Jon: You are listening to the discussion episode for the story, “Come and see for yourself.”
Bradon: John the Baptist pointed out Jesus as the Messiah. Andrew starts chatting with Jesus then runs to find his brother Simon to bring him to meet Jesus. Jesus then gives Simon the nickname or new name of Peter, which means Rock! Next, Phillip meets Jesus, and then he runs back to find his buddy Nathaniel who is skeptical that anything good comes from Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth. Again Jesus makes a great first impression, and Nathaniel is convinced that Jesus is the Messiah. All four guys become disciples of Jesus because they all went to see for themselves if it was true – if Jesus was the Messiah!
Learn from others, follow God with humility! King Belshazzar did not learn from the king before him and he had a very tragic end!
In today’s story, King Belshazzar had a massive party with his friends, where there was a lot of drinking and worshiping false gods and idols. During the party, a hand started writing on the wall. Daniel came and told the king what it meant and that because he was not humbly following God, the kingdom would be divided and given to someone else. That same night the king was murdered, and the kingdom was given to Darius the Mede.
Name three people that follow God with humility, one you know personally, one you know about like an author or speaker, and one from history. All of them must be people who follow God with humility.
What is something that you are looking forward to doing? Is it in line with following God with humility?
Our reasons we want something will reflect our humility or arrogance. Name two things that you want and talk about why you want them?
Growth Tip
Let me give you some advice. Plan things that are in line with following God with humility. Doing this will impact the activities you do with your friends, the type of parties you plan, the movies you watch, and even what you talk about with others.
Prayer Requests
At the end of your discussion, go around the group and ask for prayer requests.
We heard the story of Daniel’s three friends being thrown into a blazing furnace because they would not worship a statue that King Nebecunezzer set up. We were left with this challenge to reflect on. God can rescue us; will you honour him regardless if he does or does not like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?
Tell each other about a difficult time in your life and how you honoured God or did not honour God.
Our Growth tip today talked about making honouring God a habit. What are some routines and habits that you have that honour, God? How could you tweak or change a habit so that you can better honour God?
People may not ask you to bow down to a statue, but people will encourage you to do things that do not honour God. It could be friends pressuring you to do something wrong, or it may be images that you see on social media that cause you to want to explore other things that don’t honour God. What are some behaviours that you know dishonour God but are consistently enticing you?
Tips and Tricks for leading a discussion
It is common for people to not pursue God like they know they should or with as much effort as they onced did.
Have a conversation with them and rather than challenging them just listen and ask questions.
If it is you than find someone to talk with about it!
Growth Tip
Make honouring God a habit! One thing that is so important is to honour God in the little things. When we honour God in the little things when we get to the big moments in life we will continue to honour God in those big things too.
This is not to say that every moment will be easy? We are often tempted to go our own way and respond in a way that does not honour God. Rather than thinking of life as a bunch of decisions think of life as a bunch of habits. The more your habits honour God the easier it becomes to continue in those habits when something really difficult comes your way and you are tempted to choose a path that does not honour God. Make honouring God a habit and you will continue to honour God when challenges and difficulties arise.
Prayer Requests
At the end of your discussion, go around the group and ask for prayer requests.
You know there are a lot of situations where we find ourselves tempted. I am going to list a few of these circumstances and I’d like you as a group to come up with a plan. Talk about how you should respond to each, how to avoid these situations if possible, and if there are any scripture verses that might help you to respond well.
You find yourself at school or work when your friends are talking poorly about others behind their backs.
You find yourself on your phone or device when an image or video comes up that you know is not good.
You are asked to complete a task immediately by your boss, teacher, or parent but you feel really tired and want to do it later.
Think of a situation that you would like help with when you are tempted. Describe the situation and then answer the following.
Questions
How should you respond?
Is there a way to avoid this situation in the future?
What scripture can you respond with?
Growth Tip
To respond with scripture, we need to know the scriptures. Memorizing Bible verses is a great practice. I won’t lie memorizing is hard work, but the payoff is huge, and it will serve you very well for the rest of your life! So Memorize scripture as a defence in the temptations that will come your way!
Prayer Requests
At the end of your discussion, go around the group and ask for prayer requests.
