Leader Huddle Season 2 Wk. 8

Here is 3 short minutes of how you can help us get better! 

RE Series wk. 4 REstore

Icebreaker: What's one of your biggest fears? 

Today we're studying a passage about a very well-known fear. Bugs. In Joel 2, God sends a plague of locusts on His own people to decimate their livelihood in order to get their attention. Let's see what God might be saying to us through it. 

READ Joel 2:1-2

1- What are some warning signs you've seen pop up in your past when you were heading down a path God doesn't want you to stay on? 

• Leader Note; This may seem like a personal question but if some people can share from their past, it can be very helpful for people who may be seeing these signs in the present but are unable to recognize them.

2- When you hear the term "the day of the Lord" are your thoughts normally positive or negative? Why?

READ Luke 23:44-46. 

Here we see a parallel (darkness during the daytime) between the day of the Lord mentioned in Joel and the fulfillment of the day of the Lord when Jesus was crucified. The day of darkness and gloom ending up being the day where relationship between God and man was restored.

3- How does knowing that even the worst day in history was used for your good, encourage you today?

READ Joel 2:11-12

4-This verse tells us that God used this plague of locusts to get His people's attention. Has God ever used something bad in your life to draw you closer to Him? If so, share with the group.

5- Despite the hard season the Israelite people faced, God told them to return to Him. If his past season of life has been hard for you, how have you "returned" to God during this time? If the past few months have not been hard, what decisions can you make now that would help you in a difficult season in the future? 

READ Joel 2:13-15

6- The same phrase "Blow a trumpet in Zion" was used in verse 1 to warn of God's judgement. Now, in verse 15 it is used in response to His goodness. How do you think Joel and the people of Israel could were able to have the same reaction to both bad and good from God?

7- How do you react to these 2 characteristics of God? Do you react to them differently or the same? Why or why not? 

8- As season 2 of rGroups comes to a close, how can the group be praying for you? How do you want to see your faith grow in the coming weeks? 

Leader Huddle Season 2 Wk. 7

Let's ask God to flip the camera in our minds to see our groups the way He sees them, not focusing on what we can see with our own eyes! 

RE Series wk. 3 - REnew

Icebreaker: Today we are studying the passage of scripture that inspired the famous hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” What’s one of your favorite “oldie but goodie” songs? (It has to be at least 10 years old)

1- When you hear the word “lament” what are some of the initial thoughts that come to mind?

READ Lamentations 3:16-18, Job 2:10

*I recommend reading the NLT (New Living Translation) this week*

2- The ‘he’ in this passage refers to God (see Lam. 3:1). Christians often mistakenly think that God never gives them anything bad/difficult. How do these passages challenge that assumption?

3- God gives us hard things sometimes. How have you seen that to be true in your life recently?

4- Lamentations 3:18 (NLT) says, “Everything I had hoped for from the Lord was lost.” Have you had this thought in the past few months? Why?

READ Lamentations 3:19-21

5- When you go through difficult times in your life, in what do you normally find hope?

6- Gloom and doom has been the mantra of the day since COVID came. Jeremiah was dealing decades worth of sorrow and despair when he wrote this. Yet, verse 21 (NLT) says he still “dared to hope.” Have you purposely tried to be hopeful during the past few months? If so, how? If not, why?

READ Lamentations 3:22-24 

7- Despite all the bad things brought in Jeremiah’s life, he still can write verse 22. How do you think that’s possible?

8- “Great is His faithfulness.” What do you think that means? After thinking about that in relation to questions 2 and 3, how does this passage of scripture impact your view of God? 

9- Verse 24 answers our questions 5 & 6. What does it mean for the Lord to be your inheritance? How does that help you have hope?

• If you need some extra help, check out Ephesians 1:11-14. Our inheritance is our salvation and the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of that salvation. So, our hope is in our salvation that comes only from God.

Leader Huddle Season 2 Wk.6

This past week, due to vacation and illness, I had 2 people show up to my rGroup, and one of them was 20 minutes late. It got me thinking, 'What if no one shows up?' Are you guys prepared if it's just you and 1 or 2 others? 

