Northern Lakes Community Church: A Presbyterian Church in Traverse City, Michigan


Who We Are	Small Groups Small groups meet for Bible study, prayer and fellowship. most meet in members' homes about once every other week. For more information or to join a small group, please contact Deacon Jean Mahoney. Small Group Discussion Questions - February 5th Who is the most charismatic person you have ever been around? What gave this person such personal force? Read Mark 1:29-39. How does what Jesus does in verses 30 and 31 connect with events in the verses immediately preceding this passage? Describe the setting in verse 33. Notice what Jesus tells the demons in verse 34. Why do you suppose he said this? Even Jesus needed quiet time. What do you do to get yours? Jesus told his disciples he came to preach. What message might we preach--in word and deed--in His name? Small Group Discussion Questions - January 15th If you learned somebody had bugged your house, what would you stop doing? Read Psalm 139. Summarize its first 17 verses in seven words or less. Summarize verses 18-24 in seven words or less. What connection can you make between these two sections? How do you feel about a God who knows everything about you? Small Group Discussion Questions - January 8th How do thunderstorms make you feel? Do they make you think of God? Read Psalm 29. List all its references to the natural world. What is the impact of God on the world? What "storms" have blown through your life? How have you experienced God in these times? Have you ended a storm in peace, as this Psalm ends? How might you handle future storms with this Psalm in mind? Small Group Discussion Questions - December 18 Who are three wise people to whom you turn for advice? Read Matthew 2:1-12. Why did it matter that Jesus was born in Bethlehem? Why do you think the Magi left everything to follow that star? Why did Herod want to know exactly when the star appeared? What deathly perils might we avoid if we go "home" the right way? Small Group Discussion Questions - December 11 How did you get the news fifteen years ago? How do you get it now? Read Luke 2:1-20. Re-read verses 8-20 out loud in your group. Why did God send the angels to shepherds of all people? How did Mary respond to all the news? God sent messengers to Zechariah, Mary and the shepherds. What did each of these people do for a living? What part of their society would they have belonged to? What does this tell us about God's intention with Jesus? Small Group Discussion Questions - December 4 Tell about a time when you received unexpected news (good or bad). Read Luke 1:26-38. Compare Gabriel's message to Mary with his message to Zechariah (Luke 1:13-17). Compare their responses. What truths about Jesus does Gabriel emphasize? What is the mixture of doubt to faith in God for you right nw in percentage terms? Is this spiritually healthy? What could you do about this? Small Group Discussion Questions - November 20 Have you ever traveled on the job? What did you dislike about it? What did you like? 1 Kings 5:1-12. Solomon came to the throne after intriguing against his brothers, and even ordering assassinations. How does this differ from your image of him? What does this say about what life was like in his day? How do you read Solomon's reply to Hiram in verses 3-6; peaceful? veiled threat? Why does Solomon want a temple so much? What do you want to build for God? Small Group Discussion Questions - November 13 What big occasions do you celebrate every year with your family? Which is the most meaningful to you, and why? Read Leviticus 23:1-8. Read the notes for it in your study Bible. What is the back story to this passage? (Why six days to work, and one to rest?) List various ways to worship God. How might you change your Sabbath patterns of behavior? What could our community (not just the churches) do to change its' patterns? Small Group Discussion Questions - November 6 Read Joshua 1:1-9 Which teacher/coach/employer/grandparent influenced you and how? As a group, tell the story of the Israelites that led up to them entering the Promised land in this passage. What specifically does God promise through these verses? What commands accompany the promises? Which command would be toughest for you to keep? Which promise the most blessed to receive? Small Group Discussion Questions - September 18 Read Romans 12:1-8 As a teen, how did/do peers affect what you wore, where you went, how you acted? What does 12:1 have to say about true worship? What does "body" mean to verse 1? What does it mean in verses 4 and 5? The Apostle Paul wrote these words to Christians learning how to work together in the church. How can the various gifts mentioned in verse 5-8 help groups of Christians to be the body of Christ? How can using your gifts help you to stay strong as a Christians? Small Group Discussion Questions - September 11 Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. What is the best give you ever gave? What does the Apostle Paul include each time he lists a gift? What does this say about God's activity here and now? Do you honestly see yourself as spiritually gifted? How could you more effectively use your spiritual gifts? How could NLCC do a better job of employing its gifts? Small Group Discussion Questions - September 4 Read Galatians 3:10-14. List a blessing your family handed down to you. This passage contains four quotations from the Old Testament. Summarize what each verse means after reading both it and the quotations listed below: Galatians 3:10 and Deuteronomy 27:26 Galatians 3:11 and Habakkuk 2:4 Galatians 3:12 and Leviticus 18:5 Galatians 3:13 and Deuteronomy 21:23 What rules do you tend to get the most hung up about people observing? How could our church become better at loving people even when they break God's rules? Small Group Discussion Questions - August 28 Read Matthew 25:31-46. When have you chosen not to help somebody? Jesus said these words two days before his arrest and crucifixion. They are among the most important of all his teachings. What is the main point? Read Daniel 7:13-14. Who is "The Son of Man"? On what basis will the Son of Man decide between the sheep and the goats? What role does faith in Jesus play in our salvation? Small Group Discussion Questions - August 21 Read 