SMALL GROUP GUIDE
Hope Lives: Lost & Found
Opening Prayer:
Lord, help us to reflect on Your message of hope, forgiveness, and transformation. Open our hearts to Your word and guide our discussion. Amen.
Key Quotes:
- To be a disciple is to be challenged and to be changed by Jesus. It was for them, and it is for us today.
- These moments of forgiveness and failure, of failure and forgiveness can become key moments that define us. These moments of mistakes and mercy can become the crucible that build us into something more if we let them, if we let God work in them.
- God can turn our greatest failures into our greatest moments of transformation.
- What we see here is Jesus offers both accountability and grace, and this combination is the secret sauce that can transform the mistake of a lifetime into the growth opportunity of a lifetime.
Discussion Questions:
- Pastor Josh asked "Have you ever done something you're so ashamed of that you thought you could never be forgiven?" Share a time when you felt this way, if you're comfortable. How did you move forward?
- Peter initially didn't recognize Jesus on the shore. How might our own shame or guilt prevent us from recognizing God's presence in our lives?
- Pastor Josh said that our mistakes can become opportunities that God uses to make us. Can you think of an example of this in your own life or someone you know?
- Discuss the three elements the pastor highlighted in Jesus' interaction with Peter:
- a) Jesus takes time with Peter.
- b) Three times – Jesus has this same exchange with Peter three times.
- c) The choices made by both Jesus and Peter
How can we apply these elements in our own relationships when seeking reconciliation?
- How does the combination of accountability and grace lead to transformation? Why are both elements necessary?
Practical Applications:
- This week, set aside time for personal reflection. Identify any unresolved shame, guilt, or pain you might be carrying. Bring these to God in prayer, asking for guidance and healing.
- If there's a relationship in your life that needs reconciliation, consider how you might apply the principles from Jesus' interaction with Peter. Make a plan to take a step towards reconciliation this week.
- Practice extending grace to yourself and others. Each day, consciously choose to let go of self-criticism or judgment of others, rather meditating on God's love and forgiveness.
- Reflect on how your past failures or mistakes have helped you grow. Write down ways God has used these experiences to help you grow or develop compassion for others.
Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your endless love and forgiveness. Help us to receive Your grace fully and extend it to others. Transform our failures into opportunities for growth and let Your hope live in us. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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