Leader Guide: Fall Week 9

LIFE GROUP LEADER GUIDE

For the week of November 11, 2018
This guide is designed to give helpful hints in preparing & leading your group in discussion.

These notes are designed to be a resource as you lead your Life Group each week.

Change in this Week’s Question Format
This week we’re changing our format to give your group some variety in how they study and interact with the Scripture and your group. As always, there are still additional questions. See below for more specific directions.

Goals for the Evening:

  • Get an idea of your group’s plans for the Winter Quarter. Begin to talk about the end of the quarter and people’s plans for the Winter Quarter. Your next meeting after Thanksgiving will be your last for the quarter.
  • Discuss the study questions
  • Pray together

  ANNOUNCEMENTS

NO LIFE GROUPS OVER THANKSGIVING
Just a reminder that there will be no Life Groups held over Thanksgiving Week, November 18-24.

IMPORTANT DATES

  • Last Week of Life Group: November 25 – December 1
  • Winter Sign-Ups: January 5 & 6 and 12 & 13
  • Winter Quarter: January 13 – March 16

  REMINDERS

FEEDBACK FORMS
We’d like to have your group fill out Feedback Forms during the last week. Let your group know how important their honest feedback is for you as leaders and hosts. Make sure you allow plenty of time to complete the forms.

Here’s how our online forms work: Everyone in your group will receive an email with a link to the Feedback Form on November 26. Please take the time in your Life Group to fill out the form online together. It takes just a couple minutes, it’s super easy and can be done on any smartphone. If needed, you can forward the email or text the link to anyone in your group who didn’t receive the email. The results of the Feedback Form will be emailed to you the following week. If you decide to use hard copies, please have them to us by December 2.
*Senior Groups will be sent hard copies.

NEW LEADER & HOST RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE WINTER QUARTER
We’re starting to make plans for the Winter Quarter. Do you have anyone in your group who is ready to lead or host a new group? Please let your Station-in-Life Pastor know of any potential leaders/hosts for the Winter Quarter. You can do this by including their names in the comment box when you submit your attendance or by clicking on “Recommend a Leader/Host” on the Leader Tools page.

ATTENDANCE
Submit your group’s attendance online through the Leader Toolbox here: northcoastchurch.com/attendance

Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged or confused you?

This week is a Circle / Highlight / Underline Study in Matthew 6. The verses below are part of what’s commonly known as Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount.” In this chapter, Jesus talks specifically about hypocrisy in giving, how to pray, fasting, material desires, and even dealing with anxiety and learning to trust God – all topics similar to what Haggai was addressing with the Israelites. CIRCLE / HIGHLIGHT / UNDERLINE: Grab your pen and highlighter and dig in to the passages below!

  1. Circle / highlight any words or phrases that catch your attention.
  2. Underline the verse you see as most important to remember.
  3. Put an X next to anything that confuses you.
  4. Summarize each passage in one sentence as you’d say it to a friend.

How To Use this Week’s Different Format in Your Group: As always you’re going to need to decide how much time your group is going to spend on each section/question as you most likely won’t have time to have each person give their answers to the four suggested responses in each passage. 

Discussion Suggestions:

  • Asking the Questions: Have each person share their circles or highlights as well as their underlined verse. If there’s time, have each person share their answers to #3 and #4. 
  • Divide into three groups option: This is another way to change up your group flow. It will also allow plenty of process time to go through the three sections below and find out each person’s responses. They can close their small group time together taking prayer requests and come back together with everyone at the end and share a highlight, or just do prayer requests and all pray together. Again, it’s your decision to do what works best for your group.
  • Extra questions below each Scripture: Again, it is entirely up to you to decide to use these questions. They are there to help your group focus if needed.
  • Commentary to help answer further questions about the passage: biblegateway.com/resources/ivp-nt/Do-Not-Value-Possessions

19-2119 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

YOUR THOUGHTS

We know planning for the future requires sacrifice, but as verse 19 says above we can’t miss investing in a “500 year” plan. With that in mind, what might that look like now …at your work and in your career?  …with friends and family (spouse, siblings, parents, or children)?  …free time?

Additional Question: Can you think of a time when your heart and the direction it was taking seemed right, only to later realize you were fooled?

22-2422 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

YOUR THOUGHTS

Can you think of any examples of new perspectives and priorities in your life resulting from your commitment to follow Jesus?

25-3425 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you
will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

YOUR THOUGHTS

True or False – It’s never okay to worry.
We all worry at times. What do you tend to worry about?

Worry: When reading a passage like this we may think that all worry or anxiety is bad or wrong. The issue is not “IF” worry happens, but rather are we getting trapped in it, and unable to move forward or do what we need to do? Jesus had anxiety in the Garden of Gethsemane knowing he was going to have to go to the cross and he “sweat blood” because his anxiety was so high (Luke 22:39-46). The point is, are we worrying about things we don’t need to worry about (or becoming paralyzed by it), no longer functioning in a healthy way?

Additional Verses to help us deal with worry: Philippians 4:5-6; John 14:7

Additional Questions: It’s not always easy to stop worrying even after reading verses that encourage us. What are some ways to address worry if you find it starting to have a tight grip on you? Some answers might be: Prayer. Process with others to get perspective and see if there’s a realistic concern. Get counsel, coaching or advice on how to move forward. Why do we find it difficult to ask advice from others?

Looking back on this week’s sermon and study, what’s most important for you to remember?

Israel Study Tour – June 18-29, 2019

Join Dave Enns and Connor McFadden as they lead North Coast’s next Study Tour that will bring the land and lessons of the Bible to Life. $100 discount if deposit is made by Dec. 14.