Remember to prep for your group
- Pray for your group by name.
- Review the sermon recap, key scriptures, and takeaways.
- Choose which questions you will use for your group.
- Plan the prayer and ministry time.
🎬 Sermon Recap
Israel’s yearly festivals sketch out one big salvation story:
- Passover / Unleavened Bread marks the beginning of the agricultural season and points to Christ as our Passover Lamb and firstfruits of salvation.
- Booths/Tabernacles points to the final harvest and God’s ultimate completion of all things—no more death, mourning, crying, or pain.
- Pentecost, in between, is about the harvest now—the Spirit empowering God’s people for mission, fulfilling the law by enabling us to love.
Key Scriptures
- Exodus 23:14–16
- 1 Corinthians 5:7
- 1 Corinthians 15:23
- Revelation 21:1–4
- 2 Corinthians 3:6
- Acts 2:2
- Acts 2:11
- Acts 2:13
- Acts 2:37
- John 16:8
- Genesis 2:7
Key Takeaways
- God’s story has three major “feasts”:
- Passover – Christ saves us.
- Pentecost – The Spirit sends and empowers us.
- Booths/Tabernacles – The Father completes our hope.
- Pentecost is about mission. The Spirit doesn’t just comfort us; He makes us “competent ministers of a new covenant” (2 Cor. 3:6).
- The Spirit fulfills the law by empowering love. Not letter-only obedience, but Spirit-enabled love for God and neighbor.
- Wind: The Spirit fills our “sails” and moves us out of comfort and passivity.
- Fire: The Spirit gives us words that declare the “wonders of God” to people and cultures different from us.
- Conviction: The Spirit provokes real responses—some are cut to the heart; some mock. Our role is obedience; His role is conviction.
- We are dominoes. On our own we’re just pieces of wood; when the Spirit breathes on us and sends us, small obedience can set off a chain reaction.
- We don’t need to fear the call. The same Spirit who calls us is the One who equips and goes with us.
Leading the Group
👋 Welcome
Thank everyone for coming and making this group a priority in their lives.
💛 Vision
Why We Meet as a Group
1. We Follow Jesus Together (Life on Life)
We’re learning how to be with Jesus, and live like Jesus—growing in our faith, applying His teachings in everyday life, and helping each other take next steps.
2. We Become a Spiritual Family Together (Life in Community)
We’re building real relationships where we can be known, supported, and encouraged. As we practice things like prayer, Scripture, and sharing life together, God transforms us from the inside out, and we become more like Jesus.
3. We Live on Mission Together (Life on Mission)
We care about the people in our lives who don’t yet know Jesus. Together, we look for ways to love and impact our friends and neighbors with the gospel, and invite others into this community.
1. We Follow Jesus Together (Life on Life)
We’re learning how to be with Jesus, and live like Jesus—growing in our faith, applying His teachings in everyday life, and helping each other take next steps.
2. We Become a Spiritual Family Together (Life in Community)
We’re building real relationships where we can be known, supported, and encouraged. As we practice things like prayer, Scripture, and sharing life together, God transforms us from the inside out, and we become more like Jesus.
3. We Live on Mission Together (Life on Mission)
We care about the people in our lives who don’t yet know Jesus. Together, we look for ways to love and impact our friends and neighbors with the gospel, and invite others into this community.
📬 Announcements
📍 Introduction
We are in a journey together to explore Jesus’ famous sermon on the mount, where He gives us his vision of the good life; what life lived under his rule and in His kingdom is like in the midst of a broken world.
Read Text
- Exodus 23:14–16
- 1 Corinthians 5:7
- 1 Corinthians 15:23
- Revelation 21:1–4
- 2 Corinthians 3:6
- Acts 2:2
- Acts 2:11
- Acts 2:13
- Acts 2:37
- John 16:8
- Genesis 2:7
Open in Prayer
🔥 Warm-Up
- Share about a time you felt “out of your depth” but something (or Someone) helped you do more than you thought you could. What happened?
