A story about trusting God even when it doesn’t make sense

God doesn’t need your money. He owns everything. But we give first because it takes faith to give first and God wants us to trust Him. He tells us in Proverbs 3:9-10 – “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops and then your barns will be filled with overflowing.” We give first and the blessings of God follow. God doesn’t want your money, but He does want your heart, and the Bible tells us that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. When you are not giving, your heart is not in what God is doing. ‘I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I challenge you to put me to the test. Bring the entire ten percent into the storehouse, so there will be food in my house. Then I will open the windows of heaven and flood you with blessing after blessing.’ Malachi 3:10.

If you haven’t picked up and returned your pledge card, be sure to do so from :connections this weekend. And if you missed week 2 or ‘A Place For Everyone’, stop by the messages page to listen to it now.

Imagine how different your outlook on life would be if you had absolute confidence that God was with you? Imagine how differently you would respond to difficulties, temptations, and even good things if you knew with certainty that God was in all of it and was planning to leverage it for good. In other words, imagine what it would be like to have PERFECT faith.

Discussion Questions

Begin by reading the story of the Centurion with the sick servant in Matthew 8:5-10.

1. Do you know people whose faith in God is so strong that at times you would describe it as amazing? What is it about them that makes you think their confidence in God is so strong?
2. How would you describe the relationship between obedience and trust?
3. As you think back on your childhood, how was the obedience/trust relationship manifested in your home? Did you trust your parents? How did that impact your response to their authority?
4. What is more important in a relationship: trust or obedience? Answer this question within the context of several types of relationships. If you are a parent, how would you answer this question as it relates to your children? What about within the context of marriage?
5. John listed five ingredients to developing BIG faith. Which ones do you remember? Of these five, which one has made the biggest difference in your confidence in God? Why?
6. Has there ever been a time in your life when your confidence in God – your faith – hit a really low point? Would you be willing to share that story with your group? If so, describe the events surrounding your loss of faith, as well as what happened that helped you regain it.
7. Based on this discussion, what advice would you give a friend who had lost faith or who would describe his or her faith as weak?
8. Based on your personal experience, if a close friend were to share with you that he was at one time a person with great faith in God, but had lost his faith, what questions would you ask? What advice would you give?

Moving Forward

Sermons come in all shapes and sizes. But if you listen closely, you’ll hear God saying the same thing in most sermons – trust me. That’s not to say that the message in the Bible is shallow and simplistic. Rather, in all the ways that you could respond to God, the most important thing that God is asking you to do is to trust him. When things are going well, it doesn’t require a lot of faith to trust God. But when life turns messy, is your faith leading you to depend on God, or do you put your trust in something else?

In the next several weeks, we’ll discuss five catalysts that God uses to build that kind of faith. For this week, reflect on what have been the most faith-building events/relationships in your life. How have these things affected your confidence in God?

Changing Your Mind

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” Matthew 8:10

[Questions sourced from http://www.groupcurriculum.org]

How are we supposed to remain hopeful in a hopelessly broken world? We want to be hopeful, but when relationships sour, stock prices tumble, dreams disappear, and plans crumble, hope can be hard to come by. In a world without guarantees, hope can be a dangerous thing. But what if the tension we feel is the result of putting our hope in the wrong things? What if God has a different plan for us – a plan built on his unfailing love?

Discussion Questions

Hope can be defined as a person or thing in which our expectations are centered. With that in mind, in whom or what do you most frequently hope? In what kinds of things or people do you see your friends and family placing their expectations?

1. Share about a time when you put your hope in something or someone and came away disappointed.
2. Read Romans 8:20 . How does this verse support the idea of sin as a disease and not an event? Why does this matter in the context of finding and maintaining hope?
3. Read Romans 8:26-30 . What phrases or concepts in this passage engender hope within you?
4. Read Romans 8:33-39 . In this passage, Paul provides a long list of circumstances, culminating with “nor anything else in all creation” that shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. If you were to write your own list of circumstances, powers, or feelings that will not separate you from the love of God, what would be on that list?

Moving Forward

Hope. It only works when the object of our hope is certain, when it is consistent, when it will not fail. God has offered us such an unfailing object: his love. As evidenced in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, God has shown that his love is truly without fail. So, although this world will remain broken due to the disease of sin, you can confidently hope without reservation – if you will transfer all of your hope onto God’s unfailing love.

Changing Your Mind

“May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.”

Psalm 33:22

[Questions sourced from http://www.groupcurriculum.org]

In the previous session, we said that God is at work even in uncertain times. It is good to know that he is working, but what should we be doing? How should we live in the midst of uncertainty? How can we keep from being overwhelmed by the fears and insecurities that often go hand in hand with uncertainty? God has a plan, and his plan is to replace our anxieties with peace.

Discussion Questions

1. Share about a time when uncertainty created increased interest in spiritual things for you or a friend.
2. Read Philippians 4:4-7. Why are Paul’s circumstances (in jail awaiting trial) crucial to the credibility of this passage?
3. Read Philippians 4:4. What are some things that you are more likely to rejoice in other than “in the Lord”?
4. Why, in the midst of this passage on uncertainty, does Paul exhort us to “let our gentleness be evident to all”?
5. Paul’s use of the word “present” in verse six means “to reveal.” Think about your recent prayers. What underlying, deeper needs are revealed by your prayer requests?
6. Complete the following sentences: Heavenly Father, I need __________. If you don’t, I’m afraid that __________.

Moving Forward

In the midst of our uncertainty, God offers us peace–a peace that replaces anxiety, fear, and insecurity. All you have to do is give up your illusion of control and embrace the reality of your dependence upon God. You do this by going to God in prayer with your deepest needs, hopes, and fears.

