WEEK 1 SERMON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR GROUPS

Meet me at the river: Make room

Introduction:

Following Jesus was never meant to be a journey of simply checking boxes, following rules, and hoping we make it to the finish line without getting lost. Yet for many of us, faith can begin to feel more like a duty than an adventure. We white-knuckle our way through religious routines, wondering if there is something more. There is. Meet Me at the River invites us to discover the adventure God has already prepared for us—a life of following where He leads, joining where He is moving, and discovering what happens when faith becomes more than survival. At the river, the adventure begins.

Bottom line: The life God intended for you is not one you white-knuckle through.

Something To Talk About:

God is love: God is love. And because God is love, the life He intended for you was never meant to be something you white-knuckle your way through. Following Jesus isn’t about constantly wondering whether you’ve chosen the right path, hoping you’ve cracked some secret code to discover God’s will. Think of it as a river instead. The river was already flowing before you arrived. God is already moving, already working, already inviting you to join Him in what He is doing. The adventure isn’t about standing on the bank, terrified of making the wrong decision. It’s about trusting the God who loves you enough to step into the water. That’s the heart of Meet Me at the River: The Adventure of Knowing and Doing God’s Will. God’s love changes how we approach His will. We don’t follow because we’re afraid of what might happen if we don’t. We follow because we trust the One who is leading us. You don’t have to manufacture the adventure. Find the river. Step in. Follow where His love leads.
God is all-knowing: God is all-knowing, which means He knows the river better than we ever could. He knows where the current is strong, where the rocks are hidden beneath the surface, where the river bends, and where it eventually leads. We may see only the stretch of water directly in front of us, but God sees the entire journey. That is why the life God intended for you is not one you have to white-knuckle through. We often act as though everything depends on us to figure out the right direction, anticipate every obstacle, and control every outcome. But God isn’t asking us to know what He knows. He is asking us to trust Him enough to get in the river. There will be rapids we didn’t expect and turns we can’t see around. But the God who knows the river also knows how to lead us through it. We don’t have to know the river. We just have to trust the One who does.
God is all-powerful: The river doesn’t need you to make it flow. It was moving long before you arrived, powered by forces far greater than your own. You simply step into it and trust the One who controls the current. That’s a picture of God’s power. We often live as though everything depends on us—planning every turn, controlling every outcome, and gripping the sides of the raft as if God might suddenly say, “Good luck with this one.” But the life God intended for you is not one you white-knuckle through. God is all-powerful. He is not struggling to accomplish His purposes, and He is not asking you to accomplish them in your own strength. Sometimes the river moves quickly. Sometimes it slows. Sometimes it takes a turn you didn’t expect. But the current is still in His hands. Faith isn’t about controlling the river. It’s about trusting the One who controls the river.

Discussion Questions:

What would change in your life if, instead of trying to control the river, you learned to recognize where God is moving and simply trusted Him enough to climb in?
If God is love, how should that change the way we view His will—not as a test we might fail, but as an invitation to trust Him?
Where are you currently “standing on the bank,” overthinking, hesitating, or trying to control the outcome instead of stepping into what God may already be doing?
What would it look like this week to stop white-knuckling your faith and instead trust God enough to “step into the river” and follow where He leads?
Where in your life are you currently trying to “white-knuckle” your way through because you feel you need to know or control what comes next?
How does knowing that God sees the entire river—while you can see only the next stretch—change the way you approach His will?
What would it look like this week to stop trying to control the current and instead trust God enough to follow where He is leading?
Where are you currently trying to control the river rather than trusting God’s power to guide the current?
How would your approach to an uncertain situation change if you genuinely believed that God is powerful enough to accomplish His purposes—even when you can’t see where the river is going?
What would it look like this week to loosen your grip on the raft, trust God’s strength, and take the next step He is placing in front of you?

Take one thing home with you:

Meet Me at the River is more than a sermon series about discovering God’s will. It is an invitation to experience a transforming encounter with God. The goal isn’t simply to learn more about God, collect a few spiritual insights, or leave with three points neatly tucked into our notebooks. The goal is to meet Him—and to be changed by the encounter.

Throughout Scripture, rivers often become places of encounter, movement, cleansing, and transformation. People come to the water one way and leave another. The river reminds us that God is already moving. We don’t have to create the current, control the destination, or white-knuckle our way through the journey. We simply need to recognize where God is moving and trust Him enough to step into the water.

A transforming encounter with God changes more than what we know; it changes who we are. It reshapes our desires, redirects our steps, deepens our faith, and teaches us to surrender control. We discover that following Jesus isn’t primarily about figuring everything out—it’s about knowing the One who leads us.

So Meet Me at the River is ultimately an invitation: Come meet God where He is moving, and be willing to leave the river different than when you arrived.