Small Group Guide: Week of 10/18
With Us: The Lord’s Prayer
To view this guide as a PDF, click here.
“Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 “Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing 4 so that you may give to the poor in secret. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.
5 “When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. 6 But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.
7 “When you pray, don’t pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words they’ll be heard. 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask. 9 Pray like this:
Our Father who is in heaven,
uphold the holiness of your name.
10 Bring in your kingdom
so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.
11 Give us the bread we need for today.
12 Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,
just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.
13 And don’t lead us into temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
14 “If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins.
16 “And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their faces so people will know they are fasting. I assure you that they have their reward. 17 When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face. 18 Then you won’t look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Opening Discussion
Check-in
Icebreaker suggestion:
Option 1: Pastor Justin opened with Hamilton and “The Room Where It Happens.” What’s a room, event, or invitation you were thrilled to get into, and was it everything you hoped?
Option 2: Where’s your favorite place to go when you need a little quiet?
High/Low exercise
Give each member a chance to share high points and low points of the past week.
Additionally or alternatively, you can invite the group to share a word, emotion, or phrase to describe how they're coming into the group this week.
Digging Deeper
As you reflect on Sunday's sermon:
What has stayed with you from Sunday’s message? What do you remember?
What resonated with you? What comforted/challenged you?
Did you learn something new?
What might the Spirit be prompting you to remember and consider?
Pastor Justin named how all of us have performed for someone: a boss, a mentor, a friend, or a parent. He confessed to stretching the truth, laughing at jokes that weren’t funny, and staying quiet because “being liked felt safer than being known.”
Which of those examples did you recognize in yourself? Whose eyes have you found yourself living for?
Right after calling his followers the light of the world (5:16), Jesus warns against practicing righteousness “to be seen” (6:1). Pastor Justin suggested the difference lies in the why. He also noted that integrity, the alignment of our private and public lives, is only part of what Jesus is after, because dikaiosynē holds both righteousness and justice.
How do you hold “let your light shine” and “don’t practice your righteousness to be seen” together?
Where do you notice a gap between who you are in private and who you are in public? What might it look like to invite the Spirit into that in-between space?
Giving and fasting were practices of tsedaqah, the Hebrew version of dikaiosynē. Deuteronomy 15:11 commands an open hand to the neighbor in need, and Isaiah 58 describes the fast God chooses: loosing the bonds of injustice and sharing bread with the hungry.
How do these passages change the way you think about giving and fasting?
What might a fast “that God chooses” look like for you in this season? What do you find yourself reaching for when you’re tired, anxious, or bored?
Jesus sends his listeners, farmers and day laborers, into their own half-empty storerooms to pray, and the prayer he gives them moves from three “your” petitions (God’s name, kingdom, and will) to four “us” petitions (bread, what is owed, testing, and evil).
Which line of the Lord’s Prayer is easiest for you to pray right now? Which is hardest, and why?
Pastor Justin described forgiveness as giving up our need for revenge without giving up the demand for justice. Where do you see a need for release, in our city or in your own relationships?
Pastor Justin closed with how Aaron Burr’s story ends, then named some of the rooms we might find ourselves in. What is your “room” these days? What would it mean to “shut the door” and meet God there
Finally, we were invited to practice three things this week: give one gift that nobody sees, fast from one thing so it can become someone else’s bread, and pray the Lord’s Prayer once a day. Which one will you try, and how can the group support you?
Prayer
Praying for one another regularly is an essential part of small groups.
Give the group a chance to share prayer requests.
Consider closing by praying the Lord’s Prayer together. You can find the Christ City version here.
Community Updates
Sunday 10/25: BIPOC Lunch
Our BIPOC lunch will be this Sunday, October 25. If you identify as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color, you're welcome and encouraged to join in for lunch after church that Sunday. This gathering is part of our ongoing commitment to racial equity and inclusion — and a recognition that spaces for connection and belonging among CCCers of color are both meaningful and necessary, especially in a multiracial church community.
If you’re looking to build relationships with other BIPOC folks at Christ City, we’d love for you to come. RSVP by emailing Pastor Justin (justin@christcitydc.org).
Miner PTO — next on 11/18
In one of our longest standing partnerships, Christ City is continuing to work with Miner Elementary to provide childcare during their monthly Thursday PTO meetings. This allows Miner parents to attend and be engaged at the school and in their child’s education. We’re hoping small groups can mobilize to provide childcare from 5:45–7:30p. Christ City will provide craft materials and pizza! Once you choose a week with your group, sign up at christcitydc.org/minerpto.
Sunday 12/6: Baptism Sunday
On December 6 (the second week of Advent), we'll be having baptisms as a special part of our service. If you or someone you know would like to make a public commitment or recommitment to Christ and be baptized, you can email Pastor Justin (justin@christcitydc.org).
Missional Grants Available
Christ City missional grants are still available! As we come into the fall, is there a neighborhood Halloween party you want to throw, or a Friendsgiving event you’d like to support. Missional grants can help! These grants are designed to fund neighborhood outreach efforts initiated by members of the Christ City community with the goal of empowering them to be agents of God's Kingdom by blessing their neighbors and neighborhoods. So far, grants have been used to host block parties, Juneteenth celebrations, support neighborhood boxing gyms, and host peacemaking games at Rosedale Rec Center.
Grants are available up to $500. If you would like to bless your neighborhood in a creative way, all CCCers are encouraged to apply for the grants and host an outreach event! To apply, visit christcitydc.org/missionalgrants.