Changing Your Mind

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7

[Questions sourced from http://www.groupcurriculum.org]

Uncertainty. As a society, we live in a world of uncertainty. Uncertain social conditions. Uncertain economic times. Uncertain global developments. Yet uncertainty is nothing new. The characters in the Bible experienced wildly fluctuating levels of uncertainty… often feeling as if life was moving backwards, getting worse. And the questions remain the same. Where’s God? Is he going to show up? Is he still in control?

Discussion Questions

1. What has been the brightest moment in your life? What has been the darkest moment in your life?
2. Does God become bigger during brighter or darker moments in your life? How does your relationship with God change during certain/uncertain times?
3. Read Mark 14:17-26. What were some of the different emotions that the disciples might have been experiencing while at dinner? How would you have responded to Jesus’ statements if you were present?
4. What other passages from the Bible depict uncertain times for the characters involved? What does it mean to say that “God is active” or that “God is at work”?
5. How can God still be active when there is no evidence of his activity?
6. How does it help to know that God still has the whole world in his hands when you travel through a dark season of uncertainty?

Moving Forward

Some of the brightest moments in our lives are the result of brokenness. When we can see that God is working through undesirable circumstances – even the ones we bring on ourselves – there is a sense of purpose and peace that emerges. Knowing that God is still active during uncertain times allows us to maintain hope and faith and keeps us from despair. We can rest knowing that God has not abandoned us… and that he’s still in control.

Changing Your Mind

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

We can sit in the comfort of our homes as we follow the downward spiral of celebrities in the media and think to ourselves, “Wow, that person is really messed up!” And in doing so, we can be deceived by the illusion of our own goodness. Yet when the truth of who you are meets the truth of who Jesus is, you discover the truth that sets you free. Free from the illusions of your life. Free to pursue God with confidence. Free to worship him out of the reality of who we really are.

Discussion Questions

• In what situations are you likely to present a fake or masked version of yourself?
• What keeps us from realizing our own need for God? What do you feel like there is in your life for which you need forgiveness?
• Read Luke 7:41-47. What is keeping Simon from realizing his own need for forgiveness?
• The comparison game can blind us from our own mess by comparing our lives with those around us who are heading in a downward spiral. But who should we really be comparing ourselves to? How do we compare to Jesus?
• Why is it that the longer someone walks with Jesus, the less desperate they seem to become for Him? In what ways have you lost passion/desperation in your relationship with God?
• How can you renew your desperation and gratitude for Jesus?

Moving Forward

The tell-tale sign of whether you’re becoming a victim of the “illusion of your own goodness” is the amount of gratitude in your heart. How is your gratitude demonstrated in your relationship with God?

Changing Your Mind

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.

Luke 7:47

[Questions sourced from http://www.groupcurriculum.org]

Discussion Questions

1. What is the best piece of advice you’ve heard about making a relationship last?
2. What has been the most impactful piece of advice from Staying in Love that you can apply to a current relationship (or a future relationship)?
3. Do you have high expectations in your relationships, or do you expect very little from those around you? Explain.
4. When there is a gap between what you expect from people and what they actually do, do you fill that gap by “believing the best” or “assuming the worst”? Give an example.
5. In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, the apostle Paul defines love with multiple descriptors. Which descriptors of loving come easy to you? Which aspects of loving do you find difficult?
6. What specific steps can you take this week to fill the gaps in your relationships by choosing to trust and believing the best?

Moving Forward
Gaps occur all the time in relationships. There are gaps between what we expect from others and what they actually do. And in response, we can choose to trust and believe the best or we can choose the opposite and fill those gaps with negative assumptions. Or, as it says in 1 Corinthians 13, we can choose to protect, trust, hope, and persevere. Relationships will grow or fade depending on what you choose to place in those gaps.

Changing Your Mind
It (love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:7

[Questions sourced from http://www.groupcurriculum.org]

Introduction

How can two people stand at an altar and swear they will love each other until “death do us part” and then just a few years later hate each other more than they have ever hated anyone? How can the person to whom she gave her deepest vow become the person she despises most? This message provides insight on how to not only fall in love, but also to stay in love.

Discussion Questions

1. We all bring emotional “baggage” into our romantic relationships. What are some reasons why romantic relationships reveal this baggage more than any other kind of relationship?
2. Our ‘baggage’ frequently results from family or romantic relationships. What are some specific experiences that have most contributed to your baggage?
3. Read Proverbs 4:23. In this verse, Solomon, famous for his wisdom, says to guard your heart above all else. Do you agree with Solomon? Even if you disagree, can you think of some reasons why Solomon would place such value on guarding your heart?
4. Your ability to feel certain things is determined by the condition of your heart. Why is this more important than your partner’s behavior? How does the second half of Proverbs 4:23 support this assertion?
5. Unspoken emotions have a great deal of power over us. Why does verbalizing a specific emotion take away that power?
6. Oftentimes, we feel defensive when our partners come to us and say, “When you do ________, I feel _________.” There are no bad feelings and that when we share feelings, we are providing an observation, not a criticism. What should our response to this type of observation should be? Why is this so difficult to do?

Moving Forward

What’s inside of you is coming out. And it’s not coming out because of who you are with, but because it was in you to begin with. If you want to stay in love, you have to pay attention to what is in there, so that you can own it. You have to have a plan to guard your heart – a plan that begins with thinking about and identifying specific emotions and then communicating them. Will you commit to this plan?

Changing Your Mind

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23

[Questions sourced from www.groupcurriculum.org]