What’s It Gonna Be? (Larry Brey)

Conversation Starters

Looking for a way to get the group talking? Try one of these conversation starters.

• LB shared with us about the start of Elevation Church. When did you first attend Elevation Church and what about your experience kept you coming back?

• In honor of Father’s Day, share your favorite “dad joke”!

Sermon Reflection

Help transition the group to the discussion with one of these questions.

• What did God reveal to you through this week’s message?

• What was your main takeaway from the sermon?

Sermon Discussion

Select 1-2 themes from the sermon to discuss with your eGroup.

• Read Psalm 37:4. LB shared, “faith means I keep delighting in the Lord even when the desire of my heart is unmet.” Sometimes, we focus so much on our unmet desires that we forget about the duty that God has placed in our hands. Delight is not a feeling; it is a decision.

  • How would you describe the difference between delight as a feeling and delight as a decision?

  • What duty has God placed in your hands for this season that you’re going to commit to regardless of your desires?

  • When you’re tempted to focus on your unmet desires, what are some practical ways you can choose to delight yourself in the Lord this week? (listen to worship, write 10 things you’re grateful for each day, share praise reports with a friend, etc.)

• Read Luke 1:13-14. Zechariah was disappointed by not having a child for such a long time. He’d forgotten what it was like to hope and pray for this desire to be fulfilled. Thankfully, “The prayer he didn’t remember, God never forgot.”

  • Share a time when you prayed a prayer that took longer than you expected for God to answer. What did you learn through your waiting?

  • Even in the midst of waiting for some desires to be fulfilled, where have you seen evidence of God’s faithfulness lately? (evidence that He sees you and has not given up on you).

  • What prayer is God calling you to return to that you had given up on? What would it look like for you to trust God with that prayer again?

• Read Luke 1:20. LB shared, “faith means I keep delighting in the Lord even when the desire of my heart is unmet.” Sometimes, we focus so much on our unmet desires that we forget about the duty that God has placed in our hands. Delight is not a feeling; it is a decision.

  • Think of an area of your life you’re waiting for God to move. Where are your expectations right now? Have you let disappointment lower them, or do you feel like you have high expectations for what God can do?

  • What is some disappointing self-talk that you struggle with in this area? How can this get in the way of your expectations for God to move?

  • The next time you’re faced with disbelieving or disappointing self-talk, how can you combat that and starve it out?

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.LB shared how God never forgets our desires. God is calling us to remember the whispered desires of our hearts that we’ve buried. He’s asking us to reconsider them, unbury them, and trust Him with them once again.Spend a few moments in prayer and reflection. Ask God to bring to mind any desires that you’ve buried, then write those desires down. Try and resist the urge to dismiss them with disbelief. Simply lay them before God and trust Him with the rest. Look over your list and pick 1-2 desires that you want to begin praying and hoping for again. Share those desires with someone in your eGroup and pray over one another’s desires.

Prayer

Close out your group with prayer using one of these options

• An Interactive Prayer

  • Go around and have each person share a desire they might have forgotten, but want to trust God with again. Have each person pray for the person to their left about the desire they shared.

• A Guided Prayer

  • Dear Father, thank you for the desires that you place within our hearts. Help us take comfort in knowing that your timing is perfect. Show us what you’ve entrusted into our hands, and let us have delight in fulfilling that duty. Thank you for seeing us, and reminding us that we’re never forgotten by you. 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 “Been So Good” by Elevation Worship for a reminder of all God has done for you!

• Watch this short from Pastor Holly to encourage you that God hears you when you cry out to him.

• Watch We Are We Label as Pastor Steven challenges us to not let our labels limit what God is leading us into.