There are no flow questions for this week. We encourage your Life Group to use our five week Advent study which is is available in the bookstore now.
Advent: Preparing for Jesus, by Kenton Beshore, is a five week study designed to center Life Groups around the true power of Christmas. This study utilizes the flow question model with weekly reading and group discussion questions. Grab a copy for $8.99 for you and your group in the Irvine Campus bookstore this weekend.
Lean In // 5 minutes
What holiday food do you wait for all year?
Sample answers may include…
Leader note: The question is intended to get everyone playing and also to highlight the hope and expectation of Christmas.
Look Down // 10 minutes
What have we been given in Christ?
Sample answers may include…
How do hopeful people live?
Sample answers may include…
Look Out // 10 minutes
What’s the difference between a hope and a wish?
Leader note: A wish is something that might happen but seems highly unlikely and passive. Hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Hope is active.
Where have you seen someone live with hope? Give examples and describe their qualities.
Leader note: Define what it looks like to have an active hope (standing firm) as opposed to passively waiting.
Sample story: A couple went through a difficult and challenging season in their marriage. Family and friends expected the couple to get a divorce but instead they decided to go to counseling both individually and as a couple. Through the counseling, the couple learned how to find healing and trust in God. As a result, the couple believes they are stronger than ever and although painful, they would not trade the experience. They didn’t run away when things got hard and waited for God to show up. They were courageous and believed the best about the other even in the difficulty.
Look In // 15 minutes
When was a time God showed up when you thought he wouldn’t?
Where do you need God to show up?
What would it look like to embrace hope while you wait?
Leader note: The passage reminds us of the living hope we have received in Jesus and encourages us to not trust in things outside of him. As a follow-up, you may want to ask group members where they feel tempted to place their hope outside of God’s promises.
Live It Out // 5 minutes
What if you waited expectantly for God to show? How would you be different? Who would be impacted?
Key Verse(s): Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel—God with us. – Isaiah 7:14
Key Thought: Hope is God with you and God for you.
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Learn More About Flow Questions: Check out Kenton Beshore’s book Ask in the Irvine Campus Bookstore for more on the Flow Question model.