
THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 5:1–11
Note: We encourage you to read the entire text together as a group out loud.
Encounter
While Peter witnessed Jesus do many miracles, the miraculous catch of fish spoke to him in a unique way. Peter was suddenly aware of his own sinfulness and Jesus’s holiness in a new way.
QUESTIONS
- What area of life is for you what fishing was for Peter (that is, an area of expertise and self-confidence)?
- What might it look like for Jesus to display His awesome power there after you had failed?
- Have you ever had an experience like this, where an encounter with God convicted you or gave you a fresh sense of the fear of the Lord? (Remember: fear of God is a positive thing, an appreciation for His awesomeness that results in your obedience and respect. It’s our sins that cause us to be afraid of Him.)
- What is godly sorrow? What elements characterize it?
Obstacles
Sometimes God confronts us in dramatic ways, like Saul on the road to Damascus. More often God confronts us the way Jesus did in His earthly ministry, by inviting people to come and listen and obey. While Saul had no choice but to face God, people in Jesus’s day often had to choose to go and find out what He had to say. Matt outlined 3 obstacles that prevent us from encountering God: busyness, boredom, or burdens.
QUESTIONS
- Do you allow busyness to be an excuse that prevents you from following Christ?
- Are there aspects of the Christian life that bore you and become excuses to disengage?
- When is the last time you could feel your sin holding you back so that you didn’t want to approach God?
Pressing On
Matt noted that the miracle wasn’t just for Peter, but for those of us reading about it, too. “When we are humbled, we meet Jesus in His perfect mercy.” Jesus invites us even now to experience His perfect mercy and to follow Him wherever He leads.
QUESTIONS
- The disciples left the miraculous catch of fish behind to follow Jesus. What did you leave behind to come to Christ?
- What do you think about the way Jesus reacted to Peter? Peter deserved condemnation but instead received an invitation. Does this surprise you? Encourage you? Confuse you?
- What did Jesus call you to when you were first saved?
- Is there anything He is calling you back to now?
TOGETHER IN PRAYER
Take time to celebrate together some of the victories that you have experienced over sin since you were first saved. Jesus paid the penalty for those sins and gave you His Spirit so that you could be freed from them. Pray for one another about any new convictions that may have surfaced, knowing that this same Jesus who graciously began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. His invitation to forgiveness and freedom still stand.
