Leader Guide
Pastors Sergey and Natasha are living in Israel where living in war is the norm. During violence and chaos, they choose to find strength and joy. Finding their hope in Christ allows them to be a light to the community. We can be encouraged by their faithfulness to trust in God through the difficult seasons of our lives.
What you will need: A Bible or your Bible app, a notebook, pen, and highlighter. The verses highlighted below are linked so that you can easily access them during your study time.
Jump Start
Leaders: This section is designed to get discussions started, examine God’s truth, and apply it to our week. Life Group leaders should not assume everyone in their group is a Christ follower. Because they are taking part in a Life Group, they must have some openness to knowing more, exploring. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work and let Him lead you as well.
1. Share a critter you are afraid of, like snakes, spiders, or mice. What is your initial reaction to a stressful situation?
2. Strength and Discipline. Read Joshua 1:9, 2 Timothy 1:7, and Romans 8:14-15. What does a Spirit-lead life look like for you? Have you created a routine that will set you up to be prepared for the difficult seasons in your life?
Leaders: How we respond to hard times reflects our actions up to that point. When we choose to be disciplined in our walk with Christ by setting aside time for Him daily, we already have the structure needed to be successful in hard situations. Pastor Sergey relates this to playing sports and having a routine that allows him to be prepared for the day he competes.
3. Joy. Read Matthew 5:14-16. How do you plan on using the gifts God has given you? How did Sergey and Natasha’s perspective encourage you?
Leaders: We are better together. We each have been given spiritual gifts from God. He picked each of ours specifically for us and He doesn’t make mistakes. Some gifts are not as obvious for us to see and may take more time in prayer and serving to figure them out. When we use our gifts, it brings others to see God.
4. Unity. Read Ecclesiastes 4:12. Why is it better to have someone in your life, rather than be alone? What steps can we take to become more unified with those around us?
Leaders: God calls us to be in community and to be unified, but our pride often gets in the way of making relationships right. Natasha talks about the importance of unity within the church and how we reflect Christ in our relationships.
5. Action Step: This week, we discussed having strength, joy, and unity while facing life’s challenges. Which of these three topics do you struggle with the most? Take time to reflect on how you can practically grow in that area this week. Pray and ask God to guide your actions to glorify Him!