Renewed Leadership | Mark 10:32-45

Discussion Questions

1. Read 1 Peter 5:1-5. What are the qualities of renewed leadership that we should look for in the leaders around us?

2. Is there a priority of these qualities or are they all of equal value in leadership?

3. How would you feel about following leaders who live out these qualities of godly leadership?

4. How do you feel about being called a leader? Even if you don’t feel like a leader, can you articulate how you can lead others in your life?

5. What are areas of growth regarding leadership that you see in our church? In your own life?

Prayer Points

1. Pray for the leaders in our church that they would increasingly grow in godly leadership qualities and abilities.

2. Pray that God will raise up new leaders to serve his people well and be on mission with him in proclaiming Jesus and making disciples.

3. Pray for the leaders in other areas of your life (work, politics, family, etc.) that they would humbly follow God’s guidance and use wisdom in their leadership.

4. Pray for God to show you the ways that you can lead others for their good and growth.

5. Pray for God to lead our church into a fresh vision of his purpose and mission for us during our time of renewal this year.

Renewed Evangelism | 1 Peter3:13-22

Discussion Questions

Read together 1 Peter 3:13-22  and answer the following questions: What stood out to you? What do these passages teach us about God (his character, his will, his plans, his principles)?

  1. From the five parts of knowing the Messiah, which part(s) do you struggle to understand and communicate when sharing the gospel?  

    1. Jesus Christ | Messiah = the story of Israel

    2. Holy | Utterly unique and set apart

    3. Substitute | The righteous for the unrighteous 

    4. Victorious | Made alive by the Spirit

    5. Ruling | Ascended to heaven, authorities subjected

  2. Have you responded to the gospel message through repentance and baptism? 

  3. Can the gospel be shared without including your testimony, why or why not? Can you share your testimony without the gospel, why or why not?

  4. Breakout into smaller groups of 2-3 and each take turns sharing the gospel with one another. 


Prayer Points

  • Pray that Sound City would be a church filled with joy and passion to share the gospel.

  • Pray that God would bring opportunities in your life and the life of other Christians to share the gospel. 

  • Pray that the Holy Spirit would lead, guide, and help you share the gospel when the opportunities become present.

Renewed Community | Ephesians 4:1-16

Discussion Questions

  1. Read together Ephesians 4:1-16  and answer the following questions: What stood out to you? What do these passages teach us about God (his character, his will, his plans, his principles)?

  2. Centered around Christ, how do you see elements of individualism and collectivism in Christian community?

  3. In what ways do we intentionally or unintentionally make a lesser community (affinity, activity, or affection) the primary foundation for community?

  4. The work of the Christian community is to help each other mature as followers of Jesus. Share ways the group can guard itself from consumerism and overreach.

  5. Share and Celebrate ways you’ve experienced God working in and through a Christ centered community. 

Prayer Points

  1. Pray that Jesus would be the head of every discipleship ministry at Sound City Bible Church. 

  2. Pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal, remove and protect our community groups from chasing after a “lesser community”. 

  3. Pray that the Holy Spirit would encourage and embolden you to live in Christian community through the ups and downs of life.

Renewed Service | 1 Peter 4:7-11

Discussion Questions

  1. Read together 1 Peter 4:7-11  and answer the following questions: What stood out to you? What do these passages teach us about God (his character, his will, his plans, his principles)?

  2. We defined serving as a heartfelt activity in a clearly defined role for the blessing of another. In what ways can you identify similarities and differences between the biblical and secular understanding of serving?

  3. In what ways do you struggle with the distorted serving categories of laziness, business not fruitfulness, self-focus not others, and heartless, not joyful? 

  4. How does Jesus' service on the cross and his continual serving of his children encourage us to live a life of service? 

  5. Share with your group ways you would like to begin serving at home, at church and in your community. 


Prayer Points

  1. Pray that God would make the people of Sound City Bible Church servants who are fueled by the gospel. 

  2. Pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal and remove any distortions that would hinder you and your group members from serving. 

  3. Pray that the Holy Spirit would lead you in identifying new ways to serve at home, at church and in community. 

Renewed Rest | Mark 2:23-28

Discussion Questions

  1. Read together Mark 2:23-28 and answer the following questions: What stood out to you? What do these passages teach us about God (his character, his will, his plans, his principles)?

  2. Sabbath rest was created by God, created for us and fulfilled in redemption. Which of these aspects of sabbath rest do you find difficult to understand, challenging to believe, or find to be most misunderstood?

  3. Share ways in which you struggle with the common sabbath traps of over legalization, over spiritualization and over conceptualization,  

  4. Jesus is our sabbath rest. In what ways do you believe the Holy Spirit is leading you to sabbath rest for healing, worship and connection?

