Don Denyes // Rockford Campus // February 9, 2025

SMALL GROUP
DISCUSSION GUIDE

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 14:25–35

REMINDERS

LEADER DEVELOPMENT CLASS (Sundays, 6–7pm – Rockford Campus, “The Pond” downstairs by the library)

Join us as we look at leadership principles from Paul David Tripp’s Lead. We’ll have books available for those who want to read along, or simply join us to talk about the principles we can all learn and apply as leaders in our church, homes, and communities.

WINTER PRAISE SERVICE (Sunday, February 23 – Rockford Campus) 

Mark your calendars for the winter praise service the evening of Sunday, February 23rd at the Rockford campus. 

TOGETHER IN LIFE

Share something you’re enjoying right now, whether it’s your favorite hot drink, a good book, a heated blanket, or something else that’s bringing you excitement or joy in this season.

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 14:25–35

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

KEY QUESTION:

• Don said that giving our lives to Christ is not one glorious act, it’s done over a lifetime of small acts. Do you think of your Christian life as a daily process of dying to sin and walking in obedience, sacrifice, and service for Jesus? How does this coincide with the joy and peace that Jesus also promises?

GOING DEEPER:

Real Discipleship

Read verses 25–26 again. In these verses Jesus says that anyone who comes to Him but does not hate their own family and their own life can’t be His disciple. Don explained that the word “hate” is a Hebrew idiom, in which a stark contrast is used to establish a point. Jesus isn’t speaking here of malice but rather telling the people that their love for Him must be far greater than their love for people. He went on to say that when the claims of Christ collide with the claims of our family, the claims of Christ must be embraced.

QUESTIONS

• Why do you think Jesus tells us that we must love Him far more than the closest people in our lives?
• Read Matthew 10:34–39. Do these verses shed light on Jesus’ words in Luke 14?
• Are there people in your life actively trying to hinder your walk with God? How has that impacted your relationship with Him?

Take Up Your Cross

Read verse 27 again. Don said that when you accept Jesus as Savior, you accept Him as Lord. You can’t divide the two. Something is demanded of those who truly follow the Savior and want to put Him first. To truly be disciples, we must be committed to following Jesus closely, listening to His words, and striving to be like Him in all that we do.

QUESTIONS

• Read Galatians 2:20. Don defined taking up your cross not as walking through a trial (as we sometimes think) but as emptying yourself for Christ—a giving up of your sin. Do you think of your Christian life as dying to your sin in order to walk more closely with Jesus?
• Why do you think this is a daily process and not a one-time act or a weekly commitment on Sunday?
• Read 1 Peter 1:3–7. What do we as Christians gain when we empty ourselves?

Count the Cost

In the final portion of this passage, Jesus shares three word-pictures with the crowd. Read verses 28–35 again. Jesus doesn’t share these examples as a way to discourage people from coming to Him, but He did want people who came to Him to understand the demands of a life of discipleship.

QUESTIONS

• Read verse 33. In our society today this may sound like a huge cost. Have you counted this cost? Where has it been the most challenging for you?
• Consider all of this in light of Jesus’s promise to be with us always (Matthew 28:20) and His teaching that we can live as fruitful branches to His vine (John 15). Does this give you joy, peace, or hope in spite of the challenges of discipleship in a broken world?

 

TOGETHER IN ACTION

Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology says of discipleship: “The response to the call involves recognition and belief in Jesus’ identity, obedience to his summons, and counting the cost of full allegiance to him. His call is the beginning of something new; it means losing one’s old life and finding new life in the family of God through obeying the will of the Father.”

Ask God to show you where you need to die to self in order to live for Christ. Ask Him to embolden you in your life and witness for Jesus, even if it means offending people you admire or love. Ask Him to help you do this in union with Him, not on your own strength.

Prayerfully invite a mature believer to check in with you and hold you accountable to your commitment to living fully for Jesus. If applicable, commit to being this for someone else.

TOGETHER IN PRAYER

“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” – Jesus, Luke 14:27

“If a man is daunted by the high demands of Christ let him remember that he is not left to fulfil them alone.” – William Barclay

Take a few moments to pray together and commit to living as true disciples of Jesus Christ. Ask God to show each of you where you need to die to self in order to live for Christ. Ask Him to embolden you in your life and witness for Jesus, even if it means offending people you admire or love. Ask Him to help you do this in union with Him, not on your own strength. Ask Him to show you if there are mature believers in your community who can help hold you accountable in your daily walk with Jesus.