ICEBREAKERS
Make sure to start off with prayer. Then choose one or more questions to open up with.
1. What are your summer plans?
TALK-IT-OUT
Go through each main point and scripture from the message and use the corresponding questions in discussion with your group. Encourage your group to pull this post up on their own device to follow along.
Main Scripture Context: While the Israelites were on a journey to the land that God had promised them, Moses sent some men into the land to explore and find out more about the land and the people who lived there. The following scripture is their response when they returned.
Numbers 13:26–28, 30–33 (NIV)
They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.
They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit."
But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.
Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”
And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.”
“. . . We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Talk-it-Out: What stands out to you in this scripture?
POINT 1: THE GOOD NEWS = GOD HAS GRAPES AND MORE GRAPES THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE PLANNED FOR YOUR LIFE.
Talk-it-Out: What prevents you from thinking and dreaming big?
Talk-it-Out: What are some of your dreams (grapes) you want to see happen in your life?
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Psalm 25:4 (NLT)
Show me the right path . . . point out the road for me to follow . . .
POINT 2: THE “NOT SO GOOD” NEWS = THERE ARE GIANTS IN THE LAND OF THE GRAPES.
Talk-it-Out: What are some of the obstacles (giants) you see between you and reaching your dreams (grapes)?
POINT 3: ONE OF THE MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE IS TO ASSUME THAT IF GOD WANTS ME TO HAVE SOMETHING, I WON’T HAVE TO FIGHT FOR IT.
Nehemiah 4:14 (NIV)
After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."
Talk-it-Out: Do you have critics in your life that prevent you from fighting for your dreams?
POINT 4: WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR FUTURE, DON’T COUNT YOURSELF OUT OR THINK YOURSELF SMALL.
Talk-it-Out: What can you do this week to begin to fight for your dreams?
WRITE-It-Out
Encourage your group to start writing things down. Do the following exercises:
- Do a SOAP devotion on Joshua 1. Read the SCRIPTURE. Write down at least one OBSERVATION, at least one APPLICATION for your life, and one PRAYER inspired by this scripture.
Live-It-Out
Encourage your group to start doing. Commit to a step and live it out this week.
- Encourage someone this week that you know is facing a big challenge by reminding them that they are "made for this."
- Complete Growth Track. Every Saturday in Tacoma 6:00pm, and every Sunday at all of our campuses at 11:30am.
Closing Thoughts
- Finish group with prayer requests and praise reports.
- More resources are always available here: Group Resources.