Gcf Austin

Life Group Questions 1.  What has God called you to do? 2.  Read Isaiah 61:1. Jesus came to proclaim freedom for the captives. The Greek word translated to “freedom” or “liberty” means “free run.” Is that how you would describe your life? “Free run,” with no limitations and nothing holding you back from your God-given destiny?  3.  Do you currently feel like you are held captive to something or someone? Remember that this can be mental, emotional, physical, and/or spiritual captivity. 4.  Pastor Ryan said that one of the devil’s primary tactics is to whisper toxic thoughts into your spirit. These are lies, deceptions, and errors. Share about a time in your life when you experienced this and won victory over it. 5.  Pastor Ryan listed four types of lies that the devil tries to get us to believe: -      Lies about God-      Lies about ourselves-      Lies about sin-      Lies about others Which of these lies are you currently struggling with and how can the group pray for you?

Life Group Questions 1.  What was your main takeaway from this week’s teaching on brokenness? 2.  Pastor Rob talked about some causes of a broken heart:·     Abuse (Verbal / Physical / Sexual)·     Loss·     Neglected / Rejected·     Failure·     Betrayal Which of these have you experienced victory over and how can you use that testimony to bring someone else closer to Jesus? 3.  One of the most common coping mechanisms is denial. You see this with people who might “put on a happy face” or say, “I’m good” instead of being honest with themselves and others.  Read: Matthew 11:28-29 Jesus clearly and lovingly invites us to release every wearisome burden, and if we allow Him to guide & direct our lives, He guarantees rest for our souls. Are there areas in your life that you need replaced with the rest Jesus offers? Share them with the group. 4.  Pastor Rob shared this quote from Bill Hybels: “What if you knew that by simply crossing the room and saying hello to someone, you could change that person forever? Just

Life Group Questions 1.  What is “The year of the Lord’s favor?” 2.  Pastor Ryan said, “So many Christians only experience half of their life in God.” They focus only on receiving from God and miss opportunities every day to minister to others. Described the last time you ministered to someone. 3.  Read Col. 1:27. People all around us have been devastated by circumstances in life. Their only hope is the local church (Christ in you, the hope of glory). How has your perspective changed since hearing this truth from scripture? 4.  Pastor Ryan encouraged all of us to “see people differently.” What did he mean by this? How does this apply to you? 5.  All people are born separated from God and have a God-shaped hole in their life because they are spiritually empty until they invite Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. Do you know that Jesus is your Savior? If not, is there anything holding you back from surrendering all to Him so that you can be healed and set free? If you are a born-again believer, who has God put o

Life Group Questions1. What was the main thing you pulled from this relationship principle?2. Share a time when you did not believe the best about someone and how it affected your relationship with that person. 3. Pastor Rob talked about relationships being our church's thing. Do you remember when you first walked in grace? Share how you felt and how you are mirroring that for others in our church. 4. Out of the five relationship principles, Faithfulness Principle, Four-day Principle, Friendship Principle, First-word Principle, and Final-word Principle, which one is the most challenging for you at this moment and why? 

Life Group Questions 1.  In your own words, what is the First-Word Principle? How does it help maintain and grow relationships? 2.  Read Matthew 18:15. This verse provides five key points about resolving personal conflicts. What are they? Please discuss.3.  Do you recall a situation in your life where you were seemingly the last person to know about someone having a problem with you? If you can, please talk about that. How did it affect those relationships? 4.  In Matthew 18:7, the English word “offense” is translated from the Greek word “skandalon,” which means the trigger of a trap on which bait is placed. Discuss how this biblical fact colors your understanding of what an offense is. 5.  What is a secondary offense? What is gossip? How are they damaging to relationships…the church? Have you experienced gossip, as the subject of the gossip or a participant? If so, please share what happened.

Life Group Questions1.   What are some of your biggest personal takeaways from the relationship principles series so far? 2.  Why is it important for our church to remain in unity? Bonus question: What are the key bible verses for this series? 3.  In week one, Pastor Ryan taught the faithfulness principle. What is the faithfulness principle and how does will this challenge you moving forward? 4.  In week two, Kasey taught the four-day principle. What is the four-day principle and will you commit to following this in your relationships in the church? 5.  Last Sunday, Pastor Ryan taught the friendship principle. What is the friendship principle? Do you find yourself to be someone who makes every effort to keep the unity in your relationships or do you avoid confrontation and hold grudges?

1. What spoke to you the most in this message?2. Being planted in church, going to church, reading your bible, praying, and worshiping are things Pastor Rob mentioned to help secure your mask and allow you to breathe in God's spiritual air. Which one of these do you need to work on? Explain. 3. Being an example for others to follow doesn’t have to be a scary thing. We are not perfect and that’s okay. Which method of setting the example needs the most work, and how can we, as a church family, help you? Method: 1. We need to practice what we preach.2. We need to find joy in every Situation.3. We need to model Christlikeness.4. We need to invest in relationships.4. Are you ready to put on that mask, secure it, breathe in, be the example, and go and make disciples? Why or why not? 

