Life Group - Study Guides

This past Sunday, guest speaker Joe Sangl challenged us to think differently about money, generosity, and what it means to move forward in obedience to God. This is about more than money, it’s about what we are investing in. So many times, we know what we should do financially, spiritually, or relationally, but we never make the decision to move forward and do it. God is always asking us to obey Him. It may be becoming more generous, getting serious about a budget, dealing with debt, learning to save, changing our attitude about money, or trusting Him more. What might be your next step?

In God’s Word we are commanded to seek His Kingdom first. Yet we tend to do the opposite and allow worry to consume our thoughts and pull our attention toward circumstances we cannot control. Jesus invites us to bring those concerns to Him, trust our Father’s care, and pursue something greater than ourselves. As we spend time with God, learn His Word, pray, worship, serve, and walk alongside others, He reorients our hearts and gives us peace that does not depend on our circumstances.

Work and rest are not separate from our spiritual lives—they are part of how God created us to live. We were made in God’s image to be active, productive, and creative, but we were also commanded to stop and make room for stillness. Technology is one of those things that can be a helpful tool, but it can also distract us from meaningful work or keep us from true rest. This week, we will consider whether our daily rhythms reflect God’s design for both work and Sabbath.

We all experience desires and temptations that pull us away from what God wants for us. While the world encourages us to satisfy every desire, Scripture reminds us that not everything we do is helpful, and anything we continually give ourselves to can eventually control us. Temptation does not come from God, but His love and grace meet us in our struggle. Through Jesus, we are forgiven, made new, and given the strength to pursue what honors God rather than simply what satisfies us in the moment.

There are passages and situations in the Bible that can be difficult to understand, especially when we read them through the lens of our own time and culture. Sometimes we wish the Bible would give us a simple answer to every broken thing in the world. But Scripture shows us that Jesus did not come to fix every earthly system or establish an earthly kingdom. He came to rescue us from sin, reveal the truth, and establish the Kingdom of God.