Great poetry awakens the imagination and appeals to our emotions. Simple artistic writing and imagery can surprise us with life changing wisdom. God is the creator of all things beautiful and speaks to us through Psalms, Proverbs, and other “wisdom books.” This week, we’ll learn how to read these genres of the Bible and how can help us express ourselves to God and wisely follow Jesus.

Group Discussion Guide

To see the leader guide for this week click here.

Introduction

Spend a few minutes discussing with your group how their application of last week’s group discussion went. What were the highs and lows of their last week?

After your time of connecting, begin your meeting with prayer.

Key Verse

Matthew 7:24
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.”

Opening

Expressing ourselves can sometimes be a tricky practice. Even with the many ways people are invited to share their experiences in our culture, it can come with a measure of fear that we will not be accepted for who we are. God, however, through the inclusion of poetry and wisdom literature in the Bible, shows that he is always inviting us to be fully human. Reading the genre of biblical poetry gives examples of how we can be vulnerable or praise God for the good things of this world through creativity and art. Wisdom literature gives instructions that start and end with how we can live well if we live through the love of God, inviting us to be genuine and share what we learn through our experiences in life. Both poetry and wisdom are forms of writing that can inform us of the invitation that God gives for us to be real and expressive and to follow his wise direction in life at the same time.

Big Idea For The Week
Through the lens of biblical poetry/wisdom, we can see God’s accepting love for us.

Connect

• Growing up, how were emotions and/or creativity viewed in your home or church? How was wisdom viewed?
• What kind of creative activities did you like to do as a child? Why did those specific activities appeal to you? How do you still find time to be creative?
• When do you take time to listen to the wisdom of others? Why do you allow your life to be guided by this wisdom?

Unpack

This week, we will be looking at some examples in the genre of biblical poetry and wisdom to see how we can grow in our relationship with God better through our interaction with them. Read the following verses, paying attention to how the author expresses themselves within them, then discuss the connected questions together.

Read + Discuss

• Psalms 18:1-15
• Sometimes, biblical poetry expresses an experience that, most likely, did not literally happen; however, the author expresses the way an experience felt, in the moment to relay truth about God and to praise him.
• What do you think the author was trying to explain about how they felt in the verses you just read?
• If you are comfortable, share a time in your life when you have felt like the author.
• How can expressing yourself in a vulnerable and/or creative way be beneficial in growing your relationship with God?

Read + Discuss

• Proverbs 3:13-18
• What do you think the author of these verses is trying to explain? Why did they use poetry to express this?
• What do you think the relationship between emotional expression and wise living is?
• How often do you try to “embrace wisdom”, as it says in verse 18? How has this affected your life?

Apply

Based on the verses we just read, there are some things that we can do in response. Take a moment to discuss these questions as a group to decide what your personal action steps for the week can be:

• What is one way you can begin to express yourself creatively to grow in your relationship with God this week?
• What steps can you put into place to embrace Godly wisdom this next week?
• How can the group help make these action steps a priority in our lives from now on?

Closing

Thankfully, God is multifaceted and has given us examples of how to follow him in many ways. He wants us to be fully human and be able to be creative and express ourselves in ways that are healthy, while also listening to wisdom that will help us obey him better. This week, try to use both poetry and wisdom literature as a basis for how to see his love and grow closer to him.

Daily Bible Reading

Use the S.O.A.P. method to reflect on the verses bel...

What keeps the world from spiraling out of control? Laws! From the laws of nature to the laws we create, the purpose of law is to help us live well in God’s good world. As we begin our series looking at different genres of the Bible, we start where the Bible starts. God gave a specific set of laws to the Jewish people to help them live in a unique way. We’ll see how the laws God gave them encouraged freedom, not legalism, and reflected God’s concern for all areas of life! And we’ll also see how, through Jesus, we can honor the principles of those laws by loving God and loving others!

Group Discussion Guide

To see the leader guide for this week click here.

Introduction

Spend a few minutes discussing with your group how their application of last week’s group discussion went. What were the highs and lows of their last week?

After your time of connecting, begin your meeting with prayer.

Key Verse

Isaiah 54:10
“’For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,’ says the Lord, who has mercy on you.”

