Tricks Are For Kids
Conversation Starters
Looking for a way to get the group talking? Try one of these conversation starters.
Pastor Steven talked about thanking God for our answered prayers. What are some answered prayers you’re currently standing in?
Let’s give God praise for things we tend to take for granted. Share 5 things you’re grateful for today.
Sermon Reflection
Help transition the group to the discussion with one of these questions.
What stood out to you from this week’s message?
What from the message encouraged you/challenged you the most?
Sermon Discussion
Select 1-2 themes from the sermon to discuss with your eGroup.
Pastor Steven taught us: “I need someone to teach me Jesus, and I need Jesus to teach me, me.” We all need people who can continue to point us to Jesus and teach us about him, and we also need Jesus to teach us about who he created us to be.
Who taught you about Jesus? (Examples: share about an old Sunday school teacher, or someone who invited you to church for the first time, etc.)
What is Jesus teaching you about yourself recently?
How might God be calling you to help others learn about Jesus? (Examples: inviting someone to church, volunteering, helping out a neighbor)
Read Ephesians 4:22. One of the enemy’s greatest schemes is to get us to give up on our new selves by deceiving us. In order for the enemy to deceive us, he has to diminish us first.
Share a time when you’ve felt the enemy trying to diminish how you view yourself.
How can you fight back against the enemy’s plan to deceive you?
What truths about who God says you are can you claim over your life the next time the enemy tries to deceive you? (You’re a new creation, you were bought with a price, you are precious in his sight, you are more than a conqueror)
When we’re faced with the enemy’s tricks, Pastor Steven gave us a way to overcome them: notice, evaluate, and walk-in. The more we grow in Christ, the more we have the ability to notice the tricks of the enemy and walk in our true calling.
Share a time when you noticed that your feelings or thoughts weren’t aligning with your faith. What helped bring you back to the truth?
When faced with a trick of the enemy, which of the three actions above are hardest for you to do?
What is a practical step that you can take to know the promises of God better so that you can recognize a trick from the enemy?
Read Genesis 25:23. Pastor Steven reminded us that the “New You” is both in the future and in the present. There are two of us battling in our minds — our old, corrupted self and our new self in Christ. The choice to let the new self win is one we can make with the power of God’s spirit.
Is there something in the future that you’re waiting to happen in order for you to start living out of your identity as a new creation? (Example: when you get married, have kids, get a new job, have more time, etc.)
Becoming our new selves is a process. What are you trusting God to grow inside of you this year?
What can you do this week to begin growing into your new self? (Example: practicing patience with a co-worker, praying more consistently, serving others)
Activating Faith
Challenge your group to keep activating their faith. Make this a part of your eGroup time or send this activity to them after you meet.In order to put on the new self that God has created us to be, we need to take off all of the things we put on ourselves that are not from God. On a piece of paper or on your phone, write down all that God says you are in Christ (redeemed, brand new, chosen, loved, set free). Take a moment to thank God for who you are in Christ and all that he’s given you. Refer to this list this week any time you feel the enemy try to diminish you — let it remind you of who you really are, the new creation in Christ.
Prayer
Close out your group with prayer using one of these options.
An Interactive Prayer
Break into pairs and share with each other areas that you feel God is calling you to grow into (the areas where Jesus is teaching you about you). Pray for one another for these things to come to fruition.
A Guided Prayer
Dear Father, thank you that with you there are no tricks, only trades. Thank you for trading my sin for your perfection. Thank you for knowing me completely and loving me just as I am. Help me to walk in your truth this week. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Additional Resources
Want to help your group go deeper after you meet? Send them one of these resources that relates to the sermon topic.
Listen to “O Come to the Altar” for a reminder that we can come to God wherever we are, just as we are.
Watch this clip from Pastor Steven about how we can hold on to the enemy’s lies, or we can let go and trust God’s work in our lives.
Watch this sermon for encouragement that even though you can’t erase your past, God can elevate your “next.”