Life Group Questions 1.  If I want to increase my ability to hear God’s voice, I must learn to cherish the word of God. What does cherish mean to you in this context? Do you cherish God’s word? Why or why not? 2.  Three ways that the word of God supercharges our ability to hear God’s voice are:·     It tunes your spirit·     It establishes you in foundational truths·     It defeats the devil Which of these impacted you the most and why? 3.  Tell a story about the last time you operated in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 4.  The second supercharger for increasing our ability to hear God’s voice is praying in the Spirit (praying in tongues). Are you baptized in the Holy Spirit? If so, do you pray in tongues daily? Why is this a good idea for any born-again believer?

Life Group Questions 1.  Pastor Ryan compared hearing God’s voice to fine-tuning a transistor radio. What was your biggest takeaway from this illustration? 2.  Hebrews 10:19-20 says, “…we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, through His flesh…” What does this mean and why is this REALLY good news for all born-again believers?3.  When we come to God in doubt, we receive nothing. How does this challenge you as you seek to hear God’s voice? 4.  It is impossible to approach God confidently with unconfessed sin in your heart and 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful & just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Are you living with unconfessed sin in your heart? Since God makes a wonderful promise to those who confess, what’s holding you back from confessing? 5.  When God speaks to us, we must let those words cleanse us by applying & walking out what he says to

Life Group Questions: 1. Share an example from your life of when you tested what you heard from God. 2. The first test Kasey shared was to filter out the impurities. Through sorrow, loss, sickness, pain, offenses, doubt, discouragement, temptation, & personal desire we filter God’s voice through our tainted human perspective. Does this ring true for you? Have you experienced this before? Explain. 3. The Bible test:a. What conclusions can be drawn when you know that the Bible contradicts what you heard from God?b. What is absolutely essential to accomplish this test? 4. The source test: Kasey listed distinctive characteristics of messages from each source (World, Holy Spirit, You). For each source, which of the listed characteristics seemed most notable to you? 5. The humility test: We should seek counsel to help us determine if the message is from God. Do you do this? If not, why not? If so, how does it work for you?

Life Group Questions1.   Do you Journal? If so, why? If not, what’s holding you back? 2.   Pastor Rob mentioned 4 benefits of journaling:·      It separates the hearing & the testing·      It occupies your mind·      It serves as a reminder·      It keeps the message pure Which one(s) do you relate to the most and why?3.   God’s words are always perfect. Our interpretations of what He says are imperfect. What methods can we utilize to make sure we are hearing God accurately?4.   Is there something God has spoken over your life that hasn’t been realized yet? Did you write it down so you don’t forget the details? Are you praying for it? Are you waiting on the Lord in faith or in doubt?

Life Group Questions1.     Has God ever spoken to you through a dream or a vision? Tell the story. How did you know it was Him? 2.     Pastor Ryan said, “We need to hunger for & earnestly desire to hear God’s voice.” On a scale from 1-10, how hungry are you to hear God’s voice? 3.     In Acts 16:9-10, God calls an audible in the middle of Paul & Luke’s missionary journey through a vision given to Paul during the night. This led to them changing their plans and heading to Macedonia. Are you ready & open to God calling an audible in your life? Share a time in your life (past or current) when you recognized God calling an audible. How did you respond? 4.     When Jesus needed personal ministry, He secluded himself for quiet time with the Lord. When he was around people, he ministered to them by doing what he saw and heard God do. This is the example for us to follow. When we need personal ministry, we need to have quiet time with the Lord. When we are around others, we should seek to see what God is doing and he

Life Group Questions1. We know that God is always with us and wants to help us in our time of need, but many Christians live life like functional atheists; running around as if God doesn’t exist. Why do you think that is?2. Read Psalm 46:10. Is this easy or difficult for you and why?3. Omarr shared three steps for getting still:- Remove all outer distractions- Deal with your physical body- Quiet your inner selfWhich one do you need to work on the most and why?4. You make time for what is important to you. What do you spend the most time on? Do your priorities need to change?5. God didn’t make you and save you to abandon you. What does this mean to you personally?

Life Group Questions1.    On a scale of 0 to 10 (lowest to highest), how would you rate your ability to recognize the voice of God before this teaching? (0 means that you never recognize His voice; 10 means that you almost always are certain about recognizing His voice.)2.    The big idea of this teaching is that God’s voice sounds like a spontaneous, intersecting thought. a.    Discuss what this means to you. b.    How does this contrast with your thoughts? c.    In your experience, is this what God’s voice sounds like?3.    According to Ezek. 14:4, the Lord will speak to us in accordance with the multitude of idols in our hearts. a.    What does this mean to you? b.    What should we do about this?4.    Which of the five qualities of God’s voice, listed below, matches your experience the most? a.    God’s voice will often be in the first person b.    God’s voice will often be light and gentle c.    God’s voice has better content than mine d.    God’s voice lands right e.    God