Discussion Questions
What Now? - Part Two
Journey Serve Day is scheduled for May 6. We can’t wait to celebrate this day with you as we gather together at our Orange City location. OC will meet at 8 am, and Deltona and DeLand will meet at 11 am. If you haven’t done so already, please submit your plan for Serve Day on the Serve Day web page: www.journeyconnect.org/serveday
Life is a series of choices. Every day we face decisions that impact our lives. We make our choices, and then they make us. We make our decisions, and if we make good decisions, we become successful. If we make bad decisions, then we're not. Indecision is one of the greatest sources of stress in your life. This week we will discuss how God actually wants to speak to you and give you direct guidance in the decisions you are making.
1. Read 1 Samuel 3:9. ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ This is our prayer through this series. In what big decision are you seeking guidance from God?
2. All of John 16 is so powerful. Reading the entire chapter would be a great way to start your time together.
3. What stood out to you in Pastor James’ sermon this week?
4. Read John 16:7. "But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." What hope does it give you knowing that the Spirit of God is our “Advocate”?
5. Read John 16:12-13. “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." In these verses, John tells us three different things that the Holy Spirit will do; what are they? What does this mean to you?
6. Read Galatians 5:25. "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." That means the Holy Spirit is living in us and through us. This happens the moment you become a believer in Jesus Christ. You receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit so that God’s Spirit now lives in you and is working to transform you from the inside out. How has your life changed since you became a follower of Jesus?
Pastor James shared three ways we can hear the voice of God to personally guide us: The Spirit speaks to you by…
- I. Navigating through God’s Word
2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NLT). "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work." How have you seen scripture move and change you in one of the abovementioned ways?
Psalm 119:105, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” What does this verse mean to you? How does God’s word serve as a “lamp” or a “light”?
When facing a decision, ask: What does Scripture tell me to do?
- II. Prompting godly desires.
Philippians 2:13. "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." Notice that God is doing the working and giving. What is God giving us? What does God want us to do with it? How can this change a believer's life?
Psalm 37:4. "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." How can you imagine our “delighting in the Lord” and “the desires of our hearts” intertwining? Why would God do it that way?
When facing a decision, ask: What is God prompting me to do?
- III. Counseling through godly people.
Proverbs 12:14-15. “Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others. Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety."Can you share a time when the wisdom of a godly friend made a difference in your life? Who do you have in your life today to turn to when you need godly advice?
Hebrews 3:13. "Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." We have all made a bad decision at one time. How does having a community of godly friends help us navigate through life?
When facing a decision, ask: What is godly counsel encouraging me to do?