Don Pearson // Northview Campus // May 25, 2025
SMALL GROUP
DISCUSSION GUIDE
THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 18:9-14
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.
Family Connect at Northview (Sunday, June 1, following first service)
Young families (with or without kids) are invited to join us following the first service for about 30 minutes in the Student Center to catch up with families you know, and connect with families you haven’t yet met! This is a great space for kids to run around, have fun and enjoy a light snack. No need to register!
Although this is designed for young families, If you are in a different stage of life, for example, a grandparent, we would love for you to come too! What a great gift for the different generations to do life together!
Summer is Coming!
Summer events are on the way! Stay in the know by keeping an eye on our events page.
TOGETHER IN LIFE
How did you celebrate Memorial Day? Did you serve in the military or know someone who did? What was that like for you, and what memories does this holiday bring up?
TOGETHER IN THE WORD
THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 18:9-14
Note: If you are meeting as a group, we encourage you to read the text together out loud.
KEY QUESTION:
- Are you standing on your own merits, like the Pharisee, or do you acknowledge your true position before God and ask for forgiveness and grace like the tax collector did?
GOING DEEPER:
Questions
- Read Luke 18:9-14. What do the Pharisee and the tax collector have in common? What are their differences?
- What do you think Spencer’s comment that he had a more “congenial appraisal of the characters” means as you consider the Pharisee and tax collector more deeply?
- Look at Luke 9:14. What do you think “exalts” and “humbles” means in light of God’s definition of the terms and the world’s definition of those terms?
- How do we exalt or humble ourselves? Think about your public life and your private thoughts when considering this question.
- In what ways do you have “us vs. them” thinking? In what areas of your life?
- When have you enjoyed being the victim in areas of your life? How can you change that thinking? Are you really a victim, or simply a victim of your own choices?
- 1 Peter 5:5 says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” How does that verse make you think about your own life? Your pride? Your “rightness?”
TOGETHER IN ACTION
- Prayerfully consider how you are standing before God: a proud Pharisee or a humble tax collector? How do you think our church as a whole stands before God?
TOGETHER IN PRAYER
- Pray for your own heart and its position before God. Pray that we will avoid “us vs. them” thinking when it comes to all areas of life. Pray that we will encourage others in their walk with God.