  5. Share with your group the practical way(s) you are planning on regularly taking sabbath rest. Additionally, share ideas in ways you can help others regularly take sabbath rest. 

Prayer Points

  1. Pray that God would provide the people of Sound City a renewed understanding of rest that shapes when and how we rest. 

  2. Pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal traps and root out any idols in our hearts that draw us away from rest. 

  3. Pray that the Holy Spirit would lead you in regularly taking sabbath rest.

Renewed Work | Genesis 2 & 3 (selections)

Discussion Questions

  1. From the passages in Genesis 1-3:

    1. What stood out to you?

    2. What do these passages teach us about God (his character, his will, his plans, his principles)?

  2. Which aspect of the “Nature of Work” do you find difficult to understand, challenging to believe, or find to be most misunderstood?

  3. What are some reasons why you’ve suppressed your gifts at the workplace to build up others?

  4. The gospel shapes why and how we work. In what ways do you believe the Holy Spirit is leading you to use your gifts to build up others at your workplace and in the church? 

  5. Share with your group the ways you worship during work. 

Prayer Points

  1. Spend time reading and praying through Colossians 3:22-24 “Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

  2. Pray that God would provide the people of Sound City a renewed meaning and joy in our work.

  3. Pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal and root out any idols in our hearts that distort the calling of work that God gifts us.  

  4. Pray that the Holy Spirit would lead you in using your gifts to build up those at your workplace.

Renewed Money | 1 Timothy 6:2b-10

Discussion Questions

  1. This passage begins with the reality that we all need to be taught about money. What is your gut-level response to this reality? 

  2. What are some examples of your functional doctrine of money? What should they be?

  3. What are the consequences of pursuing a love of money? How have you seen this play out with friends or family?

  4. Ironically, Paul urges the rich to use their money for good works so that they might “grab hold of what is truly life.” (6:19). What kinds of good works do you believe the Holy Spirit is leading you to do?

Prayer Points

  1. Pray that God would make our church full of people who are eager and willing to receive His instruction, even instruction on money.

  2. Pray that God would remove any root of a love of money in your life, even if you don’t believe it’s there.

  3. Pray that God would grant you new realizations of Christ’s riches poured out for you.

Renewed Friendships | John 15:9-17

Discussion Questions

  1. As a group, spend time reading John 15:9-17 and answer the following questions. What stood out to you from this passage? What does this passage teach us about God (his character, his will, his plans, his principles)?

  2. Why do you think that friendship is so often misunderstood in our culture? What are the ways that our culture gets it right/wrong? How does the biblical picture of friendship by the way of the Trinity stand in contrast?

  3. Do you agree that friendship involves vulnerability, commitment and enjoyment? How can we help one another to open our hearts and lives to have this type of friendship with one another?

  4. How do our friendships showcase the gospel of Jesus to a world that is fragmented and isolated? How should our friendships be used to further our witness, not hinder it?

Prayer Points

  1. Pray that God would grow us as people who practice true, biblical, committed, and loving friendships.

  2. Pray that God would heal us from pains that we’ve experienced in friendship.

  3. Pray that our friendships would serve as a gospel witness to a lost and broken world, a world that deeply longs to be loved and known.

Renewed Singleness and Dating | 1 Corinthians 7:32-38

Discussion Questions

  1. As a group, spend time reading 1 Corinthians 7:32-38 and answer the following questions:

    • What stood out to you from this passage?

    • What does this passage teach us about God (his character, his will, his plans, his principles)?

  2. When you were single, or if you are currently single, do you find yourself struggling to pursue a devotion to Christ that reminds you that your identity is greater than your singleness? 

  3. If you’re currently in a dating relationship, the goal of this season like all seasons of life is devotion to Christ while remembering that Jesus understands and cares. Where in your relationship do you sense a loving conviction of the Spirit to honor God by seeking wisdom and growth?

  4. For those who are married, 

    • In what ways do you sense a loving conviction of the Spirit to refocus your marriage towards a devotion to Christ. 

    • Share creative ways in which you can support and care for the singles and dating demographic at Sound City. 

Prayer Points

  1. Pray that our church body would seek to be devoted to Christ in all seasons of our lives. 

  2. Pray for the single and dating members at Sound City to be reminded of their identity in Christ.

  3. Pray for the Spirit to stir the hearts of married couples to serve and care for the single and dating members at Sound City. 

Renewed Parenting | Ephesians 6:1-4

Discussion Questions

1. What was something about your own parents that you appreciate now that you are older? What was something about how you were parented that you do not want to repeat?

2. What are some out-workings of the wrong motives in parenting (such as over-emphasizing what the parents want or what the child wants)? What pitfalls do parents need to watch for as they are seeking to be godly parents?