Opening

Sometimes the world can seem chaotic. Events around us seem to not always make sense, which can lead us to worry that everything is meaningless at times. The good news is that God has given us a way to see how he has worked in the past with his people so we can see how he can work in the future. This comes through reading and studying the stories we find in the genre of “historical narratives”, which is found in the books of Joshua-Nehemiah. These books have stories that can teach us about the God’s mission to take care of his people, despite their faults. This genre can help us see God’s faithfulness and how he continued to use his people to bring about the good news of redeeming the earth. God is the main character and we are just pieces of his story.

Big Idea For The Week
Through the lens of story, we can see God’s grand narrative.

Connect

• What kind of stories have you heard that stuck with you the most? Why do you think this was such an effective way to communicate information?
• Who is the best storyteller you know? What makes them a good storyteller?
• Why do you think humans interpret themselves into stories that may not be about them? How could this practice be problematic?

Unpack

As a group, decide on one of the following stories to read. Think of it as a “choose your own adventure” game. Each one of these stories will be a longer section of verses than normally provided each week so take turns reading. Make observations along the way of what stands out to you as your group reads. After finishing the stories, discuss the questions provided.

Choose one of the following to read:

• Elijah and the Widow: 1 Kings 17
• The Fall of Jericho: Joshua 5:13-6:20
• David and Bathsheba: 2 Samuel 11:1-12:15
• King Hezekiah: 2 Chronicles 32:1-26

DISCUSS

• Summarize together what you have read. What happened?
• What are your first thoughts when you read this story? Share any observations you made.
• What do you think is the point of this story? What is the author trying to explain about God and his character?
• What is the author trying to communicate about how God works in the lives of his people? How can this story and what it communicates about God affect your life?
• How can this story point you to Jesus and his teachings?

Apply

Take a moment to discuss this section as a group to decide what your action steps for the week can be:

• What steps can you take to view your life as a part of God’s grand story this week?
• How can we continue to point ourselves to Jesus and his teachings as we live out the story of our lives?
• How can we encourage each other to live like Jesus over the course of this week?

Closing

The law was made to show people their need to rely on God and to worship him because of it. As we learn more together about this law given, we can see God’s goodness better because we know all it was fulfilled and summed up in the teachings of Jesus: Love God and Love People. Jesus then modeled what a life devoted to loving God and people looks like. This week let’s try to do our best to be actively taking steps to live like Jesus.

Daily Bible Reading

Use the S.O.A.P. method to reflect on the verses below.

Scripture: Read the verses several times out loud.
Observation: As you read the scripture what do you ob...

Whenever we go the doctor, they check our vitals to see if we’re healthy. What are the vital signs of a healthy spiritual life? This weekend, we’ll look at four teachings of Jesus that can help us check our spiritual vitals so we can have a healthy and growing faith!

Group Discussion Guide

To see the leader guide for this week CLICK HERE

Introduction

Spend a few minutes discussing with your group how their application of last week’s group discussion went. What were the highs and lows of their last week?

After your time of connecting, begin your meeting with prayer.

Key Verse

2 Timothy 2:15
“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.”

Opening

There are times when it can be easy to go through the motions of life because life is just “normal” and not much seems to change. If we are not careful, however, this can lead to us becoming stagnant in certain parts of our life that need to consistently be evaluated. Just like we should be making sure we are physically and mentally healthy, we should also be training ourselves to grow in our spiritual life. The first step to this is by evaluating where we’re at, which can be difficult by ourselves. The good thing is that God loves us and wants us to grow in our relationship with him so we can be confident that he will help us along the way.

Big Idea For The Week
God wants the best for your spiritual life.

Connect

• What do you think it looks like to be healthy?
• On a scale from 1 to 10, how important is personal health to you and why? How does this affect the way you live your life?
• How do you take your pulse for how spiritually healthy you are?

Unpack

Go around your group and have someone read each of the following verses, then discuss the connected questions.

Read + Discuss

• Mark 1:16-18
• Matthew 28:18-20
• What invitations has Jesus extended to you lately? How have you responded to them?
• On Sunday, Jason said that one way to be spiritually healthy is to have an “invitational spirit” like Jesus, meaning we embody his dedication to inviting others to do the spiritual life together.
• How have you had an inspirational spirit in your life? What are some ways you can be more inviting to others?

