Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that if what happens in our lives doesn’t get recognition, doesn’t get likes, doesn’t get people’s attention, then it isn’t valuable.  But in God’s view of life, our most important connection – the one that we have with him – thrives in secrecy.  Why is that?  What’s the benefit of developing a healthy personal relationship with God?  How can we become more intimately connected to Him this year?

Group Discussion Guide

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To view a .docx version of this guide, click here.

Introduction 

Take a few minutes to chat as a group! What were some highs and lows of your week? How has the application from last week’s group been going for everyone? 

After your time of connecting, begin your meeting with prayer.  

Key Verse for the Week  

*Read this verse, then encourage the practice of memorization through the week. 

Galatians 5:25 

“Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” 

**When practiced consistently, memorizing Bible verses can be an important spiritual practice that centers your mind around the truth that God has given us. 

Connect   

• How private of a person are you? Which aspects of your life do you typically want to be less public? 
• How often are your actions driven by a desire to be acknowledged by others? Why do you think you live this way? 
• How do you typically evaluate how strong someone’s relationship with others is? What is the benefit to carving out intentional alone time with valued relationships?  

Opening Thought  

Our world looks more different now than it ever has when it comes to connection and interactivity. There are so many options to see, speak, and experience time with other people and their lives that we don’t need to worry about distance or time separating us from most everyone in the world. Unfortunately, with all these options, we tend to have less quiet time by ourselves. We might have time alone, but this doesn’t mean it’s quiet or even genuinely restful. This can influence our relationship with God as well. If we look at the life of Jesus, there were many times when he would have solitary times praying with God. Jesus knew that time alone with God is crucial to relationship with him. 

This leads us to our big idea for this week:  

Big idea for the week
In an all-too public world, we should double-down
on our private relationship with God. 

Unpack 

Go around your group and have someone read each of the following verses, then discuss the connected questions. 

Read

Matthew 6:1 

Mark 6:31-32 

Unpack

• Why do you think Jesus placed so much emphasis on solitude? Why is this important when it comes to how you spend your time with God? 
• Why do you think external spiritualism is commonly seen as the best way for evaluating how faithful someone is to God? How necessary do you think external expressions of faith are? 

This next two sections show how those faithful to God understood the importance of solitary time with God. The first section is from one of the historical books of the Bible called “2 Kings” and describes how one of God’s prophets Elisha goes with his servant to bring a woman’s son back to life. Pay attention to how they act in their first moments of seeing the child. 

Read

2 Kings 4:32-33 

Unpack

• What did Elisha do when he saw the child on his bed? Why do you think he did this first and why do you think it’s important? 

The next verse is from Exodus and describes one of the ways Moses (one of the most holy prophets in Judeo-Christian history) set up a system to talk to God.  

Read

Exodus 33:7 

Unpack

• This verse says that Moses set up a “Tent of Meeting” away from the camp where the people of Israel stayed. Why do you think Moses decided to intentionally set it up away from the rest of the camp? How would this have helped orient God’s people to prioritize their time with God? 
• Without going into too much detail (it’s private after all), what aspects of your life do you share only with God? How does sharing these with him, and him only, directly contribute to a strong connection with him? 

Read

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NLT) 

Philippians 4:6-7 

Unpack

• On a score of 1-10, about how much time do you spend living a quiet life vs trying to be seen for what you do? Why is this the case?  
• What about in your faith? How much of your faith is private vs seen by others? How do we balance private faith with public faith? 
• How would your life be different if you took the time to make your private life of faith even more important than the way you express your faith publicly? What challenges and concerns do you have about doing this? 
• How can making intentional private time with God help you grow to express your faith better publicly?  

Apply 

Based on the verses we just read, there are some things that we can do in response. Take a moment to discuss these questions as a group to decide what your personal action steps for the week can be: 

• What are some ways you could begin expressing your faith more privately, starting this week? Will you try to do this? How can the group support you? 
• If you are usually a more private person with your faith, how can you start taking steps to share your relationship with God to others more publicly? 
• How will you begin to develop your relationship with God alone in a new way, starting this week? 
• How can we as a group practically help you grow in your personal relationship with God from now on? 

Closing 

Read this section with the group then move to the Prayer and Verses section: 

When we spend time away from the things in this world that can distract us from our relationship with God, we can find genuine intimacy with him that helps our connection with God flourish and guard us from becoming “burnt out”. Instead of trying to find when we are in private relationship with God regularly, we can be a better follower of Jesus to others. This week, practice this private time with God and see how it goes. As with every practice, you may not be very good at it, but with time, you’ll come to see that the secret and private life with Jesus is essential to following Jesus well. This is one more way we can follow Jesus’ life and teachings well this year.  

Prayer and Verses 

Ask for prayer requests and conclude your time with prayer then share the Key Verse for the Week and Daily Devotional Verses with the group. 

Daily Devotional Verses  

Use the S.O.A.P. method to reflect on the verses below. 

Scripture: Read the verses several times. Reading out loud can be helpful as well. 
Observation: What can you see about the scripture you read? 
Application: What is God wanting you to believe, do, or feel, based on what you have read? 
Prayer: This is a chance to talk to God about what you have read and ask him for help in living out what you’ve learned. 

Day 1: Matthew 6:6 
Day 2: Psalm 62:5 
Day 3: Psalm 23:1-3 
Day 4: 1 Peter 5:6-7  
Day 5: Psalm 46:10 
Day 6: Acts 1:13-14 

Key Verse for the Week  

Galatians 5:25 

“Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”