3. What verses about parenting or biblical parenting principles stand out to you?How have you seen these lived out well?

4. If you are someone who does not have children, how do you experience being part of a church that includes a lot of families and children?

5. What are some ways that non-parents can partner with families to support their “parenting as disciple-making?”

Prayer Points

1. Pray for new parents and future parents that they will enter parenthood with a commitment to follow God’s design for parenting.

2. Pray for parents of preteens and teens that they will persevere in their parenting, continuing to grow and learn in these important final years of having their children in their home.

3. Pray that parents of adult children who are not walking with God will hold on to the hope of the Gospel and the power of Jesus to reach into their lives and redeem them.

4. Pray that those who do not have children will see their valuable role in making disciples and that they experience joy and satisfaction in being a child of the Father.

5. Pray that our church can be a source of help and support for families as they seek to raise their children amidst the challenges of our day.

6. Pray for all parents that they will humbly depend on God for the outcome of their parenting and for his grace and power to be at work in their children’s lives.

Renewed Marriages | Ephesians 5:22-33

During this first month of our All Things New series we are encouraging everyone to join us in a month of focused, intentional prayer. Don’t forget to check out our prayer guide to participate.

Discussion Questions

  1. Share with others the expectations and assumptions that you have held around marriage based on your own family of origin? In what ways did they line up with a biblical worldview? In what ways did they fall short?

  2. Read Matthew 22:23—33 and Jesus’ teaching on the temporal nature of marriage. Why do we as human beings tend to make romantic love ultimate? How might this even play out in the church? How can we still honor and value marriage while not ultamatizing it? (See also selections from 1 Corinthians 7).

  3. Why is it significant that God made marriage as a portrait of the gospel? What can we learn about the nature of marriage, the nature of God, and our own marriages when considered from this perspective?

  4. For those who are married, what tangible steps is God asking you to take to bring your own marriage closer to Jesus? For those who are unmarried, Hebrews 13:4 says that marriage should be held in honor by everybody. How might that play out in your relationships with married couples?

Prayer Points

  1. Pray that we would hold marriage in high esteem, while remembering that our earthly marriages are a portrait of the gospel and our relationship with the Lord Jesus.

  2. Pray that God would strengthen the marriages in our church and protect them from harm.

  3. Pray that our loving, healthy, Christ-centered marriages would serve as a witness to those who have yet to believe.

  4. Pray that Jesus would return soon so that we could enjoy the marriage feast of the Lamb forever!

Renewed Bodies | 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

During this first month of our All Things New series we are encouraging everyone to join us in a month of focused, intentional prayer. Don’t forget to check out our prayer guide to participate.

Discussion Questions

  1. Which of the two ditches—worship of the body or denigration of the body—are you personally more prone toward? How do you see these ditches playing out in our broader culture or in your smaller communities?

  2. Read through 2 Corinthians 4:7-5:10 and notice the way that Paul speaks of the physical body. What observations do you have? How does our future hope help us in our present distress?

  3. Why is embodied worship such an important practice for followers of Jesus? Discuss things like raising hands or kneeling while singing, the physical acts of communion and baptism, even the value of in-person conversation (as opposed to digital). Why did God make things this way?

  4. Where do you sense the loving conviction of the Spirit as it relates to “honoring God with your body”? Is there sin that you need to flee from? Is there training you need to embrace? 

Prayer Points

  1. Pray that we would use our bodies to glorify God. Pray that we would flee from sin and instead, use our bodies to love and serve others.

  2. Pray that we would live as one larger, unified church body made up of many smaller parts.

  3. Pray for the return of Jesus and the restoration of all things, including our bodies.

Renewed Hearts | Psalm 23

During this first month of our All Things New series we are encouraging everyone to join us in a month of focused, intentional prayer. Don’t forget to check out our prayer guide to participate.

Discussion Questions:

  1. When was a time that you feared you would do without? How did God show Himself faithful in that situation?

  2. Describe a time that God used gentle nudging to correct your course, to discipline you.

  3. Do you ever find yourself ungrateful? How can you integrate gratitude into your life?

  4. If you don’t practice Silence and Solitude in your personal spiritual practices, what keeps you from doing so?

Prayer Points:

  1. Join and follow along in our month of dedicated, collective prayers by going to https://www.soundcitybiblechurch.com/articles. 

Renewed Minds | Romans 12:1-8

During this first month of our All Things New series we are encouraging everyone to join us in a month of focused, intentional prayer. Don’t forget to check out our prayer guide to participate.

Discussion Questions:

  1. As a group, spend time reading Romans 12:1-8  in two or three Bible translations and answer the following questions:

    • What stood out to you from this passage?