Read + Discuss

• 1 Peter 4:8-11
• What do these verses say about how your spiritual life should be lived out? How could living like this affect your faith?
• How are you growing in your spiritual life with others?

Read + Discuss

• 1 John 3:16-18
• How can we serve with the love of Jesus? What ways do you serve and sacrifice for the good of others?
• What should our mindset be when we are serving and/or giving to others?
• If you are comfortable, share a time when someone has served you with this mindset. How did this affect you?

Apply

Take a moment to discuss this section as a group to decide what your action steps for the week can be:

• What steps can you take this week to evaluate your spiritual health?
• What areas of your spiritual life do you think need to be focused on?
• vHow can you address these areas over the next few weeks?
• How can your group be a part of your journey towards more intentional growth with Jesus?

Closing

Putting in the effort to evaluate how you are doing in your spiritual life can be difficult. Unlike physical or mental health, you can’t always tell how spiritually healthy you are by looking in a mirror or thinking through it. As a result, you have to evaluate by looking at your life and how you life with people around you.

Take this week to evaluate your spiritual health. How is it doing? Lean on your group for support in how to approach and carry out this goal together. If you do this, you can realize which areas need more work and which ones you can develop further. We can all do this together with Jesus as our guide!

Daily Bible Reading

Use the S.O.A.P. method to reflect on the verses below.

Scripture: Read the verses several times out loud.
Observation: As you read the scripture what do you observe.
Application: What is God wanting you to believe, do or feel based on what you have read?
Pray: This is a chance to talk to God about what you have read, and ask him for help in living out what you’ve learned.

• Day 1: 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
• Day 2: Galatians 5:13-14
• Day 3: Matthew 6:1-4
• Day 4: ...

Constructing or reconstructing our faith is not a solo project. We must connect with and rely on each other for input and encouragement. This week we’ll look at a biblical example of how people on the journey of faith can form a solid team that keeps them stay motivated, disciplined, and focused on the goal of building a strong faith.

Group Discussion Guide

To see the leader guide for this week CLICK HERE

Introduction

Spend a few minutes discussing with your group how their application of last week’s group discussion went. What were the highs and lows of their last week?

After your time of connecting, begin your meeting with prayer.

Key Verse

1 Corinthians 3:9
“For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.”

Opening

One of the tensions of living as a follower of Jesus in America is that we have a highly individualistic culture. There’s a sense that we need to go through our faith alone because it’s “between me and Jesus”. This could be because we are a private person or do not want to be influenced or judged by others for one reason or the other. Inherently, there is nothing wrong with being private or needing less social interaction with others; people are different in their social needs. When we read the teaching of Jesus, however, we can understand that Jesus taught the opposite of that. The first followers of Jesus were taught for faith to be practiced and constructed well then it must be done alongside others.

Our big idea for the week
We can build our faith as a team.

Connect

• When was a time where you thought you should do something alone but later realized you needed other people to help you?
• When has a group experience been positive when you thought it might be negative?
• Do you believe that God works when you ask?
• Share a time when God worked in a meaningful way in your life.

Unpack

Go around your group and have someone read each of the following verses, then discuss the connected questions.

The first verse we will read in this section is from a letter that the Apostle Paul (one of Christianity’s first missionaries) wrote to the church in a place called Ephesus. This was a thriving port city that had many different ethnic communities, and the Ephesian church was no different. There were Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) together worshipping God in one place, which was a huge deal at the time. Notice how Paul refers to these two groups of people as you read these next few verses.

READ

• Ephesians 2:19-22

DISCUSS

• What are some reasons we tend to want to do faith alone or privately?
• What experience do you have working through your faith with people that are different than you? Share an example or two, if you’re comfortable.
• Why does Paul refer to the people in these verses as “family”? How does this change your view of how Christians should think of each other?

READ

• Hebrews 10:23-25
• Matthew 18:20
• 1 John 4:10-12

DISCUSS

• How have you had your faith nurtured by other people?
• Is there a place in your faith that you need to bring people into? What barriers do you have that would prevent you from doing that?
• What are some practical ways you can love those around you well to help build their faith?

