THREE THINGS TO KNOW
DON’T MISS THIS. Christmas is just around the corner, and we’d love for you to join us as we celebrate the birth of our Savior! Our CHRISTMAS SERVICES provide a wonderful opportunity to invite family, friends or neighbors—anyone who could use a reminder of God’s love and the hope found in Jesus. For service times and locations, click HERE.
GROUP VALUES. We continue our focus on FORMATIVE CONVERSATIONS. One of the most formative conversations we can have is about surrender. In Jeremiah 18, God invites Israel to remember who is the potter and who is the clay. This image challenges us to consider whether we’re trying to shape our lives or trusting God to mold us according to his purposes. As a group, discuss how conversations about surrender and trust have shaped your relationship with God.
GROW AS A LEADER. As leaders, we sometimes fall into the trap of thinking we need to have everything figured out and under control. This week’s message reminds us that God is the potter, and we are the clay. Consider how you might model vulnerability and dependence on God for your group. When you share how you’re learning to trust God rather than trying to control outcomes, you give others permission to do the same.
SERMON DISCUSSION GUIDE
Welcome to the twelfth week of our sermon series, EPIC. This week, we explore Jeremiah’s message to Israel at a critical moment in their history—God’s final invitation for them to return to him before exile.
ICEBREAKER
What’s something you tried to do on your own that you later realized you really needed help with?
THIS WEEK’S TEXT
Have someone read Jeremiah 18:1-12 aloud.
What words or phrases stand out to you in this passage?
What does this passage reveal about God’s character and his relationship with Israel?
How does Israel respond to God’s warning in this passage, and what does their response show about
the condition of their hearts?
THIS WEEK’S SERMON
Pastor Brad continued the EPIC sermon series by walking us through Jeremiah’s message to Israel using the image of the potter and clay. As a group, recall some of the sermon’s big ideas and main points.
What are some ways our culture encourages us to be in control and self-sufficient rather than dependent on God?
Why do you think we often experience worry, fear and anxiety when we try to shape our own lives apart from God?
Israel rejected God and replaced him with idols. What in our lives today can subtly take God’s place as the one we trust to provide security, identity or purpose?
What’s the difference between working hard and being responsible versus trying to build our life entirely on our own strength?
Israel gave three excuses for not returning to God: “It’s no use,” “We will continue with our own plans,” and “We will follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts” (Jeremiah 18:12). Which of these excuses do you find most relatable when it comes to surrendering areas of your life to God?
How does understanding the gospel—that Jesus lived the perfect life you couldn’t and took the punishment you deserved—change the way you respond to God’s invitation to let him be the potter?
What is one area of your life where you might be ignoring God’s warning through the Word or the Holy Spirit, and how can you respond with trust and obedience this week?
WRAP UP
This week, we explored what it means to let God be the potter, and us be the clay. What from the sermon or this conversation encouraged or challenged you the most?