    • What does this passage teach us about God (his character, his will, his plans, his principles)?

  2. The point of renewing our mind is to know the will of God. How can we then avoid the pitfalls of becoming an egghead through our reading and study of scripture?

  3. Confess ways the Holy Spirit is revealing things that are out of line with the will of God in:

    • Your relationship with God

    • Your relationship with friends and family

    • Your relationship with coworkers and neighbors

  4. Share with one another the ways God’s truths and presence has helped you recognize and combat the world’s pressure to conform. 

Prayer Points:

  1. Join and follow along in our month of dedicated, collective prayers by going to https://www.soundcitybiblechurch.com/articles.

God With Us in Our Joys | Luke 2:1-14

There is a large amount of Christian literature and sermons constantly aimed at encouraging us to hope in God in the midst of our fears and our sorrows, and we need to be shaken up periodically to realize that God is with us in the hum-drum moments of life. But when things are good it can be actually be hard for us to remember to trust God, let alone experience his presence on a daily basis.

Discussion Questions:

  1. As a group, spend time reading Luke 2:1-14 in two or three Bible translations and answer the following questions: What stood out to you from this passage? What does this passage teach us about God (his character, his will, his plans, his principles)?

  2. As you examine your heart, confess areas of your life where you struggle to accept the brokenness of the world, the brokenness of yourself and the holiness of God. 

  3. How does Jesus’ divine presence and the gift of the Holy Spirit provide joy that transcends the ups and downs of life? 

  4. Spend time praising and singing to God about his glory!

Prayer Points:

  1. Pray that the Holy Spirit would help remind and reinforce Jesus being the source and companion of all our joys. 

  2. Pray and give thanks for the gift of joy in Jesus that transcends the ups and downs of life. 

  3. Pray for those who you love to come to a saving knowledge of God and to experience true joy in Jesus.

God With Us in the Mundane | 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

Sermon Description

The word advent means “arrival.” In the season of advent, Christians from around the world intentionally focus on the anticipation of the long-awaited Messiah. The meaning of Christmas is that God, through the person of Jesus, has come to be with us in the flesh.

Discussion Questions:

As a group, spend time reading 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 in two or three Bible translations and answer the following questions:

  1. What stood out to you from this passage? What does this passage teach us about God (his character, his will, his plans, his principles)?

  2. Considering your life in relationship to God, to family, to friends, to coworkers, and to neighbors. Confess ways that in those spheres you run parallel with the world in idolizing the big, the important, the loud, and the fast. 

  3. Help each other find clarity in what seeking the kingdom first looks like in the everyday (mundane) life.

  4. Praise God and encourage one another by sharing different ways in which you’ve seen Jesus and his mighty works in your everyday (mundane) life. 

Prayer Points:

  1. Pray and give thanks for the presence of Jesus in our daily lives. 

  2. Pray that the Holy Spirit would help us individually and collectively cultivate a heart of worship and praise in every season of life. 

  3. Pray that the Holy Spirit would help us individually and collectively seek the kingdom first in everything that we do. 

God With Us in Our Hopes and Fears | Isaiah 7:1-16

The Advent season allows us to focus on the joyful and miraculous first coming of Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior. This Advent season our theme is Immanuel, which means God With Us. For this first sermon of the series we will explore, “God with us in our hopes and fears.” Whether we’re besieged by an overwhelming enemy, peacefully rocking our newborn baby, or any circumstance in between, God has promised to be with us; and God is faithful to keep his promise.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is an example of an event in the Bible or the life of another believer from history that you can see they trusted in God’s promise to be with them?

  2. When was a time that you were greatly comforted by the promise or experience of God with us?

  3. What is the difference between believing God’s promise with one’s mind and living out life in that promise?

  4. What makes it difficult for you to trust God’s promise to be with us?

  5. What do you tend to trust in rather than trusting in God and his

    presence/provision?

  6. What are some areas of your life that you need to live the experience of God with us?

  7. What are some ways that you may be able to help others to believe and live out the promise of God with us?

  8. What are some application points that this promise has for our church as a corporate body?

Prayer Points:

  1. Pray for the joy of Christ to flood our hearts this Advent Season!

  2. Ask God to impress upon each of us the depth and power of his promise to be with us.

  3. Pray for those who feel far from God or especially lonely. Pray that they will feel drawn to God through Jesus and will have their souls ministered to in a supernatural way.

  4. Pray that we will not only believe God’s Immanuel promise, but that we will trust it and live by it!

  5. Ask God to show us the glory of Christ’s coming to be our Savior and motivate us to join him in proclaiming Christ so that all may hear, believe, and be saved.