Why Be Anxious--Stand Alone Sermon

Discussion Questions:

1. What kinds of things cause you to feel stress and anxiety? How much of the stress and

anxiety you feel is from external sources, and how much is internal?

2. Describe what it means that God is “the God of peace”? How does He demonstrate this to

You?

3. What difficulty do you have praying with a spirit of thankfulness, especially when the

circumstances are difficult or hurtful? How does a spirit of thankfulness overcome anxiety?

4. How have you seen expectations influence the way you experience things? How does a

better knowledge of God and His promises positively enhance your expectations, even

when facing trial or loss?

5. How does Jesus’ portrayal of Himself as a chicken offer encouragement to you? What

does this portrayal tell you about His confidence concerning what is in His account with

God? Do you have this confidence in your account?

Invest--Lesson 3--Invested in the Kingdoom

Discussion Questions:

1. What kind of filters do you have that take your focus off the Kingdom of God and place your

focus upon yourself?

2. Why is it significant that when Moses defeated the Amalekites he built an altar to the

LORD, calling it “The LORD is my Banner”, but when Saul defeated the Amalekites he built

a monument to himself?

3. What danger have you seen of taking ministry given to us by the LORD and turning it into a

monument to us rather than God? Why is it easy to fall into this? What does this tell you

about the importance of considering pride when nominating someone as a shepherd?

4. What does it mean that God “regretted” making Saul king? How can we avoid bringing

“regret” from God in our shepherd selection process, and moving forward in the future of

this church?

5. How do the Standards of the Garden Ridge church help you in the nominating process for

shepherds? How do the Standards keep us focused upon Kingdom work? (You can find

the Standards on the website: gardenridge.org. Go to “About” and click on “Vision” and

scroll down)

Invest--Lesson 2--Invested in the Flock

Discussion Questions:

1. What is it about shepherding sheep that trains and empowers people to be good leaders

for the LORD’s people?

2. How difficult does being a shepherd for the LORD’s church sound to you? Why would

someone choose to take on the responsibilities that come with this role?

3. What is the significance in using titles such as “elders” and “shepherds” for the leaders of

the church? What does each title say about the role? Why does Garden Ridge emphasize

the role of shepherd rather than elder?

4. Why is it important for the shepherd to remember that they are also a sheep? How does

remembering the importance of this help you with the nominating process?

5. What does it look like for a shepherd to be invested in the sheep? What kinds of practical

things can a shepherd do to lead people down a path of righteousness, through the valley

of the shadow of death, along with security at a table in the presence of the enemy, and

on to the house of the LORD?