1. Read Daniel 9:1-14. In the sermon, Robb talked about confession as ‘same-saying’ or agreeing with God about Him and His deeds, as well as us and our deeds. What specific truths does Daniel confess about God? About Israel?

2. Daniel gives us a model of corporate confession in these verses. In our hyper-individualistic culture, we are not naturally inclined to praying on behalf of ‘our people.’ What might a corporate confession look like for our nation or our church community? Take some time to practice praying this way together.

3. Read Daniel 9:15-19. How does God’s righteousness (v16) function in the economy of this prayer? How does it function in the previous confession (v7, for instance)? How would you explain this tension to someone new to the Bible?

4. Read Daniel 9:20-23. What do we learn from Gabriel here in his personal address to Daniel? How does God respond to the kind of posture & prayer undertaken by Daniel in this chapter?

5. Read Daniel 9:24-27. This passage is plagued with obscurity about time line beginnings and endings, but what is clear is that the work of God will be completed (v24, 27) in the fullness of time (v25a, 26b) through a Messiah or Anointed One (25b, 26a). How do you think this word affected Daniel? How does it affect you today, reading it after the death and resurrection of Jesus?

For more reading, consider this article by Michael Chase, as well as this chart outlining the most common 4 interpretive lenses for Daniel 9 - both published by Crossway.

1. Have you ever had the experienced hardship, only to realize after the fact that God had prepared you for it in advance? Share your story with the group.

2. Read Daniel 8:1-14. Describe each kingdom. What characterizes them? What about the little horn of v9ff? Why does God give such specific detail about the rise and fall of these kings and kingdoms?

3. Several times these kings are described as virtually invincible, with language like, “no one could stand against him” and “he shall succeed in what he does” (vv4, 7, 24, 25). Why do you think these kings are depicted this way? How might it affect the posture and strategy of the saints who endure their wrath?

4. Antiochus IV Epiphanes is understood to be the ‘little horn’ of vv9, 23ff. If you have time, read the account of him in 1 Maccabees 1. What similarities are there between his reign of terror and other evil world leaders that have come and gone in history? What can we learn about the spiritual forces behind these world powers by observing them?

5. Daniel 8 is God’s provision to help the saints endure hardship with hope and faithfulness. Pray for believers around the globe who are today facing fierce persecution. Pray for Christ’s return and the restoration of all things.

In a world that fills us with information constantly, it’s easy to be overwhelmed and confused by the narratives and the different versions of the truth. There is a need to see sin for what it is, and to act in allegiance to the risen Son. The goal of this week is to take beginner’s steps as a community group towards fighting the world, the flesh, and the devil. Make a modest goal as a group and invite one another into it. Be patient with yourself and with one another as the Spirit works in you through this.

Gather together as a community group in a comfortable setting. Say a quick prayer to invite God to lead and guide your time together. Then spend a few minutes in silence.

Spend a few minutes catching up on life, then talk through the following debrief questions:

1. Did you listen to the sermon? What did you think?

2. How familiar were you with Daniel 7? What do you enjoy? What frustrates you?

3. How does the idea of spiritual conflict make you feel?

Have somebody read Daniel 7. Talk about the following questions:

1. Jesus takes Daniel’s royal “Son of Man” title as his own, but fuses it with a suffering motif (see Isaiah 53). What aspect of Christ and his kingdom, then, is Daniel predicting in verses 13-14? How does this compare to the other four kingdoms?

2. How is Daniel affected by this vision (vv. 15, 28)? How does he learn its true meaning?

3. Take a look at this chart covering various interpretations of the four beasts in Daniel 7. What do you all think? How do you make sense of the symbolism?

Here’s a way to apply the passage this week:

1. Scripture Intake: Fight the beasts by filling your mind with biblical truth.

   1. Interact with the Scriptures regularly in community (1-2 times a week).

   2. Read the Scriptures on your own and/or as a family (daily).

   3. Develop your ability to understand and apply the Scriptures (e.g., join a Bible study, memorize verses, linger with the text on your own).