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. What is the point of Paul's extended metaphor in these verses? What exactly did Paul build? What is the Day to which Paul refers? (See II Peter, chapter 3). What tools do you feel God has given you for building people and/or the church? What has kept you from using your tools? Small Group Discussion Questions - August 14 Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. Think of a new thing you once started (a trip, a job, a relationship). How did its reality differ from what you imagined before you began? Read Acts 18:1-8.The Apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians as part of a letter to a church he had helped start. How does he seem to feel about their progress? What is the main point of verses 6-9? How might you apply this point to our church? Small Group Discussion Questions - August 7 Read Acts 6:1-6. Which responsibility of yours would you gladly give up? Which do you never want to give up? These verses occur in Jerusalem a few days or weeks after Jesus returned to the Father. The disciples have been preaching about him ever since. Read Acts 4:32-37. How can you explain the fact that in Acts 6 we read that some widows and orphans may not have been receiving what they needed? How exactly did the disciples solve this problem? Can you name ways to fix it they did not choose? What secondary issues prevent our church from fulfilling its mission? What could we do about them? Small Group Discussion Questions - July 24 How did you feel as a child when you realized that not everybody shared your family's spiritual beliefs? Read Colossians 1:9-20. List the things for which Paul prays in verses 9-12. Do you need to pray for these things? What does verse 14 mean with regard to Jesus' work on earth? List the attributes of Jesus Paul lists in verses 15-20. What does it mean for us here and now that in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell? Small Group Discussion Questions - July 17 Who is one of the most talented people you have ever known? How do they use their talents? Read Matthew 25:14-30. Jesus tells this parable soon before his crucifixion. Scholars feel it expresses one of his most cherished teachings. What is the main point of this story and why would Jesus care so much about it? How does the master's treatment of the various servants feel to you? Why? If Jesus returned today, what would he say about how you have used your talents? How could our church improve its ministry of helping people discover and use their gifts? Small Group Discussion Questions - June 26 Read James 5:7-11. List things it is hard to wait for, and things you remember waiting for as a child. What lesson does James draw from his farmer illustration? From his prophets illustration? What place does prayer have in this message? What makes your faith weaken? What can you do about this through the church? Small Group Discussion Questions - June 19 Is your life more like a roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, or a kiddies' ride? Read Psalm 30. David wrote this psalm. From verses 1-3, list why he praises God. From verse 5, tell what you learn about God's anger. Many psalms have a twist, a point where they suddenly change mood and message. Where is the twist in this psalm and what does it mean? Have you ever had sorrow turn into joy? How did that happen, and how long did it take? Small Group Discussion Questions - June 12 Read James 4:1-10. Over what did you quarrel most when you were a child? What does James mean by "friendship with the world" and what does this have to do with our desires? List the things James tells us to do in verses 7-10. Which of these do you already do? Which do you need to start doing? How could you improve your response to frustration? What could you start wanting that might please God? Small Group Discussion Questions - June 5 Read James 3:13-18. When you go to a family reunion or travel to a work conference, do you never talk about your family, talk about them when asked, or pull out your pictures and brag on them? James mentions two kinds of wisdom. What are they? What are their sources? Their results? How can you grow into greater possession of heavenly wisdom? How might we as a church increase the Spirit of God and its wisdom in our life together? Where might we apply this wisdom in our community? Small Group Discussion Questions - May 22 Read James 2:14-26. Are you more likely to think a problem to death, or to jump in and try to solve it, sometimes with negative consequences? Define "faith" and "works" as James uses the words. What is James' main point in this passage? List five ways our congregation addresses James' main point. List three ways we do not. Small Group Discussion Questions - May 15 Read James 2:1-13. For what event would you buy the best seat in the house? A World Series game? A concert? Your child's school program? What does James mean by favoritism? How many kinds of favoritism can you name in our community? What does God's law say about our relations with others? (Think of Old and New Testament answers if possible.) Who are the "poor" in your world? How could you reach out to them? How can you help our church minister to a wider variety of people? Small Group Discussion Questions - May 8 Read James 1:19-27. Which of the following do you have: a short or long fuse, and a small or large bang at the end of it? How can we find the ability to listen better? What is the point of the mirror illustration in verses 23-25? How does the Word of God become "implanted" in us? How could you apply these verses to one significant relationship of yours this week? Small Group Discussion Questions - May 1 Read James 1:12-18. Name a gift you remember giving with unusual joy. How does James claim that temptation can lead to victory? What role does God play in temptation? What does James tell us (in verse 18) that God has given us? Name the warning signs that warn you are about to give into temptation. How can you receive the gift the Father wants to give you? Small Group Discussion Questions - April 24 What do you like to do first thing Sunday morning? Why? Read Matthew 28:1-15. Who visits the tomb? Why now? What problems might they expect to face once they get there? (See Matthew 27:62-66.) How might the guards' story have differed from the