Abide Series Discussion Questions
September 8, 2024 - Can You Trust What’s in Your Hands?
Have you ever had a conversation with someone who didn't trust the Bible? Have you ever gone through seasons of doubting in the trustworthiness of this book?
Dr. Ehrman's book misquoting Jesus makes some faith shaking claims. How do these stats affect your trust in Bible?
Dr. Wallace holds a different view after studying these manuscripts closely. How does the quantity of New Testament manuscripts compare to other ancient literature? Why should we (or shouldn't we) trust these more than our New Testament manuscripts on comparison?
400,000 variants sounds daunting. But what does the breakdown in the 4 Groups of variants reveal to us?
Can we trust in the consistent message found in over 25,000 manuscripts, several different languages, and spanning hundreds of years? What significance should this "most copied" book of all time have in our lives?
Why should we want to hold onto His Word, trust in His truth, and abide in this Savior?
Does trust promote relational abiding in?
September 15, 2024 - Abide in the Word of God
Were you aware that Jesus' last words were "Surely I am coming soon"?
Why is it helpful to view God's word in its entirety?
What action is provoked within you because of Jesus' return?
How does this message promote disciple making?
September 22, 2024 - Prayers of Desperation
Read through 2 Chronicles 20:1-12. In this time of desperation what did it mean for Judah to seek the LORD? Talk through the three expressions of seeking the LORD; Recognizing how great God is, acknowledging the great need, bonding with a Savior.
How does Acts 1:6-8 mirror national prayers of desperation in 2 Chronicles 20? What can we learn from how God has worked throughout the Bible to guide our current attitudes and prayers as we pray for our Nation?
What can we learn from the fervency and frequency of the prayers of the people of Wales preceding the revival?
Take a moment to pray together for our Nation? Can you commit to pray over the next month consistently for God to move in our Nation through us?
How should our circumstances drive us to a point of desperately seeking God? Do these circumstances help you depend on God or do they turn you away from God? Take a moment to pray over each other and pray for hearts that would turn to God and trust God.
The core of our desperation is the recognition of our true spiritual condition. Judah had turned away from God and had built altars to other gods in 2 Chronicles 17. How is this similar to the people Jesus met through the Gospel’s? What was your moment of recognition when you turned to Jesus in spiritual desperation? How did God offer you the same kind of grace he gave to Judah?
Pray over each other for a fresh understanding of the grace we live in everyday. Pray for others you know that may be on their way to understanding their true spiritual state.
September 29, 2024 - Prayers of Delight
What was the desperation that created the situation David was living in for Psalm 63?
Would you have picked up on that in most of what you read in Psalm 63?
The revival in Wales and England in the early 1900’s was preceded with years of desperate prayers. The revival was kicked of with a declaration of adoration. How does adoration reframe our desperate situations?
We usually define confession as a time we admit all the wrong things we have done. How is it different to find delight in confession. Read Psalm 51:10-12. How does our desire to address our empty idols and turn to the all sufficiency of Jesus change the way we confess?
When we are overwhelmed by our desperate circumstances, gratitude can become the weapon that overshadows our situation. David remembered all God had done to create an environment in which He could sing for joy. How does thankfulness connect to delighting in God and help us refute our desperation?
God wants us to bring our needs to Him. He is a good father who wants to hear these things from us. What needs did David bring to God in Psalm 63:9-10? As David waited for God to answer those needs, what did God do for David in verse 11? How do we find God’s sufficiency as we wait for needs to be answered?
Are you becoming more of a person of prayer as we go through this series? Will you commit to praying for yourself, our church, and our nation over the next month? Can you make delight a central part of those prayers?
October 6, 2024 - Daily Realities to Grow Your Discipline of Prayer
I pray, we pray, you pray. Take a moment to talk about Jesus' life of prayer that He modeled for the disciples. Why do you think they asked Jesus to teach them to pray?
Paul discipled others in the same way. He modeled a life of prayer and showed them why they needed to abide in prayer daily.
Can you imagine praying with Paul and hearing his passion for growing daily in the presence of Jesus? What would that be like? Do you have someone that demonstrates that passion for you?
Paul lived his life very carefully. He looked for every opportunity to go and take the Gospel somewhere. How was this seen in Pavlo's story?
Paul needed protection everyday. We may not know what deliverance will look like but Jesus promises to be with us and strengthen us through our “prisons”. What are we praying for when we pray for protection?
To live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am going to live, it will be a life that matters for the Gospel! Have you ever spent time with someone who lived in the power of the Gospel like Paul? How does that inspire you to live in the power made available to us all?
The best way to grow in the daily discipline of prayer is to be in community with people who enjoy abiding in prayer. What does "I pray, we pray, you pray" look like in your life?
October 13, 2024 - How Much of You Needs to be Renewed?
How well do you deal with change? It is something you avoid or embrace?
How much change do you think Jesus wants to bring into your life? Do we emphasize this in modern church culture or has more of the emphasis been placed on the moment of our salvation?
How would this emphasis be reflected in the percentage of the New Testament letters between the moment of salvation versus the process of sanctification?
Learning to live according to our own perception or truth is engrained in humanity. How do you see it in culture today and in the history of humanity?
How "corrupt" is your old life and the perspective you have learned to live with? How much of that do you think Jesus wants to undo?
How does abiding IN JESUS change us, and to what extent is it supposed to change us?
We live in a time that very few believers are abiding and very few believers are walking in sanctification. What are the personal and societal affects of that?
Every way we respond, think, and feel about things needs to be sanctified. Are there areas in your life that have remained unchanged and corrupted?
What should the answer be to what is being asked by our world... "Where is Jesus and where are His people?"
October 20, 2024 - A New Foundation + A New Destination = A Renewed You
All of you needs to be renewed through abiding in Jesus.
What does it mean to be IN Jesus? How does Ephesians 1-3 give you a new name tag?
What happens when Jesus is IN YOU? How did Caiden praying through Philippians 2:2-5 begin to change his mind and his heart? What does it mean to have Jesus' mind and heart and how should that change you and your life?
Why is it significant that we are also "tucked away" in God? How should this give us a new perspective and new purpose? How should that also change the way we interact with circumstances and life?
Paul then gets very specific with how our new foundation and destination should impact our daily realities. How should this reality shape our character? How did Jacob's life illustrate this?
Now go back and consider what life would be like if you were left alone in yourself. What seems more appealing; abiding in Jesus or living your own life?
A disciple is someone who knows God personally and pursues Jesus passionately and is allowing the Holy Spirit to transform their character after that of Jesus. Are you abiding in Jesus as a disciple?