2. Confession: Fight the sin within by deepening your circle of friends.

   1. Confess your sins immediately to God. (1 John 1:9)

   2. Practice regular confession with a friend before taking the Lord’s Supper.

   3. Maintain an ongoing circle of friends who confess sin to one another, and remind one another of the gospel.

3. Silence & Solitude: Fight the world by strategic engagement.

   1. Turn off your phone and your radio during your commute.

   2. Buy an analog alarm clock and leave your phone in another room when you sleep.

   3. Pick a day for Sabbath rest (maybe Sundays!) and turn your phone off for 24 hours.

Talk through these discussion questions:

1. What’s your current practice for Scripture intake (i.e., hear, read, study, memorize, meditate), confession, and silence & solitude?

2. What’s the biggest obstacle to these things?

3. How can we as a community support each other in these areas?

1. Review the story of Daniel 6. If you have time, read the whole chapter aloud as a group. Why do you think this story connects so much with the hearts and imaginations of those who hear or read it? Why do you think it is so hard for some to believe?

2. Read Dan 6:1-5. Why is Daniel opposed by his contemporaries? Why should Christians who are serving God faithfully expect opposition? How does Daniel handle this opposition?

3. Daniel’s faithfulness to God led him to disobey the earthly king. In what kinds of issues should we be prepared to serve God rather than man?

4. God’s power is put on display in this passage. Who and what are shown ultimately to be under the authority of Daniel’s God? In what sense is this a missionary text? How does it point us to the nations?

5. Take time to pray for the persecuted church. Consider downloading the Open Doors Prayer App

Some questions adapted from Exalting Jesus in Daniel (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary) by Dr Daniel L. Akin, B&H Publishing Group.

1. Read Dan 5:1-6. How do Belshazzar’s actions serve to mock God and his glory? What are some other ways we implicitly mock God’s glory?

2. Why do you think we are prone to view ourselves as indestructible or untouchable? How can you see this tendency in your own life? How and why does sin make us foolish?

3. Read Dan 5:17-23 How does God finally get Belshazzar’s attention? What kinds of things does God use to wake us up to the foolishness of our sin? How does it feel when he does this?

4. Read Dan 5:24-28. How does Daniel interpret the writing on the wall? What application can be made for our lives today from this prophetic word?

5. We don’t often like to talk about the judgment of God. Why is it important to wrestle deeply with this doctrine? In what ways might we consider God to be gracious for revealing himself as a righteous judge?

Some questions adapted from Exalting Jesus in Daniel (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary) by Dr Daniel L. Akin, B&H Publishing Group.

1. Read Daniel 4:1-3. Who is the speaker? Who is the intended audience? How does this introduction set the stage for the chapter? In what ways do these verses correlate with Hab 2:14?

2. Review Daniel 4:4-27. What are the main elements of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and what do they mean? How long will Nebuchadnezzar be humbled (v. 25)? What would it mean for Nebuchadnezzar to be humble? What would be the telltale signs (see v. 27)?

3. Read Daniel 4:28-33. Verse 29 tells us that a whole 12 months separated the initial warning Nebuchadnezzar received and the judgment against him to bring about his humbling. What does this imply about God’s ways with us?

4. In his sermon, Robb said, “Politics matter to God.” How do you see this illustrated in Daniel 4? In what ways do kings and kingdoms matter to God?

5. Faith, Boldness & Meekness are our heritage as God’s people in exile. How does Daniel display these Christ-like characteristics in Dan 4? What present day scenarios challenge you to display these characteristics in your own life?

Read Ralph Winter’s essay, The Kingdom Strikes Back, here: http://www.foundationscourse.org/uploads/documents/reader/1_kingdom_strikes_back.pdf

Some questions adapted from Todd Wilson’s Daniel (Knowing the Bible) Crossway.

1. Read Dan 2:1-13. What even sparks the crisis that eventually finds its way to Daniel in v13? Why do you think this event is so troublesome to the king? To the Chaldean magicians?

2. Read Dan 2:14-24. In his sermon, Robb said, “Hope shapes our response to storms.” How do the king, the magicians, and the Hebrews respond differently to the crisis? How do the responses reveal the hopes of the characters involved? Which hopes are ‘good anchors’?

