Stu Quackenbush // Rockford Campus // October 6, 2024

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE

REMINDERS

MEMBERSHIP CLASS (Sun, Oct 13 – Rockford Campus; or Sun – Oct 20 – Ensley Campus)

When you become a member of Magnify, you take the next step of participation, ownership, and commitment to our mission of always making disciples. If you want to learn more about Magnify and how you can partner with us, email Sandy to register for the membership class at [email protected].

 

LEADER DEVELOPMENT CLASS (Sun. Oct 20, 6–7pm – Rockford Campus Room 300)

We’re relaunching our LDC this fall! Come join fellow group leaders from various ministries to both get sharper and help sharpen others in faith. Whether you’ve led a group for 20 years or you’re just getting started, this class is open to all leaders young and old. No RSVP necessary.

Leaders: Please plan to attend 4 of these classes between Oct. 2024 through April 2025.

 

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

Remember that there are lots of other opportunities to study, serve, or get connected listed on our events page. For example, if you’re looking for more opportunities to grow, there are Women’s and Men’s Groups that have just launched studies.

And if you’re already busy and need to protect margin, it’s ok! Don’t feel pressure to do one more good thing.

 

TOGETHER IN LIFE

It’s officially pumpkin spice season. Take a moment to share if you are on team pumpkin spice or if you think it’s overrated. If you think it’s overrated, what would you replace it with instead?

 

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 8:40-56

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

 

THE GREATEST MIRACLE

Stu defined a miracle as something special God does that without God is naturally impossible at that moment. He then stated that while it is OK and good to desire good things from God, we do not need the miracles that we want because we were given the miracle that we most need: the miracle of salvation.

He summarized the miracle of salvation in this way:

• Without Jesus we are dead in our trespasses and sin. We rebelled against God and His perfect plan, and we ended up with permanent separation from God
• Because God is righteous and holy, He must punish sin because He always does what is right.
• But God is both just (does what is just) and justifier (justifies us). He sent His Son Jesus Christ in the flesh, and His death on the cross and resurrection saves us.
• This turns our hearts from stone to flesh. And we’re not only saved, but we’re adopted. And this is a miracle.

In short, salvation is the miracle of all miracles.

QUESTIONS

• What do you think about the phrase, “we do not need the miracles we want because we were given the miracle that we need”? How does it make you feel?
• Do you think of salvation as being miraculous?

 

THE MIRACLE OF NEW BIRTH

John Stott put it this way:

“You took a simple step; you invited Christ to come as your Savior and Lord. At that moment what can only be described as a miracle took place. God – without whose grace you could not have repented and believed – gave you a new life. You were born again. You became a child of God and so entered his family… Just as when you were born you emerged as a new, independent personality, so when you were born again you became spiritually a new creature in Christ.” (John Stott, Basic Christianity)

Read John 3:1-15.

In this passage, Jesus explains that in order to be saved, we must be born again. And to be born again, we must be cleansed of sin (“born of water”) and indwelt by the Holy Spirit (“and the Spirit”) (3:5). When this happens, we are no longer the sin-stained person we used to be. And we’re no longer slaves to our sins and to death. We’re literally washed clean by Christ’s death in our place and made new by God’s Spirit inside of us. We are new people.

QUESTIONS

• In this passage, how does Nicodemus feel about Jesus’s description of salvation?
• Do you think of new birth, or being made into a new person through Christ, as being miraculous?

 

THE MIRACLE OF ADOPTION INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD

The Bible also teaches us that when we’re made new, we’re adopted into the family of God.

Read Galatians 4:4-6 and 1 John 3:1.

J.I. Packer wrote, “Adoption is the highest privilege of the gospel. The traitor is forgiven, brought in for supper, and given the family name. To be with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater.”

QUESTIONS

• Do you consider adoption into the family of God the highest privilege of the gospel?
• Does this gift of adoption also feel miraculous to you?

 

THE MIRACLE OF ETERNAL LIFE

When Jesus heard a messenger tell Jairus that his daughter was dead, He replied, “Do not fear.” Later when they arrived at Jairus’s house, Jesus told those who were crying, “Do not weep.” Jesus wasn’t dismissing their emotions. He was going to cause Jairus to see that He has power over death.

He demonstrated this power over death once and for all when He died on the cross and three days later rose again to eternal life. The Bible tells us that all who believe in Christ as Savior will also have eternal life. Because Jesus conquered death, we don’t have to be afraid of death. Jesus is strong enough and good enough that we can rest in Him no matter what.

QUESTION

• Why does the miracle of salvation change how we face pain, disappointment, and tragedy? What is something you can trust God with as you focus more on Jesus and less on outcomes?

 

TOGETHER IN ACTION

Our next steps as a church this week are to:

Discuss: Why is salvation the miracle of miracles?

Continue to reflect on the question: Why does the miracle of salvation change how we face pain, disappointment, and tragedy? What is something you can trust God with as you focus more on Jesus and less on outcomes?

 

TOGETHER IN PRAYER

Take some time to reflect on the miracle of salvation and the gifts of forgiveness and adoption that came with it.

• Praise God for the fullness of the gospel, that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to live among us, die for our sins, and rise again so that all who confess their need for Him as Savior are forgiven of sins, made new by the power of the Holy Spirit, adopted into the family of God, and will someday join Christ in eternal life in the bodily resurrection and restored heaven and earth.
• Ask Him to make this news of the gospel fresh to you again and cause you to live in the freshness of it everyday.
• Pray for those who have not yet confessed their need for Christ as Savior. Pray that God would perform a miracle in softening their hearts to their need for repentance and forgiveness and that they would know that they can cry out to Christ for new life.
• Pray for those who are suffering in your community, that they would feel the nearness of Christ and the hope of the gospel in their time of pain.