💬 Suggested Discussion Guide
Please choose ahead of time which of the following questions you want to use for your c-group.
Discussion Questions
You don’t have to answer all of these. Choose the ones most helpful for your group.
- Big Story / Feasts
- How does seeing Passover, Pentecost, and Booths as one spiritual “season” help you understand where we are in God’s story right now?
- Which of the three “feasts” (salvation, mission, completion) do you personally think about most, and which do you tend to ignore?
- The Spirit and the Law
- 2 Corinthians 3:6 says we’re ministers “not of the letter but of the Spirit.”
What’s the difference between trying to obey God by “letter” versus by the Spirit? - Where do you most feel the need for the Spirit’s power to actually love (not just know what’s right)?
- 2 Corinthians 3:6 says we’re ministers “not of the letter but of the Spirit.”
- Wind – Being Sent
- Acts 2 describes a sound like a “violent wind.”
What might it look like for the Spirit’s wind to “fill your sails” right now—personally or as a group? - Are there ways you sense God nudging you out of a safe harbor or comfort zone?
- Acts 2 describes a sound like a “violent wind.”
- Fire – Speaking the Wonders of God
- In Acts 2:11, people hear “the wonders of God” in their own tongues.
Who in your life speaks a different “language” (culturally, generationally, spiritually) than you? - How might the Spirit help you communicate God’s goodness in a way they can truly understand?
- In Acts 2:11, people hear “the wonders of God” in their own tongues.
- Conviction and Reactions
- In Acts 2 some are “cut to the heart” and others mock.
Have you ever experienced both kinds of responses when you tried to follow Jesus or speak about Him? - How can remembering that the Spirit is the One who convicts (John 16:8) free you from fear of people’s reactions?
- In Acts 2 some are “cut to the heart” and others mock.
- Dominoes and Calling
- The sermon compared us to dominoes—ordinary pieces until the Spirit breathes on us.
Where do you feel “just a piece of wood” right now—too ordinary or weak to matter? - What small, specific step of obedience could be your “first domino” this week?
- The sermon compared us to dominoes—ordinary pieces until the Spirit breathes on us.
- Not Fearing the Call
- What do you fear most about the idea that God wants to use you in His mission?
- What aspect of the Spirit’s work (wind, fire, conviction, empowering love) most encourages you to move past that fear?
Practical Applications
Of all we have discussed tonight, what is one step God is calling you to take in order to follow Him more fully this week?
In addition, you can mention some of these steps to consider.
In addition, you can mention some of these steps to consider.
- Pray “Come, Holy Spirit” daily.
Spend a few minutes each day asking the Spirit to fill, guide, and use you. Pay attention to any nudges toward specific people or actions. - Name one “mission field.”
Identify one context (workplace, school, neighborhood, family) where you sense God wanting you to be a witness. Pray specifically for that place each day. - Share one “wonder of God.”
Intentionally tell someone this week (believer or non-believer) one concrete way you’ve seen God’s goodness in your life recently. - Respond to conviction.
If the Spirit is “cutting you to the heart” about a particular sin, relationship, or habit, take one clear step: confession, apology, making amends, or a practical change. - Encourage another “domino.”
Affirm someone else’s calling. Tell them what you see God doing through them, and pray over them for fresh boldness and filling.
🙏 Prayer
Close your time by praying into these themes. Invite the group to pray either in smaller groups (men with men or women with women) or all together using this guide.
“Holy Spirit, thank You for filling Your church at Pentecost and for still filling Your people today. Breathe on us again. Fill our sails with Your wind—move us where You want us to go. Ignite Your fire in us—give us words that clearly declare the wonders of God to those around us. Where we need conviction, cut us to the heart and lead us to repentance and freedom. Where we feel like ordinary pieces of wood, anoint and commission us for Your purposes. Help us not to fear Your call, but to trust that You will empower us to love and to witness. Use us this week as part of Your great harvest. In Jesus’ name, amen.”