March 13 – 20

Weekly Reading for March 13 – 20

Preparing for Next Week’s Message

Sermon Series: Unplug: Pathway to Peace
Sermon Title: Unplug from Anxious Worry and plug into Peaceful Confidence

This reading plan will get your heart and mind set for the next message on March 20, 2022:

• SUNDAY: Matthew 6,
• MONDAY: John 14,
• TUESDAY: Philippians 4,
• WEDNESDAY: Psalm 23, Psalm 121,
• THURSDAY: Psalm 46,
• FRIDAY: Proverbs 3,
• SATURDAY: Matthew 11,

Reflecting on the Most Recent Sermon

Sermon Series: Alone & Afraid
Sermon Title: Alone & Afraid with Pastor Jeff Manion
Delivered On: March 13, 2022

VIEW SERMON NOTES

Memorize and Reflect

Genesis 28:14-15 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Prayer Direction

Jacob encounters God when he’s alone and afraid. God reminds Jacob of God’s promises. God wants Jacob to trust him. There are times when we feel similar emotions to Jacob. Like Jacob, God has given us many promises we can hold onto. We simply have to choose to make God our God. Commit yourself to God today and ask God to help you remember and trust his promises. In your journal or on a piece of paper, make a list of some of God’s promises that you want to remember.

“Live It!” Challenge

It was time for Jacob to make his faith his own. Some of us may be going to church because it’s what our family did or because people we respect regularly attend. Just like Jacob had to decide whether he was really going to follow God, God wants us to choose him. Consider whether your actions and passions reflect a life centered on God. Choose one relationship, whether a co-worker, family member or a friend, and determine how a life centered on God changes the way you approach that relationship.

Small Group Discussion

1. What scared you as a little kid?

2. Read: Genesis 12:1-8. How does this passage relate to Jacob?

3. When God appears to Jacob, he is running for his life, lost, alone and afraid. What are some of the circumstances that led to Jacob’s crisis?

4. Jacob’s dad was Isaac, and his grandpa was Abraham. He grew up in a family that worshiped God. What was your experience of hearing about God when you grew up?

5. One of the themes of Jacob’s story is how Jacob makes his faith his own. Why is this so important for us all to do at some point in our lives?

6. Read: Genesis 28:10-15. What do you think God is trying to do in this encounter?

7. God takes the initiative here to pursue Jacob. What does that communicate about who God is and how God relates to us?

8. Have you ever experienced a season where you felt like God pursued you?

9. The story of Jacob isn’t just about Jacob, it’s about God blessing the world. What would it look like to view our stories as not just about us either?

10. Read: Genesis 28:16-22. Why does Jacob set up a stone?

11. God makes Jacob some significant promises that Jacob seems to count on. What are some of the promises God has made to us?

12. Read: John 1:50-51. How does Jesus connect himself to the Jacob story?

13. Some of us may have heard about Jesus all our lives and know a lot about God but not truly know God. Others may not have heard about God until later in life. When do you feel like you made your faith your own?

14. This week we talked about making our faith our own. What was one thing that connected with you, and how will that change the way you live?