Week 2 Sermon Questions For Groups

Prayer: a better way: Part 2

Introduction:

Everything about our lives — our attitudes, motives, desires, actions, and even our words — is influenced by our view of God. It determines the way you look at your problems, the way you look at your future, and the way you look at your relationships.

Bottom line: How can I pray out of delight rather than duty?

Something To Talk About: 

  1. How can I pray out of delight instead of duty?: Prayer can be viewed as a conversation, activity, ritual, or obligation. We pray because we’ve been told we must. Prayer becomes a chore, an item on the to-do list, another expectation we’re not quite meeting. It can feel pretty stiff as we recite formal “prayer words” like they say in church or follow a prescriptive format? Yet, truly, prayer is a privilege, an opportunity to develop a friendship with God. What a gift that God wants to spend time with us and develop a personal relationship. How much more will we desire prayer if we first invest in developing a relationship with the One we are praying to? How much more meaningful will our time in prayer be if we view that time as a privilege, instead of an obligation? Praying is so much more than mere duty. We have to move beyond time spent out of duty-bound obligation and come to cherish and desire that time. Our prayers matter.
  2. Pray to the God who puts my good above His own: This is the heart of the Gospel.  God says you’ve sinned, you deserve punishment, but I’m a good God and I love you, and I’m also holy and just. So here’s the deal, I’ll do it, I’ll pay for your sins. I will come to earth as the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and I will die for your sins. You’re not dying for mine, I’m dying for yours. This is the ultimate expression of love; the Shepherd dies for the sheep. The cross is the greatest symbol of the goodness of God; the perfect One dies for the imperfect ones. Nobody ever will offer to pay for your sins, except God. When God looks at you, He does not see your sin. He sees God’s goodness. When Jesus Christ died for you on the cross, He solved your biggest problem. Any other problem you have in your life is small potatoes. He loves you enough to help you with your bills and your health and your relationships. There is nothing you can’t bring to God in prayer. If He loved you enough to die for you, He loves you enough to answer your prayer.  
  3. Pray to the God whose plans for me are always good:  God is good, so by nature, He cannot do bad things. Everything God does is good. And so, because God is good, God’s plans for your life will always be good. Jeremiah 29:11-12 says, “ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.” There is a connection between prayer and God’s plans for your life. There is a purpose for your life, otherwise, God could have just let you be born and then wander around aimlessly. Everything has a purpose and a plan. God gave you a plan for your life. Why? Because He loves you. He is a good God, so he put a lot of thought into creating you. God’s plans for your life are revealed and realized through prayer. The more you pray, the more you’re going to understand God’s plan for your life. When you pray to Him, He listens, and He answers and reveals more of Himself to you.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why do you think people and churches struggle with prayer today? What obstacles (practical, spiritual, emotional, etc.) keep us from taking everything to God? 
  2. What keeps most people from praying on a regular basis? What are some specific ways we can overcome those challenges? On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, how would you rate your time spent talking with God this past week? Explain.
  3. If your prayers were written like those in the Psalms, what would those who read them learn about your concept of God?
  4. How does the fact that God puts our good above His own affect our daily lives? 
  5.  When was a time when you really knew you were living God’s plans for you? How did you know?  Or, when was a time when you realized that you were not living God’s plans for you? How did you know?
  6. Proverbs 16:4  says: “The Lord has made everything for His own purposes.” What are the implications of this verse for our lives? How does your prayer life reflect how much you want to understand God’s plan for your life?
  7. What are some next steps that you need to take in your prayer life?
  8. What was one thing you found particularly interesting, insightful, helpful, or difficult to understand from this sermon?

Take one thing home with you:

From the beginning of Northstar, we have made it a priority to seek God first in prayer. We understand the importance of prayer both as individuals and as a community of believers. While we encourage individuals to engage in daily prayer we have also created opportunities to engage in prayer as a community. There is no greater need in the life and ministry of a church, and we invite all of you to partner with us over the next few weeks. 

Week 1 Sermon Questions For Groups

Prayer: a better way: A beginners Guide to prayer

Introduction:

There is incredible power and potential in prayer. Through prayer, we invite the God of the universe into a situation and into our lives. Prayer changes things, but even more prayer changes us. Through prayer, we have the opportunity to reach our full potential in Christ. As we grow in our prayer life, we become more alive and more engaged with what God is doing. None of us are perfect at prayer, but as we take steps to grow spiritually in our prayer life, the impact is incredible.