3. Read Dan 2:25-45. In what ways does Daniel ensure that God alone gets the credit for being the revealer of mysteries?

4. In verses 36–43 Daniel describes the content of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The parts of the statue represent four kingdoms, beginning with the “head of gold” (v. 38), which is Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire. Daniel then sees that a stone strikes the image, destroying it (vv. 34–35). In light of verses 44–45, what is this stone? How does this relate to what Jesus says about his own life and ministry (see Matt 21:44)?

5. Read Dan 2:46-49. Nebuchadnezzar is amazed at what Daniel was able to reveal to him. He falls down prostrate and pays homage. But to whom? How would you qualify the king’s understanding of Daniel and his God?

6. How do your own habits reveal the false hopes in which you are tempted to trust? What action must you take in the future to refuse the false hope and trust in Christ instead? Share honestly with each other and spend time worshiping together and praying for one another.

   Some questions adapted from Daniel (Knowing the Bible). by Todd Wilson, Crossway.

1. Read Dan 1:1-7. The opening verse sets the stage for Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Jerusalem (v. 1). But what comes next is a bit of a shocker: “And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand . . .” (v. 2). Why would Daniel ascribe ultimate responsibility for the capture of Jerusalem to the Lord? What does this teach us about Daniel’s view of God? And what does this imply about human agency?

2. In his sermon, Robb talked about displaced authority & displaced identity. How do you see these elements at play in these verses? How do you see these elements at play in our present era?

3. Read Dan 1:8-16. Verse 9 tells us that God gave Daniel “favor and compassion.” How does the Lord’s favor and compassion manifest itself in Daniel’s life in these verses? What concrete evidence could we point to? Where else do we witness God’s ‘giving’ in Dan 1? What do we learn from these instances about God’s relationship to exiles?

4. Read Dan 1:17-21. This first chapter climaxes when King Nebuchadnezzar tests Daniel and his three friends in their learning. And the text isn’t bashful about telling us they pass the test with flying colors; in fact, it says they were “ten times better” than anyone else. Why, though, do you think this point is emphasized?

5. Verse 21 looks, at first glance, to be an incidental historical detail tacked onto the end of the story: “And Daniel was there [in the court of the King of Babylon] until the first year of King Cyrus.” Who is King Cyrus? And why do you think this is mentioned? What does it say about Daniel? What does it say about God?

   • Some questions adapted from Daniel (Knowing the Bible). Crossway. By Todd Wilson

1. When and where have you recently seen or heard messages highlighting revenge in our culture? Why do you think revenge is so often celebrated?

2. Read Matt 28:21-22. What potential objections would someone have to forgiving another person “seventy-seven times”? What would such a level of grace and forgiveness within the church communicate to unbelievers?

3. Read Matt 28:23-27. In his sermon, Robb called this “Scene I: Absurd Forgiveness.” What actions and dispositions of the king parallel God’s dealings with us? What effect has God’s compassion and forgiveness through Jesus Christ had upon you?

4. Read Matt 28:28-30, “Scene II: Absurd Response.” How do you respond emotionally to the forgiven servant’s treatment of the second servant? What are some ways, even subtle ones, that we can punish others instead of forgive them for the wrongs they have done against us?

5. Read Matt 28:31-35, “Scene III: The Cost of Unforgiveness.” How are you challenged by Jesus’ addition of the phrase “from your heart” to his command to forgive? What practical steps might you need to take in light of Jesus’ teaching in the parable of the unmerciful servant?

6. What resources has God given us to help us in the work of extending forgiveness to others? Which resources are you more inclined to utilize? Which are you less inclined to appropriate? Why?

• Some questions adapted from The Gospel Project Study, Volume 5, Nov 2017.

This morning Robb shared a story from Corrie Ten Boom. Read the full story below:

