Matt Zainea                                                          Rockford Campus                                                April 7, 2024

 

Storytellers: The Power of Faith

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE

 

REMINDERS

Leader Development Class (Sunday nights) – This week LDC resumes with a new series on Gospel Conversations.

PLEASE JOIN US IN ROOM 300 (RK CAMPUS) SUNDAY NIGHTS FROM 6-7pm!

 

TOGETHER IN LIFE

How was your Easter? Did you go on Spring Break? If you didn’t do anything out of the ordinary since your last meeting, share one of your most memorable Easters or most memorable vacations.

 

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 5:17–26

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

 

Passions

The paralytic man and his friends were passionate about reaching Jesus. When we go to unusual lengths for something, we reveal how much it matters to us.

QUESTIONS

• Share the story of the time you sacrificed most for something or went to the most unusual lengths. What did that reveal about your passions at that time? Has your perspective on that thing changed since then?
• Imagine you are the friends of the paralyzed man. What would you need to figure out in order to do what they did? What steps, tools, and strategies would it take?
• Have you ever gone to great lengths for spiritual reasons? Can you think of a time your actions revealed a passion for God?

 

Inquisitors

The Pharisees and teachers of the law had come to investigate Jesus. We know from other passages in Scripture that they followed Him not out of curiosity but to test Him and find fault with Him. Jesus lived a perfect life according to the Scriptures, but the religious leaders judged people by their traditions instead. They model for us what not to do.

QUESTIONS

• Do you tend to come to Jesus as a judge? Or as someone needing His help?
• Do you tend to use theology as a weapon? Or as a means of building up others?
• Do you help people come into Christ’s presence? Or do you sometimes get in the way?

 

Evaluating Your Heart

Matt listed 5 common states we tend to find our hearts in:

1. Callous – distant, resistant
2. Cautious – drawn to Jesus but afraid to risk anything for Him
3. Curious – looking for more of Christ
4. Casual – compartmentalized faith, disconnected from life
5. Committed – Christ central, over all aspects of life

QUESTIONS

• Where on this list is your heart right now, in this moment? Is that different from where it has been lately or where it usually tends to be?
• When is the last time your faith was at its strongest, and your devotion at its peak? What helped to feed that at the time?
• Is there anything keeping you from growing in your faith and devotion right now?

 

TOGETHER IN PRAYER

Unlike our other passions in life, passion for the things of God takes discipline and cultivation. This is because our sinful nature still desires other things. Part of how we cultivate our hearts is time in the Word, time encouraging one another, and time in prayer. Take time now to pray for one another’s faith, that it might grow where needed and stay strong. Look for ways you can encourage one another this week.

As we strive to improve, remember that it is not the strength of your faith that saves you: it is the strength of the object of your faith. If you have put your faith in Christ, even faith as small as a mustard seed, He is faithful and strong to hold you through difficult moments and to produce fruit in your life in any season.