Small Group Guide: Week of 2/1
To view this guide as a PDF, click here.
We Will Be Wholehearted
Psalm 86:11-13 (NIV)
11 Teach me your way, Lord,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths,
from the realm of the dead.
Opening Discussion
Introductions & check-in
Introductions: Share your name (and pronouns if you’d like) and if you’re new or a returning member.
Icebreaker suggestion: What is your most used emoji?
High/Low exercise
Give each member a chance to share their highest points and lowest points of the past week/month.
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.
Community Care
Share any established community care practices, expectations, or discussion guidelines. Consider inviting the group into conversation, asking for feedback or additional suggestions. (Find more on community care practices here.)
Digging Deeper
This Week’s Sermon
Consider reading this week’s text aloud. (Options: listen to it read aloud on an app/YouTube; one person in the group reads; each person in the group reads a section or a few verses). As you reflect on this week’s sermon:
What resonated with you?
What comforted/challenged you?
Did you learn something new?
What might the Spirit be prompting you to remember and consider?
Psalm 86 names a “divided heart” and gives us the prayer, “Unite my heart.”
Where do you notice your attention, loves, or loyalties feeling pulled in different directions right now?
What stood out to you about the idea that Scripture doesn’t shame divided hearts, but invites us to bring them honestly before God?
The sermon described fear as a powerful dividing force that often shows up as urgency, reactivity, or narrowed imagination.
Where do you see fear shaping your responses or decisions lately?
What might it look like, in a very practical sense, to let God rather than fear be the center that organizes your life this season?
In the sermon, wholeheartedness was described as trusting God’s timing in both bold leaps and careful steps, holding beauty and risk together without letting fear take the lead.
Which image of wholeheartedness resonated more with you right now: the trapeze (a wholehearted leap) or walking carefully across ice while still noticing beauty? Why do you think that is?
Are there areas of your life where you sense an invitation to listen more closely for God’s timing rather than acting out of urgency or control?
Pastor Lisa referenced Jeremiah 24:7 — “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.”
How does it change things to hear that wholeheartedness is something we receive and practice, not something we achieve?
The sermon emphasized that God forms wholeheartedness in a people, not just in individuals. How have you experienced borrowing courage, steadiness, or hope from others in community?
Where might you feel invited to practice wholeheartedness right now?
Prayer
Praying for one another regularly is an essential part of small groups. You’re welcome to design your gathering however you’d like, but encourage you to include prayer time each week.
Prayer Requests
Give the group a chance to share prayer requests. If it’s helpful, utilize categories like praises/requests.
Spend time praying for one another and the requests made.
Depending on the group size, it can be helpful to break into smaller groups to share requests and pray for one another.
Some groups use prayer partners throughout a semester.
Community Updates
Miner PTO
In one of our longest standing partnerships, Christ City is continuing to work with Miner Elementary to provide childcare during their monthly Tuesday 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 HERE.
