Connect20-25 minutes
Connect with your group about life this past week and then discuss the following questions.
- In this busy, crazy world, what do you do to find some peace?
- What do you find that pulls you away from God’s presence? How do you stop that from happening?
- Is there a quote or thing that you've always thought was in the Bible that you found out really wasn’t?
Also take time to reflect on your action steps last week:
- If you checked out the Outreach Page, what stood out to you? Were you able to identify a place to serve our community in the next few months?
- If you dove deeper into the 10 Commandments, what surprised you? What brought you assurance?
Learn5-7 minutes
You will watch a short clip of the message from this series to set up your group discussion. The full version of the message is also available
online to reference before or after your group meeting.
Discuss20-30 minutes
- Think of a time in your life when you were sure you were right, but you found out later you weren’t. How did you feel? How do you think the Israelites felt when they found out they were wrong?
- What worldviews have crept into your Christian view at one time or another? How do we recognize when we are allowing culture to affect our view?
- Have you ever experienced consequences from allowing a God+ view to take hold in your life? How did you respond?
- An idol is anything we put our ultimate trust and hope in ahead of Jesus. Think back to last week's session and Exodus 20:3. What does God say about idolatry? Why do you think He gave us this boundary?
- Idols are not always made of wood or gold as we often read in scripture. As a group, list as many modern-day idols as you can think of that may dominate our thoughts or keep us from depending on God.
- What motivates people to prefer salvation achieve on their own rather than that of divine grace? Some suggest it is fear—fear that we will not get what we need. Some suggest it is pride—we feel compelled to continually say, "I'll get it myself." What do you think? Can you relate?
- What are some practical steps you can take this week when you find yourself pursuing an idol? What are steps to draw you closer to Jesus?
Pray10-15 minutes
Ask for prayer requests and then you may opt to pray the following prayer.
Lord, thank You for continuing to chase after us, just like You did with the Israelites. Though we often chase after idols, You are faithful to forgive us time and time again. We ask You, Lord, for Your grace and protection against a culture that is constantly trying to change our view of You and Your truth. A world that wants us to dabble in any truth that is not Your Truth. Any other truth, which in reality is no truth at all.
We ask You, Father, to provide us with the courage we need to stand strong in You and to always chase after Your truth, just as You are always chasing after us. Go with us now, Lord, as we step back out into a culture which in so many ways is contradictory to You. Wrap us in Your loving embrace and provide us with the only real peace there is.
We ask this in Your most holy Name,
Amen.
Action Steps5-10 minutes
Between now and next week, here are some suggestions for action steps.
Attend the Weekend Service: Note any takeaways, next steps, or reflections in your Peak Experiences notebook. These will help you prepare to participate in your small group, and your small group will benefit from your insights and questions as you learn together.
Other Practical Action Steps: Select one of these practical steps to commit to this week and bring your reflections with you next week.
- Reflect & Pray: Make a list of modern-day idols that you put before Jesus. Pray about what it looks like to let go of these idols and surrender them to Jesus. If you need help identifying what that might be, check out the handout Identifying Idols in the "Session Resources" section.
- Try Slowing Down: While physical things become idols (like your phone or TV), does hurry ever become an idol for you? Do work or getting things done come before your relationships with family, friends, before God? In his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer gives some ideas on ways we can slow down. Try one or more of these this week and see how it impacts not only your peace, but also how you can love others and Jesus because, as John Ortberg said, “Love, joy, and peace are incompatible with hurry.”
- Slowing down ideas: Drive the speed limit. Get into the slow lane. Come to a full stop at stop signs. Don’t text and drive. Show up 10 minutes early for an appointment, sans phone. Get in the longest line at the grocery store. Parent your phone; put it to bed before you and make it sleep in. Keep your phone off until after your morning quiet time. Set a time and a limit for social media. Single task. Try journaling. Experiment with prayer. Cook your own food and eat in.