Home | Sun Valley Community Church - …...the way God loves you? 4. Read aloud 1 Corinthians...

P A R T I C I P A T I O N G U I D E1 1W E E K O N E : W I S D O M

P A R T I C I P A N T G U I D E

P A R T I C I P A T I O N G U I D E2

In the end, all that matters are God and people. Life is about relationships and I’m so glad you have decided to go on this journey to invest in what matters most. The largest room in the world is the room for improvement and all of us can do better in our various relationships.

At Sun Valley, one of the ways we strengthen relationships is by being a part of a small group. A small group will help change your life as you learn from Jesus through building strong relationships centered around God’s Word. As we learn and walk through this series together, I want to challenge you to commit to the follow three things:

1. Commit to attending church every week. Each week we will be learning how to discover God’s plan for our relationships during the sermon. The discussion in your group will be much more powerful if you have already experienced the sermon prior to your group.

2. Commit to attending your group each week. The group discussions you have with others will help you apply what’s taught on the weekend. Attending the group each week will also help you build your relationship with others in your group.

3. Commit to reading the devotional on the Sun Valley App each week. The devotional content each day will help you go further with the content from the sermon and your group discussion. This will help you!

I am praying for you and your group as we strengthen our Relationships together. Let’s do this!

Growing with You,

Chad Moore


TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

W E E K 1 : W I S D O M [ 4 ]

W E E K 2 : H U M I L I T Y [ 7 ]

W E E K 3 : L O V E [ 1 0 ]

W E E K 4 : P E A C E [ 1 3 ]

W E E K 5 : F O R G I V E N E S S [ 1 6 ]

W E E K 6 : G R A C E [ 1 9 ]


W E E K O N E

W I S D O M


In the end, all that matters are God and people. Life is all about relationships. James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote a letter packed with practical wisdom on how to create, restore, and maintain healthy relationships with God and others. The book of James is like a recipe book for relationships. If your relationships are struggling, you might be using the wrong ingredients. Since God created relationships, we would be wise to apply what God has to say about them. He knows how they work better than we do. Wisdom starts with changing our ingredients for a great recipe.

C O N V E R S AT I O N S TA R T E R S

S E R M O N N O T E S R E V I E W

WAT C H T H E V I D E O

?• If this is the first time for your group to meet, take a

moment to introduce yourself, share something about your family, tell how you ended up at Sun Valley and where you are currently serving at Sun Valley.

• In all of history, who would you choose to learn from?

• As we kick off this Relationship Series, what caught your attention or challenged you from this past weekend’s sermon on wisdom?

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Close your group in prayer. Ask God for heavenly wisdom in your relationships and to have the courage to follow Him.

G R O U P D I S C U S S I O N

P R AY E R

AC T I O N I T E M

1. When you evaluate the relationships in your life, what is one thing you’re hoping to gain from this series and small group?

2. In your own words, how would you define wisdom?

3. Read aloud James 3:13-18. Compare your definition of wisdom from question 2 to what verse 17 tells us about wisdom.

4. Are there people in your life who are sources of heavenly wisdom? Please share a specific example of wisdom you’ve seen them model.

5. Are there people in your life whose relationships are defined by bitterness, envy or selfishness? Take a look inward. Are your relationships defined by bitterness, envy or selfishness? What do you think God is asking you to do about it?

• Identify one of the characteristics of heavenly wisdom as defined in James 3:17 in which you can grow. What are some practical steps to move you in that direction?

• Read the devotionals in the SV App this Monday-Friday.


W E E K T W O

H U M I L I T Y


Humility is the key to allow others to love you. When we hide in our pride, we reveal only part of who we are. In essence, we wear a mask and present a false version of ourselves. This makes it impossible for anyone to love the real you. Instead, they must try to love someone who doesn’t exist. Humility is also the key to allowing God to love us. God opposes the proud but He gives grace to the humble.




?• Take a look at the action item from last week. What

progress did you make towards heavenly wisdom?

• Briefly share an embarrassing moment.

What caught your attention or challenged you from this past weekend’s sermon on humility?



Close your group in prayer. Ask God to give you the courage to trust Him and others with the real you.


P R AY E R

1. Is it easier to trust God or other people with the real you?

2. According to culture and society, what are some of the traits we need to have or attain in order to have worth?

3. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being not at all and 10 being full authenticity), how well do the people in your life know the real you?

4. What prevents you from being more authentic in your relationships?

5. What are some of the areas of your life you feel like you try to hide from God and others?

6. Read aloud James 4:6-10. We learn here God gives grace and favor to the humble. What would it look like for you to be more humble in your relationships?

• Have a conversation this week with someone (your spouse or a close friend) who will move you farther up the scale of true authenticity to be the real you.


AC T I O N I T E M

P A R T I C I P A T I O N G U I D E1 0

W E E K T H R E E

L OV E


Love is not an emotion. Love is not a noun. It is not something you can fall into or crawl out of. Love is a verb. It is action oriented. At its core, love is a choice. This week is all about choosing to love and how to follow through on that decision. The greatest example we have of love is God. God is love and we love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).




?• Look back at last week’s action item. How did that

conversation help you move more towards true authenticity to be the real you?

• What’s your favorite love song and why?

What caught your attention or challenged you from this past weekend’s sermon on love?


1. How has your understanding of love evolved as you have come to understand more about God’s love for you?

2. How does God’s love for you compare to your love for other people?



Close your group in prayer. Thank God for the way He loves us unconditionally and the way He models how we can love other people. Ask Him to give you the courage and strength to love those around you in the same way.

