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Sermon OutlinesLife Group QuestionsDaily Bible Readings

Life Group Study Guide

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Sunday 27th OctoberRIDICULOUS COMMITMENT

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Sunday 3rd NovemberRIDICULOUS FAITH

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Sermon Outline

RIDICULOUS COMMITMENT - MESSAGE 1

Sunday 10th NovemberRIDICULOUS PROVISION

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Sunday 1st DecemberRIDICULOUS RECOVERY

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CONTENTS

1 Kings 19:19-21: 19So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. ‘Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,’ he said, ‘and then I will come with you.’

‘Go back,’ Elijah replied. ‘What have I done to you?’21So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the ploughing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.

INTRODUCTION1 Kings 19:19b: [Elisha] was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair.

1 Kings 19:19c: Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him.

TWO PRINCIPLES OF RIDICULOUS COMMITMENT

I. YOU DON’T HAVE TO UNDERSTAND FULLY TO OBEY IMMEDIATELY.1 Kings 19:20: Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”

II. THOSE GOD USES THE MOST ARE THE ONES WHO HOLD ON TO THE LEAST. 1 Kings 19:21: So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the ploughing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.

BIBLE READINGSPage 7 Daily Bible Readings for Messages 1-4

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How to use Talk It Over:Talking through the message during the week helps you and your group turn what God is saying to you into action steps. Begin with the key questions, add any optional scriptures and questions if needed, and then conclude by deciding on your next steps.

Main Idea:To step toward your destiny, you must step away from your security.

Key Questions:• Describe a time when you obeyed God

even though you didn’t fully understand His direction. What resulted from your obedience?

• What security do you need to step away from that will allow you to step toward your destiny?

• What is God asking you to do that you need to obey immediately?

RIDICULOUS COMMITMENT - 1

Optional Questions: If needed, include one or more of these scriptures and questions to extend your conversation.

• Read and discuss 1 Kings 19:19-21.

• What examples of ridiculous commitment to God have you witnessed in your life?

• How would you describe your level of trust in God? What might be keeping you from fully trusting in Him?

• How do you know when God is leading you?

• Phillip said, “Those God uses the most are the ones who hold on to the least”. Have you ex-perienced this in your own life? If so, how?

Next Steps:• What’s one step of obedience you can take

this week to respond to what God is asking you to do?

Sermon Outline

RIDICULOUS FAITH - MESSAGE 2YOUR GREATEST NEED BECOMES A BLESSING

WHEN IT DRIVES YOU TO DEPEND ON GOD.

2 Kings 3:9-12: 9So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.10‘What!’ exclaimed the king of Israel. ‘Has the

LORD called us three kings together only to deliver us into the hands of Moab?’11But Jehoshaphat asked, ‘Is there no prophet of the LORD here, through whom we may enquire of the LORD?’An officer of the king of Israel answered, ‘Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.’

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RIDICULOUS COMMITMENT - 2

Main Idea:Real faith believes big, but is willing to start small.

Key Questions:• Describe a time when a great need drove

you to depend on God. How was it a bless-ing?

• What’s one big dream for your life that you need God’s help to accomplish?

• What ditch might God want you to start digging today to turn your dream into a reality?

Optional Questions: If needed, include one or more of these scrip-tures and questions to extend your conversa-tion.

• With your Bible, read and discuss 2 Kings 3:1-27.

• What are some great needs you are facing right now? How are you depending on God to meet your needs?

• In what ways have you experienced God’s faithfulness?

• What are some of the ditches you’ve dug to allow God to provide the water in the form of a miracle?

• What are some of things you do regularly that help you strengthen your faith in God?

Next Steps:• What’s your first step to digging the ditch

that will allow God to turn your dream into a reality?

12Jehoshaphat said, ‘The word of the LORD is with him.’ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

2 Kings 3:13-14: 13Elisha said to the king of Israel, ‘Why do you want to involve me? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.’‘No,’ the king of Israel answered, ‘because it was the LORD who called us three kings together to deliver us into the hands of Moab.’14Elisha said, ‘As surely as the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not pay any attention to you.

2 Kings 3:15: But now bring me a harpist.’

2 Kings 3:15b-16 (GNB): 15b…As the musician played his harp, the power of the LORD came on Elisha, 16and he said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Dig ditches all over this dry stream bed.

2 Kings 3:17-18: 17For this is what the LORD says: you will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and

your other animals will drink. 18This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; he will also deliver Moab into your hands.

FAITH THAT WORKS

II. ONLY GOD CAN SEND THE WATER, BUT SOMETIMES HE WANTS YOU TO DIG A DITCH.James 2:26 (NLT): Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

III. REAL FAITH BELIEVES BIG BUT IS WILLING TO START SMALL.Zechariah 4:10a (NLT): Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin ,…

2 Kings 3:20: The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was – water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.

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Sermon Outline

RIDICULOUS PROVISION - MESSAGE 32 Kings 4:1-2: 1The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.’2Elisha replied to her, ‘How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?’‘Your servant has nothing there at all,’ she said, ‘except a small jar of olive oil.’

WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE WHAT YOU REALLY WANT, GOD IS WHAT YOU REALLY NEED.

