What God Left Out: Flatbread Faith
Pastor Steven Furtick
Conversation Starters
You’re about to order a flatbread pizza, but you can only get three toppings. What are they?Pastor Steven’s preacher friend Adrian left out some important details about the camp. Share a funny story about a time a friend told you something, but you later learned they left out something important.Share a time when you were cooking and you accidentally left out an important ingredient.
Review
Ask eGroup members to share their favorite points from the sermon, what spoke to them, a phrase or moment from the sermon they related to the most, or questions they have. If members have a hard time recalling the sermon, talk through your notes and share your favorite points.
Make It Personal
When you’re telling a story or explaining something, are you more likely to oversimplify or overcomplicate? Why?
Read Exodus 12:37-42. The Israelites didn’t have any yeast to put in their dough. Talk about a place in your life where you feel like something is missing. What could God be leaving out to get you to the place where He’s calling you?
Pastor Steven said that sometimes God will use disappointments, deficiencies, or deletions to get us to lean on Him and lead us to where we need to be. Which of those three do you identify with most? Why? How has God used them to lead you?
God won’t be confined to the picture you have of Him — sometimes, we have to trust Him in faith without understanding why He’s doing something. How has your picture of God been challenged recently? What are you learning about Him that’s growing your faith?
Just like God moved the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, God isn’t going to restore what you had — He’ll replace it with something better. Share with the group how you’ve witnessed this truth in the past. How do you need to believe God will move like this again in your life? (What do you need to do to get in your “grace space” — the place where you can believe that everything being removed is making room for you to receive?)
Read Luke 15:18-23. The father had a right to be disappointed in his son, but he left it out. How good are you at leaving out your disappointment with others? Why do we sometimes hold on to the memories of how other people disappointed us? (Why do we hold those disappointments over the ones who disappointed us?)
The prodigal son had a speech prepared for his father, but some of it got left out because his father stopped him. God will leave some things out of our stories because He doesn’t know us by our failures — He knows us by our faith. Are there things you’re still considering part of your story that God is trying to leave out? What do you need to leave out?
The devil leaves stuff out, too. What are some ways that’s different from when God leaves something out? Why is it important to recognize the difference?
Before He sends something, God will take something away; it takes Flatbread Faith to celebrate what God left out. How can you celebrate what God left out? (If needed, remind your group about the example Pastor Steven gave about the scale and the song. Leaving out some notes turned the scale into the song “Amazing Grace.”)
Act On It
Think back to how the sermon ended, when Pastor Steven had everyone raise their hands palms up while we sang “Available” to help us remember that everything our Father has is ours. What has your posture been lately? Have you had your palms up so you can receive what your Father has for you? Take a few minutes each morning this week to pray with your palms up asking God to help you receive what He has for you, and let it help you develop Flatbread Faith.
Prayer Requests And Prayer
Ask eGroup members to share any prayer requests they have. Record any notes or prayer requests to pray for members during the week. Father, thank You for using even the things we think are missing from our lives to give us a deeper understanding of Your grace and goodness. Help us walk in faith to believe that even when something is taken away, You are still working all things for our good because of how You love us. In Jesus’ name, amen.