women's? Were you more of an immediate or a slow believer in Jesus' resurrection? Why? What can you do to increase your faith - and the faith of others? Small Group Discussion Questions - April 17 Read Matthew 21:1-11. How would you market Jesus today? What media would you use? What does Jesus' choice of mount mean? What kind of king and kingdom were the crowds hoping Jesus would make happen? What kind did he make happen? How might you have reacted had you been in Jerusalem that day? How might you react now? Small Group Discussion Questions - April 10 Read Matthew 23:1-12. Jesus said these words as he taught in the temple grounds in Jerusalem, only a few days before his crucifixion. When you were a kid, what did you do when you were mad at your parents? The "seat of Moses" would belong only to those who have the right to teach the law with authority. What are the complicated feelings Jesus has about the Pharisees? List the criticisms Jesus has of the Pharisees. With what important teaching does Jesus conclude these verses? Name one thing you can do to obey Jesus' teaching in this passage. Small Group Discussion Questions - March 27 Which three people love you the most? Read Matthew 22:34-46. What three loves does Jesus refer to, and how do they differ? How does our culture define love? Jesus does not explicitly call himself the Messiah here, but he certainly implies it. How does he, as the Messiah, prove his love for humanity? What could your small group do to make Jesus' love real for people who do not believe in it, or him? Small Group Discussion Questions - March 20 Read Matthew 22:15-22. Without looking, guess how many times the word "one" appears on a dollar bill. Then look. What are the two "impossible" answers the Pharisees hoped to trap Jesus into giving? What does Jesus mean by his answer in verse 21? What belongs to Caesar in your life? What belongs to God in your life? Small Group Discussion Questions - March 13 Read Matthew 21:33-46. If you had to entrust your home to somebody for six months, who would it be? Who do the various characters in this parable represent? What about the vineyard itself? Read Psalm 118:22-24. Jesus quotes these words in Matthew. What could Jesus have meant the stone to represent? Have you received Jesus, or do you stumble over him? How could we help other to receive Jesus? Small Group Discussion Questions - March 6 Read Matthew 21:23-32. Have you ever had a run-in with authority? Why? How did you respond to the power of authority? What exact question does Jesus get asked in this passage? Where is the trap in this question for him? How does Jesus turn the tables on his questioners? Verses 28-32 contain a mini-parable. What is its main point? How could you walk your Christianity more effectively? Small Group Discussion Questions - February 27 Read Matthew 20:1-16. Whom do you believe works harder: mothers of young children, attorneys, middle school teachers or ditch diggers? What is this parable really about? Why did the vineyard owner give the same wages to all the workers? How do you feel about the idea that people can live unchristian lives, become sincere Christians for a short time, and still enter the kingdom of heaven? How could your group help people enter the kingdom of heaven? Small Group Discussion Questions - February 13 Read Matthew 19:16-26. If your house were on fire, what three items would you try to save? What seems to have been the man's view on how to get saved? How does this compare with people you know? Does Jesus buy into this view with his answer - or is there something deeper beneath it? How does Jesus finally say we enter the kingdom of heaven? How do we obtain this salvation? What do you need to get rid of in order to enter the kingdom? Small Group Discussion Questions - February 6 Read Matthew 19:1-9. What makes relationships "work"? Read Genesis 1:24-28 and 2:21-24. What did Jesus say about marriage when he quoted these passages to the Pharisees? What did Jesus really condemn in this saying: divorce, or something else? What do you need to work on to improve your relationships? How might the church improve it's ministry to divorced people? Small Group Discussion Questions - January 30 Read Matthew 18:21-33. When are you most tempted to use a credit card - though you probably should not? What does Jesus' use of numbers actually say about how we are to forgive? How does this parable illustrate his point? What does Jesus teach in this whole chapter about sin and Forgiveness? Whom do you most need to forgive right now? Small Group Discussion Questions - January 23 Read Matthew 18:15-20. How did your parents settle disputes between you and your siblings? Whom does Jesus address in these verses? Why? What kind of power does Jesus suggest we can have if we act "in his name" or in complete communion with him and one another? Read Galatians 6:1. How does this compare with what Jesus says in Matthew? What conflict do you currently face? How might these verses help? Small Group Discussion Questions - January 16 Which best describes you as a small child: angel, or terror? Read Matthew 18:1-7. What does their wanting to be the greatest say about the disciples' understanding of the kingdom of God? Sin is a part of human nature. But why is it so serious for us to cause another person to sin? What childlike quality do you need to recapture that could help you spiritually? How could you improve when it comes to caring for God's other children? Small Group Discussion Questions - January 9 Read Matthew 17:1-13. Tell about a mountaintop experience in your life. These verses relate the story of Jesus' transfiguration. Give a brief play-by-play of it. What did Moses represent? Elijah? (Matthew 11:13). What do we learn about John the Baptist from this passage? How has God said to you, "I love you, you are my child"? Small Group Discussion Questions - January 2 Read Matthew 16:21-28. if you became king or queen of the world, where would you put your summer and winter palaces? Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? What explains Jesus' sudden shift from praising Peter to calling him Satan? What does Jesus mean with the word "life"? Is it only being living and breathing? What would it mean for you to "give up the world"?
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