First listen to the sermon (posts Sun. afternoon). Then use the ideas below to help you and your group apply what the Lord is teaching you.

Icebreaker idea: What's a good piece of advice someone has given you that has been important for your spiritual life?

A way to pray: Ask God to give us a sensitivity to hearing His voice and a continuing passion and ability to listen to Him through the Word, prayer, and Christian community.

Talk It Over:

• Treasuring God: How do Samuel and Eli's family treat God differently? What are the results? How does treasuring or minimizing God matter still today?

• Being Transformed: What sorts of things get in the way of hearing the Lord's voice? What can I do to minimize those obstacles in my life?

• Loving Others: Who in my life needs to hear God's voice right now? How can I lovingly use my words and actions to bring His presence and Word to them?

• Pursuing Unity: What is a specific example of a time I have experienced the Lord speaking to me through the community of believers?

First listen to the sermon (posts Sun. afternoon). Then use the ideas below to help you and your group apply what the Lord is teaching you.

Icebreaker idea: What makes you feel appreciated or valued?

A way to pray: Pray for each other in the group to grow in honoring God tangibly and practically through our everyday words and actions, and that this would attract others to Him as we seek to see 2,000 people by 2022 baptized and growing in relationship with Him through the Word, prayer, and community.

Talk It Over:

• Treasuring God: Read verse 30. What are some practical ways we might honor or despise God through our words or actions today?

• Being Transformed: What's one area of my life where I have not honored God as He deserves? What steps will I take to begin to honor Him in that area?

• Loving Others: Read verses 12-26. What does this passage indicate about how our view of God affects the way we treat others?

• Pursuing Unity: What are some practical examples of how honoring God builds unity within the church and how dishonoring Him causes division?

First listen to the sermon (posts Sun. afternoon). Then use the ideas below to help you and your group apply what the Lord is teaching you.

Icebreaker idea: Share about a time when you saw God answer prayer in a meaningful way, or share one thing your group could pray for right now that you'd love to see Him do something amazing with.

A way to pray: Pray that we would be people who bring healing in hurting places in our church, families, friendships, and community. Ask the Lord to use this to draw people to Himself as we seek to see 2,000 people by 2022 baptized and growing in relationship with Him through the Word, prayer, and community.

Talk It Over:

• Treasuring God: Why is it better to pour out our pain to God rather than try to handle it ourselves? What can He do with it that others (and we ourselves) can't?

• Being Transformed: What is something painful that I've tried to handle on my own? What are some specific ways I can begin to give that over to the Lord?

• Loving Others: How can we demonstrate God's love to others when they are in pain? What makes this so difficult, and how can we overcome these difficulties?

• Pursuing Unity: What are some practical ways we can support each other in handling our pain well?

First listen to the sermon (posts Sun. afternoon). Then use the ideas below to help you and your group apply what the Lord is teaching you.

Icebreaker idea: Introduce (or reintroduce) yourself to the group. What is something you enjoyed this summer?

A way to pray: Join us in praying that we'll be able to double involvement in Grow Groups this year, moving from about 30-40% of Sunday attendance connecting in groups to about 60-80%.

Talk It Over:

• Treasuring God: What does each of the four soils seem to value most? How does this relate to what happens to the seeds?

• Being Transformed: Why is understanding the gospel so important for growth? What's one way understanding the gospel has changed my life?

• Loving Others: How can we show love to the different kinds of people represented by each of the four soils?

• Pursuing Unity: What are some practical ways we can help each other and others both to hear and to understand the gospel?