P R AY E R

3. What are some things that get in the way of loving others the way God loves you?

4. Read aloud 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Which characteristic of love is the hardest for you to model? Which is the easiest?

5. There is nothing you can do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less. His love is perfect and unconditional. Is there a part of those statements that are hard to hear or hard to accept? How can you apply His example of perfect love to your relationships?

• We can only love other people to the extent we understand God’s love for ourselves. Take some time this week to read the following passages and meditate on how much God’s loves you: Micah 6:8, John 15:9-17, Romans 13:9-10, Galatians 5:13-14 and 1 John 4:9-11.


AC T I O N I T E MAC T I O N I T E M


W E E K F O U R

P E AC E


James gets to the core of every conflict between every person or groups of people for all time. The core issue is desire. Whenever two people in a relationship have different desires, the result is conflict. The health of a relationship is not determined by the amount of conflict but rather how that conflict is navigated. Paul teaches to live at peace with everyone as far as it depends on you. Using the wisdom of James, let’s unpack how to live at peace with others.




?• Look at last week’s action item and share what you learned

about God’s love from the verses provided.

• In your family of origin, was conflict embraced or avoided?

What caught your attention or challenged you from this past weekend’s sermon on peace?



Close your group in prayer. Ask God to give you peace in your life and in your relationships.


P R AY E R

1. Would the people closest to you describe you as a peaceful person? Why or why not?

2. Read aloud James 4:1-2. According to this passage, where does conflict come from?

3. If conflict comes from within, how can we manage our own expectations to cultivate peace in our relationships?

4. Romans 12:18 says “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” In some scenarios, peace may not be possible in a relationship as far as it depends on you. What is a way you can move forward in these type of relationships in a way that honors God?

5. Before we can truly find peace with others, we first must be at peace with God. Do you have expectations of God or frustrations with God that keep you from being at peace with Him?

• Peace comes naturally to some and painstakingly to others. Yet, we all crave peace in our relationships. Identify one relationship in your life that lacks peace. “As far as it depends on you,” what needs to change in this relationship? Commit to changing what depends on you and praying for that person this week.


AC T I O N I T E M


W E E K F I V E

F O R G I V E N E S S


Nobody is perfect. With our brokenness comes a constant need for both giving and receiving forgiveness. Forgiveness is never easy, but it is always good. Forgiveness has nothing to do with feelings and everything to do with making the decision to release others of their debt.




?• Look at last week’s action item. Have you felt any more

peace in your relationships over the course of the last week?

• Why do you think it feels so unnatural to forgive others?

What caught your attention or challenged you from this past weekend’s sermon on forgiveness?


1. Why do you think forgiveness is so difficult?

2. What is the evidence bitterness has taken up residence in your heart?



Close your group in prayer. Ask God to reveal the relationships in our lives that are strained due to past hurts and to move toward freedom from those hurts. Thank God for loving you in spite of who you are, what you have done, or what has been done to you.

P R AY E R

• Is there anyone in your life (including yourself ) you need to forgive or seek forgiveness from? Pray for the wisdom to know the right thing to do and the courage to do it.


AC T I O N I T E MAC T I O N I T E M

3. Read aloud Colossians 3:12-14. Why do you think forgiveness is something followers of Jesus should embrace?

4. How could extending forgiveness heal a relationship? How might it heal the other person? How might it heal you?

5. Have you ever experienced a time when your refusal to forgive somebody actually hurt you? What did you learn from that experience?

6. How does a lack of giving or asking for forgiveness affect your relationship with God?

7. Discuss your plans as a group for what is next after this Relationships series ends. Consider continuing to meet as a group using group notes provided for each sermon. You will also need to determine a location, day and time.


W E E K S I X

G R AC E


Grace is what love looks like when it meets imperfection. There is no greater picture of grace than the work of Jesus. God meets us in our mess and His response is not rage, vengeance, wrath, or condemnation. His response is grace. God loves us right where we are, as we are, not as we should be. But He loves us enough not to let us stay there. The Christian faith is all about learning to receive the grace of God and then give it away to others. If you struggle to give grace to others, you probably don’t yet understand the grace God has given you.




?• Look at last week’s action item and share. Were you able

to follow up with anyone and either offer them forgiveness or ask them for forgiveness?

• Did you received or extend grace this week? If so, how?

What caught your attention or challenged you from this past weekend’s sermon on grace?




1. Do you struggle with the concept of grace? Why or why not?

2. Read aloud 1 John 4:7-11. Why does our relationship with others depend so much on if we can receive love from God?

3. How are your relationships specifically impacted by the ability to receive God’s love?

4. What relationships are you struggling the most with in extending grace?

5. Is it harder for you to receive or give grace? Why?

6. Why is “keeping score” and operating on a merit-based system ultimately destructive for any relationship, including your relationship with God?

7. It is never gracious or loving to not share the truth with someone. Is there anyone you have been ignoring because you do not want to share the truth with them or be gracious to them?

8. Where in your life have you been trying to earn God’s favor? Have you received the grace God provides? Do you believe you need it? Why or why not?

9. Discuss your plans as a group for what is next after this week. If you are going to continue to meet, determine a location, day and time for next week’s group.


Close your group in prayer. God, thank you our salvation does not depend on what we bring to the table. We thank you for Your grace in our lives when we fall short. We pray we would be people, and a small group, of grace. We thank you for those who said Yes to You during this Relationship Series. We ask You to give them the courage to take the next steps in their faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

P R AY E R

• Who is the Holy Spirit bringing to your mind who needs grace? What do you think it would look like to show this person grace? Take a step to show this person grace and live out the example of God’s grace this week.


AC T I O N I T E M

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