Something To Talk About: 

  1. God loves for me to talk with Him: Prayer is simply just talking to God. I think that many people pray more than they realize, but because we have complicated prayer and turned it into a formal religious activity, we step back from prayer. God just wants us to talk to Him. Prayer is the communication process between us and the Lord. Isaiah 65:24 says, “I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!” Christianity is a relationship with a living God. This relationship is built on communication. We need to talk to God (pray) and let Him respond. God is not too busy to listen to you. He is ready and able to give you His full attention. Jeremiah 18:1-2 says, “The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” Psalm 102:17 adds, “He will listen to the prayers of the destitute. He will not reject their pleas.”We can and should talk to God about everything.  
  2. God listens to prayers that are simple and sincere: Longer is not stronger when it comes to prayer. God is much more interested in humble and authentic prayers than a long-winded sermon in prayer. Just get to the point. You don’t have to convince God of what you need. He already knows. Just come to him as simply, honestly, and humbly as you can, and talk about what you need. Don’t use prayer to show off. Instead, be sincere. Don’t spout off clichés. Don’t add in fillers because you’re afraid your prayers are too short. Talk to God like you would to a loved one or a good friend. Adding words to your prayer doesn’t make it any stronger. Keep it simple, with a sincere heart and sure faith.
  3. God likes to show His goodness by answering prayer:  How much confidence do we have in prayer? We might pray as a last resort, when we’ve run out of options, or when we have the slimmest of hopes, but it’s not something we rely on. But Jesus and the Bible talk about answered prayer like it’s a sure thing, a certainty, something that is extremely reliable. Jesus said “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8) What language could Jesus have used to make it more certain than, “you will receive what you ask for?” He loves to meet your needs. He doesn’t do it begrudgingly—He loves it. Matthew 7:11 says, “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” And he means everyone. He doesn’t say every nice person, or every religious person, or even every person who serves God. No, “…everyone who asks receives.” God proves His goodness when you ask. We learn to trust God by watching for the many ways he meets our needs and answers our prayers.
  4. God longs to be close to me: God isn’t far away. In fact, it’s just the opposite. In fact, God is one big step closer than anyone else ever can be; He’s there in you. He’s there in the room with you. And when you sit in that meeting with a customer, and your mind is working a million miles an hour trying to understand problems and develop solutions, He is there. When family problems mount, He is there. In the toughest moments in life, we can have the incredible, indescribable joy and peace because God is in that place. We don’t need an international mobile phone to talk to God; we can talk anytime, anywhere, because He is there. We can ask for advice, help, guidance, wisdom and then trust that He will guide and lead us in the way we should go. He’s right there with you every moment. The Bible says, “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.” (Acts 17:27) It may not seem like God is close, but the reality is that God is with you right now.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How did you learn to pray? Was it modeled for you? Were you taught specific prayers as a child?
  2. Someone once said that “life is a prayer.” Agree or disagree and why?  
  3. What is your motivation to talk to God?
  4. Why do you think God loves for us to talk to Him? 
  5. Why do you think God prefers humble, authentic prayers to eloquent, long-winded prayers? Does knowing God wants you to use simple, sincere words when you pray make it easier for you to pray in front of people? Why or why not?
  6. The happy—or dramatic—answers to prayer tend to get the most attention from fellow Christians and the Christian media. Does this help or hurt your attitude toward prayer?
  7. Have you felt a sense of a prayer being answered? Have you felt a prayer was not answered?
  8. Do you believe God is always there? How have you experienced that?
  9. Are you ever afraid to ask others for prayer for yourself? Why or why not?
  10. What practical suggestions have helped you most in your prayer life? Why?
  11. What was one thing you found particularly interesting, insightful, helpful, or difficult to understand from this sermon?

Take one thing home with you:

From the beginning of Northstar, we have made it a priority to seek God first in prayer. We understand the importance of prayer both as individuals and as a community of believers. While we encourage individuals to engage in daily prayer we have also created opportunities to engage in prayer as a community. There is no greater need in the life and ministry of a church, and we invite all of you to partner with us over the next few weeks through prayer.