Extract from The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
“It was in a church in Munich that I saw him—a balding, heavyset man in a grey overcoat, a brown
felt hat clutched between his hands. People were filing out of the basement room where I had just
spoken, moving along the rows of wooden chairs to the door at the rear. It was 1947 and I had come
from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives.
“It was the truth they needed most to hear in that bitter, bombed-out land, and I gave them my
favourite mental picture. Maybe because the sea is never far from a Hollander’s mind, I liked to think
that that’s where forgiven sins were thrown. ‘When we confess our sins,’ I said, ‘God casts them into
the deepest ocean, gone forever…’
“The solemn faces stared back at me, not quite daring to believe. There were never questions after a
talk in Germany in 1947. People stood up in silence, in silence collected their wraps, in silence left
the room.
“And that’s when I saw him, working his way forward against the others. One moment I saw the
overcoat and the brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and
crossbones. It came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights; the pathetic pile
of dresses and shoes in the centre of the floor; the shame of walking naked past this man. I could see
my sister’s frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin. Betsie, how thin you
were!
[Betsie and I had been arrested for concealing Jews in our home during the Nazi occupation of
Holland; this man had been a guard at Ravensbruck concentration camp where we were sent.]
“Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out: ‘A fine message, Fräulein! How good it is to know that,
as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!’
“And I, who had spoken so glibly of forgiveness, fumbled in my pocketbook rather than take that
hand. He would not remember me, of course—how could he remember one prisoner among those
thousands of women?
“But I remembered him and the leather crop swinging from his belt. I was face-to-face with one of
my captors and my blood seemed to freeze.
“ ‘You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk,’ he was saying, ‘I was a guard there.’ No, he did not
remember me.
“ ‘But since that time,’ he went on, ‘I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for
the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein,’ again the hand
came out, ’will you forgive me?’
“And I stood there—I whose sins had again and again to be forgiven—and could not forgive. Betsie
had died in that place—could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?
“It could not have been many seconds that he stood there—hand held out—but to me it seemed
hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.
“For I had to do it—I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive
those who have injured us. ‘If you do not forgive men their trespasses,’ Jesus says, ‘neither will your
Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.’
“I knew it not only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience. Since the end of the war I
had had a home in Holland for victims of Nazi brutality. Those who were able to forgive their former
enemies were able also to return to the outside world and rebuild their lives, no matter what the
physical scars. Those who nursed their bitterness remained invalids. It was as simple and as horrible
as that.
“And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion—I
knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the
temperature of the heart. ‘Help!’ I prayed silently. ‘I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply
the feeling.’
“And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an
incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our
joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my
eyes.
“ ‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart!’
“For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had
never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then.”

• In the parable of the lost sheep, we see that God’s heart is toward the member of his family that wanders away. When you find yourself stuck in sin, is this what you normally believe about God, or do you see him as standoffish, angry at your sin?

• How do you handle interpersonal conflict? Do you tend to bottle it up, or blast it out? How is the process of restoration we see in these verses a correction to those two faulty ways of dealing with conflict?

• Have you ever had someone confront you about sin that you’ve committed? How did it feel? How did they approach you? What did that do for your relationship? If it didn’t go well, what could have gone better?

• As you think about the story of David Sharp, who, although he socialized with other mountaineers, was ultimately on his expedition alone, how can you ensure that you are not on this Christian expedition alone? What’s one thing you can do today that would help grow a vulnerable relationship in your life?

• As we think about the unique presence of God with those who go about the work of restoration, what ways do you need to know that God is present so that your will step out in faith to restore others to his family?

• Can you described a time in your life when you have been in the boat with the disciples, looking for status?

• Is it easy for you to see your own sin and the beauty of Jesus humbling himself to save you, or is that a struggle?

• Today. where do you find yourself most tempted to seek your own status?

• When have you experienced the cost of humbling yourself in order to follow Jesus?

• What would it look like for you to make progress in being quick to receive other followers of Jesus? How does that relate to the question of status-seeking, in other words, in what ways would you need to stop status-seeking in order to receive others?

• Is it easy or hard for you to hear Jesus’ hard words in verses 6-9? Is this a way you typically experience him? Does it seem like he’s being unfair or can you hear the tender heart of a loving Savior behind the words of woe to those who would shut people out of the kingdom of heaven?

• Who is one person this week that you work to receive into your home, life, or family?

Read Psalm 150.

1. This morning, we learned that the opening line of “Praise the LORD” is really just one word - Hallelujah. Halal means to praise or glorify and YHWH was the sacred name of God for the Israelites. Listen to the Psalm in Hebrew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkOKcVSR0CU

2. The fact that the Psalm opens and closes with this declaration of praise toward Yahweh is a good reminder for us. How can we be more mindful to open and close our days with praise?

