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Week 7 Sermon Questions For Groups

October 9, 2022

Embrace your calling: God’s plan for history; He’s gathering a family that will love and live with Him forever.

Introduction:

Your destiny has eternal significance not just for yourself but also for other people. Nothing you do will ever matter as much as helping people establish an eternal relationship with God. This is why you must be urgent about knowing your destiny and completing your mission.

Something To Talk About:

No matter what mistakes you’ve made, you’re still on God’s “Plan A” for your life. He has not revoked His original dream for your life. It doesn’t matter what other people did to you, what you’ve done to others or yourself, or what mistakes or poor decisions you’ve made. You can still fulfill God’s dream for your life. Here are three ways: 

  1. Pray that people will say yes to God: Most of the time when we pray, we pray for blessings for our friends and family or ask God’s help for our leaders, nation, or even our own health and prosperity. But, have you ever prayed for someone you don’t know? If we pray for people to come to Christ and to say yes to God, we are playing a part in fulfilling the Great Commission. Pray every day that people will open their hearts to the truth of Jesus Christ. Pray that people will say “yes” to God. Sometimes it is very hard to say “yes” to God. Praying for someone’s strength to remain obedient to God’s calling is a very important role. Whether you are able to go on a mission trip or not, you can always pray that people will say “yes” to God. This should always be part of your calling to be sent.
  2. Listen for His message to me: We have two responsibilities as I seek to follow Jesus’ calling in my own life. One is to know the shepherd’s voice, and the other is to follow Him. Both require us to listen to God. It may come in a small whisper, but there is a clear message, even if the instruction is not easy.  Many other voices compete for my attention: my own ideas and insecurities, cultural values and social media, and well-meaning friends and family. Over the years, I have learned that the best way to tune out these voices and tune in to the voice of Jesus is to simply make time to quietly sit and listen. When I ignore His voice or disregard His call, I miss out on opportunities to better know, love, and serve Him.
  3. Go where I can go now: It would be difficult to go to Tibet, but you can go somewhere now.  We live in a county that is filled with needs all around us.  People are hurting, people are dying, people are bleeding, and people need help.  Hurricane Ian devastated large sections of Florida. That is one of many ministries you could do right here in your own backyard. You need to tell people on your campus if you’re in school, or in your business if you’re in a business, or in your neighborhood if you live in a neighborhood.  Tell the people around you.  Tell them the good news. 2 Timothy 4:5 says, “…Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.“ If we do, others will experience His love, experience His forgiveness, experience His peace, and experience His purpose.   

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does it mean to you to be called? How do you develop a “yes, God” attitude—where you’re prepared to be obedient, no matter what God tells you to do?
  2. Read Romans 10:13-15 on top and 2 Corinthians 5:18 above. What do they each say about how we’re called to be sent?  In the big picture, God created the universe and man with the purpose of gathering a family to Himself. Look again at the two verses above.  What role does each of us have in reconciling others to God?
  3. Read Matthew 9:37-38:  A major step in living out your calling is to pray that people will say “Yes!” to God.  Who will you make a commitment to pray for in your Jerusalem, your Judea, your Samaria, and to the ends of the earth?
  4. Read Acts 20:24: There are many different ways of telling others about the Good News of Jesus. How do you think you can be most impactful on others for Christ? Are there ways of sharing God that you would like to try but have been hesitant to use?
  5.  God speaking is receiving communication from God. We receive this through whatever vehicle God uses, usually, in a manner, we can hear, as He chooses, at the time He desires. So as you look back, do you see times when God may have been speaking to you and you may have never realized it?
  6. God speaks through the Holy Spirit in an “inner voice” Have you experienced this? What was the effect on you? How did it impact your faith? Your closeness to God?
  7. God will never lead us until we follow Him now: no step along the way is small or insignificant. Agree or disagree and why? 
  8.  Ask God to make you sensitive to see how you can speak to others about how He has blessed you. Pray about how you can bless someone else – particularly someone far from God.
  9. What part of the message resonated with you? 

Take one thing home with you:

But God has much more for us than merely waiting for Him. He has a lot for us to do right now, right where we are: Psalm 37:3 says, “Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.” Trusting the Lord — casting, not carrying, our anxieties — frees us to dwell contentedly, whatever our situation (Philippians 4:11–13), and faithfully “ …do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.” (Galatians 6:10). When we take our eyes off what we’re waiting for and look around, we’ll discover more opportunities to do good — right now, where we are — than we could actually ever do.