I put some thoughts together in this week's leader huddle about leading an (almost) empty room as well as an important announcement. 

RE Series -wk. 2- REpurpose

Icebreaker: In your opinion, what is a book, movie, or TV show that is so popular you think everyone knows about it? 

Today we’re looking at one of the most popular Bible verses of all time. Even non-Christians have heard this one before!

*Background Info: Jeremiah 29 is part of a letter written to the Israelite people from God after they had been conquered and taken as exiles to Babylon. It is written in response to false prophets who were telling the people that this exile would be easy and only last a few years*  

READ Jeremiah 29:7-9 

1- Who sent the Israelites into exile in verse 7? Something that was seen as bad, was actually brought on God’s people by God. How can this encourage you with the season of life you are currently in? 

2- “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you…” How can you apply this command from God to the Israelite people to your life today? 

3- “Pray to the Lord on its behalf…(v.7)”  Now, read 1 Timothy 2:1-2. Do you ever consider praying for the good of the city/state/country that you live in? Why or why not? What about the leaders of the city/state/country, how can we pray for them? 

READ Jeremiah 29:10-11

4- Now that you have read some of the context of Jeremiah 29:11, what are your thoughts on the meaning of this verse? 

5- Looking at verse 7 after reading verse 10, we see that God sent the Israelites into exile for 70 years! Yet, 29:11 says that His plans are good, not evil, and will give them hope and a future. How do you reconcile these two truths in your faith? 

6- Now, think about 2020 in light of these verses. How can seeing the good and the bad mixed together in the story of the Israelites apply to our lives in 2020? Does that application encourage you or discourage you? Why? 

READ Jeremiah 29:12-13 and Matthew 7:7-8

7- God promises that when we seek Him, we will find Him. How have you seen this to be true in your life in the past?

8- As you think about the near future, what are some things that you are seeking God for and asking Him for? 

• Leaders: writing these down and praying over them as a group might be a great way to end this rGroup session!

Leader Huddle Season 2 Wk. 5

You’re either in the middle of a storm right now, or you are about to be in the middle of one. 

It’s coming, and people are counting on us to be able to lead them well regardless of what’s going on in our personal lives. 

So, how should a leader prepare for that reality? 

RE Series- wk. 1- REmedy

Icebreaker: What is a moment in your life that you would like to REvisit? What's one of you favorite memories?

Let's revisit Isaiah 53. It's a very popular passage in Christianity, so let's take a deeper look.

1- What are some expectations you had for 2020 that have not turned out like you had hoped?

READ Isaiah 53:1

2- Here, Isaiah is discouraged by the fact that no one in Israel has listened to his words from God. How have you dealt with unmet expectations in 2020? Why do you think you have responded in that way? 

READ Isaiah 53:2-3

3- Now, Isaiah turns toward the prophetic portion of this chapter. He is talking about Jesus. After hearing this, how do you think you would have reacted if you had been alive in the 1st century and seen Jesus as a human? Would you have expected great things from him? Why or why not?

4-  Look again at verse 3. How did people in the 1st century treat Jesus? Knowing that he looked unimportant, but promised to be the Messiah, why do you think he was treated like that? 

5- Have you ever thought of Jesus in a similar way as verse 3 because he didn't do something in the way you expected?

READ Isaiah 53:4-6

6- Put yourself in the shoes of Jesus' accusers. They were Jewish people who would have studied these verses, yet they did not connect Jesus' suffering with the sacrifice depicted here. What are some things in your life that might need you to look at again and change your perspective? 

7- Re-read verse 5. In what ways might the sacrifice of Jesus heal you from the wounds of unmet expectations, disappointments, and hurts in this year?

8- As you see a community, a country, and a world that is in need of healing in so many ways, how can you offer a remedy to their wounds this week? What habits can you try to instill in yourself now that will help others see the remedy for their wounds? 

9- Verse 6 encourages us that even though we fail and falter, Christ took the punishment for us. How does that encourage you to attempt the things you decided on in the last question?