3. The Psalmist has certain deeds of God in mind here. What are some mighty deeds for which you can give God glory?

4. Psalm 150 encourages us to bring all of our instruments and even to dance. Do you struggle to outwardly demonstrate the praise God deserves? Discuss.

5. Zach used the image of a glass with water splashing out. When you are bumped, what kind of water splashes out? Is it bitter or sweet? (John 7:37-38) How can we increasingly become praisin’ people?

1. Read Psalm 141 aloud as a group. Identify the 5 elements of lament:

   • Invocation

   • Complaint

   • Petition

   • Trust

   • Praise.

2. Which part is most dominant in Psalm 141? What does the emphasis communicate?

3. In the sermon today, Robb said, “The internal trouble [temptation to sin] is almost always a greater threat than the external trouble.” Recall a season of life when you encountered severe trial. What was the external trouble you faced? What was the internal threat or temptation?

4. How does David pray through his inclination toward sin (vv3-5, 9-10)? What does he ask of God? What does it reveal about him, his relationship to God, and his relationship to others in his community?

5. Psalm 141:6-7 are notoriously difficult to translate, as you can tell by comparing the various English translations. The general sense is that the sin of the wicked will eventually overtake them. In contrast, vv8-10 offer a prayer for deliverance from the same end. Compare the imagery of these verses with the Invocation & Praise of vv1-2. What do these contrasting images make you feel? What is the psalm communicating about worship?

Click here to read the story of Roland Hayes’ 1924 performance in Berlin.

Watch the video below to hear him sing the song he sang that night, Du Bist Die Ruh’



1. What are some common ways people respond to negative emotions & excessive stress? What are your personal habits? Which habits are healthy, and which could be healthier?

2. Read Psalm 140. Review the five common parts of Lament Psalms. Which verses most closely correspond to each part (hint: they may not be in order)?

   • Invocation - Address God directly. O LORD!

   • Complaint - Specifically state the problem at hand

   • Petition - Make your request known to God

   • Trust - Express faith in the promises of God & his faithfulness

   • Praise - Exult in God’s goodness

3. Which of the five parts is easiest or most comfortable for you to personally pray through? Which is most uncomfortable or difficult? Why?

4. Think about a hardship in your life/heart and write out your own psalm of lament. Include all 5 parts in any order you see fit. Share your psalms with one another in the group.

• Can you remember a time when the truths about God were real and you were tuned to sing his praise? What was that like? What happened to change it?

• When you go through seasons where you feel yourself growing cold to God, what “tools” do you reach for to try to recapture your heart with love for God? What would it look like for you personally to spend time remembering?

• We are not the majority focal point in the Psalm, but one of the ways we see God’s glory is through his benefit to a broken people. Where today do you feel especially broken? How does this Psalm lead you to worship God because of his benefits to you?

• David calls us to “entire person worship” in this Psalm. He wants EVERYTHING within him to be bent to the love and praise of the LORD. What in your life today is dividing your affection from God? Another way to ask it is: what other object(s) are you worshipping?

• Pick one benefit of God to you that warms your heart in a special way and share it with your group (if in a small group setting) or a friend. Take a few minutes to pray and worship God for his character and his benefits to you.

1. Share a story about your own father or grandfather. What did your paternal relationship[s] teach you about God and how to relate to him?

2. Read Psalm 139:1-6. Spurgeon comments on v5:
   As though caught in an ambush, or besieged by an army which has wholly beleaguered the city walls, we are surrounded by the Lord … & lest there should seem any chance of escape, or lest we should imagine that the surrounding presence is yet a distant one, it is added, and lay your hand upon me. The prisoner marches along surrounded by a guard, and gripped by an officer.
   What is it about God that makes David feel this way? Do you resonate with his sentiment? Why or why not?

3. Read Psalm 139:7-12. What are some ways people often try to ‘escape’? How does God’s inescapable knowing speak into the strategy of escapism?

4. Read verses 13-18. How does the tone of this stanza differ from the first two stanzas (vv1-6, vv7-12)? How does God’s knowledge contribute to David’s sense of identity and security?

