Sermon Discussion Questions | Garden Ridge Church

Big Plans--Lesson 1--A Plan Before a World

Discussion Questions:

1. How have you seen God be inconsistent in the way He deals with people? Does this

undermine or bolster the idea that He has a plan for everything? How so?

2. How do difficult circumstances provide a litmus test of what we believe about God having

a plan for our life?

3. Have you ever wished that God left a breadcrumb trail or provided a pillar of cloud/fire for

you to follow through your life? What kind of trail or guide do you see in the Scriptures?

4. What kind of connections do you see between what God did to rescue Israel from Egypt

and then leading them through the wilderness with what Paul talks about in Ephesians 1:1-

14? What do these comparisons say to you?

5. How does Paul demonstrate that God is over the past, present, and future? How does this

provide security for you as He works in your life?

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?

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)