Digging Deeper

The sermon says that “existence requires experience.” Where do you notice the difference between simply knowing about God and experiencing the life and light of Christ in your own story?

John says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” What does it mean for you to trust that God has truly entered human life – not from a distance, but from the inside— and how does that shape the way you bring your
struggles to Him?

The sermon claims that “the Word made flesh makes a way for you.” Where in your life right now do you most need to hear that God has made a way – into light, connection, or love?

From Christ’s fullness we receive “grace upon grace.” How might living from that abundance (rather than scarcity or fear) change the way you relate to others this week-especially those who feel distant, difficult, or overlooked?

Where do you most need to hear this truth right now: that Jesus truly understands your weakness, fear, exhaustion, or pain? How does Christmas look different when you remember that God did not save you from a distance?

How does seeing Christmas through the lens of the cross deepen or challenge the way you normally think about Jesus’ love and obedience? What does it tell you about the seriousness of your salvation?

Where do you sense tension in your own life between clinging to status, control, or comfort and trusting God through humility and obedience? What might it look like to take a small step of faith this season?

Where is Jesus inviting you to serve in a hidden, costly, or unnoticed way? How could your group pray for and support one another in living out the mind of Christ?

When you think of the phrase “image of God,” what comes to mind for you?

There is a lot one can know about God simply through reason and our senses, what does Jesus uniquely reveal about God?

As Pastor Gabe went through the lists of what it means to be in Adam vs. in Christ, what parts of being “in Adam” do you still wrestle with? What parts of being “in Christ” do you most resonate with?

Jesus cross reconciles us to God and each other, where have you seen that play out in your life?

What forms of worldly wisdom do you find most enticing? How have you experienced these wisdoms as incomplete?

What difference does it make knowing that God’s wisdom is not simply an idea or an impersonal force but an actual person who has taken on flesh in Jesus?

What does it look like to pursue wisdom the way Proverbs 8 calls us to? Can you think of people who embody this kind of divine wisdom?

At the beginning of this sermon Pastor Gabe talked about the “scandal of particularity” why do you think God’s revelation in the particular person of Jesus is so scandalous to the modern mind? Do you wrestle with it?

Jesus is Lord and you are not. What is challenging about this and what is comforting about this?

How does viewing Jesus as Priestly King encourage you in your daily life?

Have you ever resorted to a Band-Aid solution to a problem? Big or small, how did that go?

Haggai has the people face the reality of God’s Word and their failure to live in line with it. What are some ways we avoid facing the reality of God’s Word?

As the people consider living in line with the curse or the blessing, it seems so obvious that we want to live in line with the blessing, why do we end up falling for the curse again and again?

Jesus is the king who reverses the curse and brings us into his blessed kingdom. What are some ways you have been blessed as part of Christ’s kingdom?

How does God giving his permission invite you to both give thanks for past faithfulness and also contend with past failures? Are there specific things that come to mind?

Where do you need the strength of God’s loving presence to give you courage to act faithfully today?

Does the promise of God’s coming kingdom reshape how you see your present work? If so, how?

When you think of the word obedience what comes to mind for you?

What do you think are some of the most challenging commands of Jesus to obey? In our world? In your life?

Do you find yourself caught up in climbing the first mountain instead of the second? What does climbing the second mountain look like?

How does what Jesus has done in restoring us, energize us to follow him?

When you think about what the church is called to build, what comes to mind? Is your picture of what we are called to build consistent with what God calls us to build?

Where do you see misaligned priorities at work in your own life and in the world around you?

How does the calling to “consider your ways” invite you to rediscover God’s priorities for your life as his child?

Are there particular behaviors that you notice you are quick to condemn when you see them in others? How might Jesus’ response to the woman caught in adultery help you be more gracious toward those behaviors?

Where do you most see a “high anthropology” at work in our culture? In the church? In your heart? How might recognition of our weaknesses lead us to more graciousness toward others?

How does Jesus’ response to this woman shape how you approach God in your own sins and failures?

Which part of these 5 verses is most challenging to you?

What are some common places we are tempted to “house our soul?”

What does it look like for you to deny yourself take up your cross and follow Jesus?

How does knowing your soul is secure in Jesus shape your life now?

What are some doubts people have? Do you have any of those? Have you ever?

Do you find it difficult to express your doubts? Why is that?

Have you ever seen God grow your faith through times of doubt and struggle? How?

What might it look like for your community group to be a place to express our doubts?

What does Paul mean when he says to “take every thought captive to Christ”? What are the effects of allowing thoughts to run wild?

How does worry play out like functional atheism in our lives?

Why do you think Jesus ended His discussion on worry with these words, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble”? How is it meant to bring you comfort?