2 Kings 4:2: Elisha replied to her, ‘How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?’‘Your servant has nothing there at all,’

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE MUCH?

I. STOP WAITING FOR WHAT YOU WANT AND START WORKING WITH WHAT YOU HAVE.2 Kings 4:2b: ‘Your servant has nothing there at all,’ she said, ‘except a small jar of olive oil.’

II. OFFER GOD WHAT YOU HAVE AND TRUST HIM TO GIVE YOU WHAT YOU NEED.2 Kings 4:3-7: 3Elisha said, ‘Go round and ask all your neighbours for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.’5She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6When all the jars were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another one.’But he replied, ‘There is not a jar left.’ Then the oil stopped flowing.7She went and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.’

2 Corinthians 4:7a: But we have this treasure in jars of clay…

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Main Idea:God is looking for some empty vessels to fill up.

Key Questions:• Share a time when God did a lot with just

a little in your life. What did you learn from your experience?

• What do you have that God can use? How will you allow Him to use it?

• What unimportant things do you need to empty yourself of so that God can fill you up with what matters most?

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Sermon Outline

RIDICULOUS RECOVERY - MESSAGE 42 Kings 6:1-7: 1The company of the prophets said to Elisha, ‘Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.’And he said, ‘Go.’3Then one of them said, ‘Won’t you please come with your servants?’‘I will,’ Elisha replied. 4And he went with them.They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axe-head fell into the water. ‘Oh no, my lord!’ he cried out. ‘It was borrowed!’6The man of God asked, ‘Where did it fall?’ When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7‘Lift it out,’ he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.

GOD KNOWS HOW TO HELP YOU FIND WHAT YOU DIDN’T MEAN TO LOSE.

HOW DO YOU GET YOUR EDGE BACK?

I. BE HONEST ABOUT WHERE YOU LOST IT.

2 Kings 6:6: The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?”…

II. WITH GOD’S HELP, TAKE BACK WHAT YOU LOST.2 Kings 6:6b-7: 6b…When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7‘Lift it out,’ he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.

Revelation 2:4b-5a: 4b…you have forsaken the love you had at first. 5aConsider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.

Deuteronomy 30:3-5 (Msg): 3GOD, your God, will restore everything you lost; he’ll have compassion on you; he’ll come back and pick up the pieces from all the places where you were scattered. 4No matter how far away you end up, GOD, your God, will get you out of there 5and bring you back to the land your ancestors once possessed. It will be yours again. He will give you a good life and make you more numerous than your ancestors.

Optional Questions: If needed, include one or more of these scrip-tures and questions to extend your conversa-tion.

• With your Bible read and discuss 2 Kings 4:1-7.

• Where in life do you feel most over-whelmed right now? How has that affected you?

• Why do you think our focus is often on what we don’t have instead of what we do

have?

• Phillip said, “When you don’t have what you really want, God is what you really need.” How have you experienced the truth of this statement?

• Have you experienced God’s ridiculous provisions in your life? If so, how?

Next Steps:What step will you take to work with what you have so that He can give you what you need?

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Main Idea:God knows how to help you find what you didn’t mean to lose.

Key Questions:• Share a time when God helped you find

something you didn’t mean to lose. What did you learn from your experience?

• How have you lost your spiritual edge?

• If you’ve lost your spiritual edge, what steps will you take to get it back?

Optional Questions: If needed, include one or more of these scrip-tures and questions to extend your conversa-tion.

• With your Bible read and discuss 2 Kings 6:1-7 and Deuteronomy 30:3-5.

• What things in your life most often cause you to lose your spiritual edge?

• If you feel like you’ve lost your spiritual edge, where do you think you might have lost it?

• What things can you do to help prevent yourself from losing your spiritual edge in the future?

• How does it make you feel when you un-derstand that our big God cares about the small details in your life?

Next Steps:• What one thing will you do this week that

will help you get your spiritual edge back or prevent you from losing it?

MESSAGE 1Day 1: 1 Kings 19:19-21Day 2: 2 Kings 2:1-18Day 3: 2 Kings 2:19-25Day 4: Luke 9:57-62Day 5: Matthew 16:21-28Day 6: Matthew 4:18-22Day 7: Mark 8:34-38

MESSAGE 2Day 1: 2 Kings 3:1-20Day 2: 2 Kings 3:21-27Day 3: James 2:14-26Day 4: Zechariah 4:10Day 5: Luke 11:9-10Day 6: Colossians 3:23-24Day 7: Hebrews 11:1-40

DAILY BIBLE READINGSStep toward your destiny with ridiculous commitment to God by reading and thinking about the following Bible passages.

MESSAGE 3Day 1: 2 Kings 4:1-7Day 2: 2 Corinthians 4:7-12Day 3: Philippians 4:10-20Day 4: 2 Peter 1:3-4Day 5: Matthew 6:25-34Day 6: Proverbs 3:5-8Day 7: Jeremiah 29:11

MESSAGE 4Day 1: 2 Kings 6:1-7Day 2: Deuteronomy 30:1-10Day 3: Revelation 2:4-5Day 4: Luke 12:6-7Day 5: Nahum 1:7Day 6: Psalm 121:1-8Day 7: Ecclesiastes 10:10

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