Apply

Based on the verses we just read, there are some things that we can do in response. Take a moment to discuss these questions as a group in order to determine what your personal action steps for the week can be:

We’ve talked about how faith is meant to be a communal or team effort, not individualistic.

• What steps can you take to practice your faith with this perspective from now on?

Pastor Jason talked on Sunday about making goals for building your faith. This group you are in right now should be a place for you to ask for help in those goals.

• What are some of your “faith-building goals” you have that you can share with your group today? If you don’t have any, work together as a group to come up with some goals together.
• How can you as a group help each other carry out these goals together?

Closing

As we grow in our relationship with other followers of Jesus, it’s important to remember that our faith was never meant to be done alone. God made us as communal and social beings. This doesn’t mean we cannot spend time alone; in fact, being alone with God is an extremely healthy spiritual prac...

Sometimes good leadership means treating everyone the same. But great leadership that bring true justice and transformation is often more nuanced than that. This week we’ll explore the underutilized power of candor and connection, learning to treat people as individuals and adapting our influence to be the most helpful in each unique situation.

Group Discussion Guide

To see the Leader Guide for this week, click here

Introduction

Last week we talked about how we can have a positive influence by pushing forward, despite the obstacles. Spend a few minutes sharing how your personal application from that discussion has gone.

After your time of connecting, begin your meeting with prayer.

Key Verse for the Week

*Read this verse to your group first, then encourage the practice of memorization through the week.

Proverbs 16:21

“The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive.”

**When practiced consistently, memorizing Bible verses can be an important spiritual practice that centers your mind around the truth that God has given us.

Opening Thought

When it comes to telling the truth, we can often go to one of two extremes. We can either keep silent and keep things to ourselves while letting it be someone else’s problem, or we can choose to tell the truth in order to cast harsh judgement on someone that benefits us and not them. Admit it, we’re often a mess at this! Thankfully, Jesus gives us a great model on using the perfect mix of real candor, or real truth-telling, and compassion to be a benefit to others.

This leads us to our big idea for the week:

Big idea for the week
Following Jesus’ example, we can become people who partner truth with authentic connection.

Connect:

Take about 5-10 minutes to discuss a few of the following questions. Afterwards, move into the unpack section:

• Why is it necessary to tell the truth to those around us? What purpose is there to being sincere in our interactions with others?
• What usually prevents you from telling someone the truth, even when they’d benefit from hearing it?
• Share an example of when you told someone a truth that was hard, and it ended up working out to be a positive thing?

Unpack

Go around your group and have someone read each of the following verses, then discuss the connected questions.

Read

1 Corinthians 13:4-6

1 Peter 1:22

Discuss

• What do compassion and love have to do with telling someone the truth?
• How can compassionate truth-telling be an example of modeling God’s heart well in your relationships and communities?

**The next two sections of verse we are going to read provide two different examples of how Jesus showed compassionate candor to those he spoke with. Pay close attention to the difference in tone Jesus uses in each interaction.

Read

Luke 13:10-13

Discuss

• Verse 12 from this section reads, “When Jesus saw her, he called her over...” Why do you think Jesus did this? How does Jesus show compassion in the way he speaks truth to this woman?
• How does Jesus’ interaction with this woman challenge you to act?

Read

Luke 13:14-17

**In the verses we just read, the leader of the synagogue was using a common tactic of that day by debating with Jesus because he doing a healing on the Sabbath (the day God established for his people to rest). See, the law was viewed as a type of “fence” in Hebrew thought. God’s intended rationale was that if his people didn’t cross the “fence” (the law given), they wouldn’t come into contact with and, therefore, violate the true offense within the fence. Therefore, the heart of the law concerning the Sabbath was to keep the Sabbath holy and set-apart and avoid getting distracted from focusing on God. The synagogue leaders had missed the point of the law, however, instead considering all work on the Sabbath to be sinful. Jesus knew this and responded to the leader in the same debating style the leader was used to as a result.

Discuss

• Why do you think Jesus responded in these verses this way? What factors could cause him to interact with the leader how he did?
• How was Jesus compassionate in how he spoke truth to this synagogue leader? How can we learn from his example?

Apply

Based on the verses we just read, there are some things that we can do in response. Take a moment to discuss these questions as a group to decide what your per...