5. Take time to celebrate the $100 Billion men among you. You can read the report behind the title here. Find more info on fathers in America at fatherhood.gov

1. Recall the difficulties you and your family faced in the past year. How did you face the troubles it brought? Did you run away? Get excited about the new challenges? Grow numb? What difference might turning to prayer have made?

2. Read Psalm 20:1-5. Here are seven blessings that Jerusalem pronounces over the King of Judah and Israel. What connections are there between them? Are there any patterns? Which ones stand out? Is there an emphasis on one of the blessings?

3. Read Galatians 6:14 and Philippians 1:18-21. As you consider the legacy you want to leave (e.g., public square, work, family, church), many good things will come to mind that may be places you go to find your hope, happiness, significance, and security. How can you relinquish your possessing of these things and “boast only in the cross”?

1. What is your summer rhythm like? In what ways is it different from the rest of the year? What do you look forward to in the summer?

2. Read Psalm 138:1-3. This first ‘stanza’ of the psalm focuses on praise. What language does the author use to describe his praise? What part of this stanza reflects your own practice of worship? What part feels most foreign?

3. Read stanza 2 (vv 4-6). How does the the language shift? What is the relationship between the singing kings of these verses and the singing psalmist in vv1-3?

4. In the final stanza (vv7-8) the focus shifts to David’s experience of walking ‘in the midst of trouble.’ How do these verses affect the tone of the psalm overall? How do they relate to the rest of the psalm?

5. In the sermon, Robb mentioned Daniel Henderson’s ‘transforming prayer’ template (below). Take some time to write out prayers in this template. Share them with one another in a season of prayer and praise.

Transforming Prayer

“Prayer is intimacy with God that leads to the fulfillment of His purposes.” – Alvin Reid

• I praise God because He ___(praise)_______________.

• In response to God’s character, I request prayer for ____(prayer)______________.

• I’m praying about this SO THAT ____(purpose)______________.

1. Recount a time when you realized you were at the end of your rope. What brought you to that place? How did you respond? What was the outcome?

2. Read John 7:37-39. The ‘Great Day’ of the Feast of Tabernacles was the apex of the largest celebration in the Jewish year. Why do you think Jesus chose this day to make his announcement?

3. “If anyone thirsts,” is likely an allusion to Isaiah 55:1ff. What does it mean to ‘thirst’ in these verses? Why does Jesus direct his message specifically toward those who thirst? What about those who aren’t thirsty? Why doesn’t he speak to them?

4. To the thirsty ones, Jesus said, “come to me and drink.” Why is it significant that Jesus drew attention to himself in this way? What was the reaction of his hearers (vv40-52)? How do people in your circle respond to Jesus’ exclusive claims today?

5. Jesus says believers will experience, “rivers of living water,” which John says is a reference to the Spirit (v39). What role[s] does the Spirit in the life of a Christian? Review the following verses and thank God for life in Christ & the Spirit abiding:

   • John 3:5

   • John 14:26; 16:13

   • Acts 1:8

   • Acts 2:17-18

   • Acts 20:28

   • Romans 5:2-5

   • Romans 8:1-6

   • Romans 8:10-11

   • Romans 8:13-14

   • Romans 8:15-16

   • Romans 8:23-27

   • Romans 15:13

• One of the things we see from the crowd is their desire to use Jesus to meet their own desires. In what ways, right now, can you identify with the crowd in only pursuing Jesus because you want a specific result?

• When you think about Jesus being the bread of life, and satisfying your need for sustenance that gives eternal life, what ways would that not only impact you eternity, but also impact your here and now? For example, if one of the hungers you are experiencing is a sick relative, knowing that Jesus loves you and provided a means of eternal life to you can also give hope that he is working for you (and your relative’s) best.

• Can you think of and share a time when Jesus was revealed to be the powerful Son of God in your life? This would generally look like your life moving from a me-centered view of the world to a way of viewing the world that is centered on Christ.

• Have you had an, “eat my flesh and drink my blood moment?” What was it?

• In what ways, right now, can you identify with Jesus’ disciples as they hear his hard sayings, but know that they must stay committed to Jesus because he is the Christ?

• Can you share an experience when having community around you allowed you to continue to pursue Christ even though following Christ was hard in your given situation?