Matt Zainea                                                   Rockford Campus                                                 Dec. 11, 2023

 

Storytellers: The Faith of Zechariah

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE

 

REMINDERS

 

Ignite (Jan 14, 5:30pm) – Please join us for a time of refreshment and encouragement as we Ignite our hearts with HOPE this coming January. We’re gathering all of our volunteers from all campuses together to worship, learn, grow and be refreshed. Please RSVP for this very special and very fun night together!  https://magnifychurch.org/event/ignite/

 

Leader Development Class – We are taking the month of December off and will restart again the weekend of Jan. 21. Please join us from 6-7pm to continue to be sharpened as a leader!

 

 

TOGETHER IN LIFE

 

Christmas-time can often bring with it feelings of nostalgia.

Are you a “nostalgic” person?

What is a memory, gift, or activity you do this time of year to rekindle warm feelings of joy?

 

 

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

 

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 1:5-20

 

Note: We encourage you to read the entire text together as a group out loud.

 

 

 

Zechariah

• What facts do we learn about Zechariah from this text?
  • What was his role in the community?
  • Who was his family?

 

• Why do you suppose Luke wrote this as one of the first stories in his gospel?

 

• Was there ever a time where you thought you had strong faith in something, but then something happened and it exposed the weakness of the faith you had?
  • Wedding vows

 

• What promise has been made to Zechariah from the Lord?

 

• List what this text says about who John will be and do?

 

• The text talks about a discipline that Zechariah experiences, what is it and why did he receive this discipline? (cf Heb. 12:5-11)
  • Compare Zechariah’s experience with Mary’s in Luke 1:26-38
  • How was their experience similar/different?
  • How was their response similar/different?

 

• The main issue for Zechariah came down to what?

 

• When you pray, what do you expect of God? Take time to honestly assess your heart when you pray. Think about the past few times you prayed. What did you pray for? What was your motivation? What does this reveal about what you think of God?

 

 

• What do you think of this statement?

 

 

Elizabeth

 

• What do we know of Elizabeth from this text?

 

• What did Elizabeth do, say, believe?

 

• How does she respond to God’s promise?

 

• Why might shame be a critical part of this story? How does God meeting Elizabeth’s needs point to God meeting our needs?

 

 

Michelle

 

Michelle shared her story of God’s providence and grace. After taking a huge financial hit as a family, they ended up having their home foreclosed on. In the moment, she felt anger, frustration, and stopped pursuing God because of her pain.

 

But then, she began to see God coming through in all the details of their recovery. When she was in the deepest points of pain, it was hard to see what God was doing. But later she says, “When you look, you’ll see him there.”

 

• Share a time of pain you’ve been through where it was hard to see what God was doing?

 

• What was your response to God through it all?

 

• How has that shaped you now?

 

• What if there was no “moving through it”? What if the pain is unrelenting?

 

KEY: God’s provision in our small details matters, because it acts as a sign pointing to the bigger story of His provision for what truly matters most – our souls.

 

 

You 

• How do we diminish God in our lives?  Examples:
  • Leftovers:
    • We give God our little leftovers because of our busyness and distraction – whatever is left after we’ve gotten our fill.
  • Regifting:
    • God gives us gifts and we diminish their worth and toss them to the side. We fail to see his gifts for what they are – as signs to his greater Goodness.
  • Santa:
    • We treat God like Santa and we behave “good” so we get lots of temporary blessings so we feel good. Santa is an incomplete mythologized God: he cannot save our souls or help us be made whole.
  • Sentimentality:
    • We take things that produce warm feelings, and we make it and market it into something that we can manufacture in ourselves. We romanticize things to be something it cannot.

 

• What are some examples of how each of these look in our world?
• What other ways do we diminish God in our lives?

 

 

TOGETHER IN ACTION

“Jesus is the reason for the season” – what could this look like practically in your life?

As a group think through some of Jesus’ teachings that come to mind. Think through some parables, lessons, examples from his time here on earth.

What did he call people to Be, Know, Do, and Love?

To put Jesus at the center of this season, consider: “How can I live today as if these stories really mattered?”

Challenge and encourage each other in your group to take on one or two of these lessons and actively work on them this December.

 

TOGETHER IN PRAYER

What is a prayer you have prayed a thousand times before? What do you expect of God? In what ways have you diminished him? In what ways is he shaping you? Take time as a group to both confess and pray over these things together.

Consider praying these prayers again and bringing others alongside you in them to be encouraged and held accountable to remaining faithful to God in them.