Opening Prayer

Begin your time together with prayer, inviting the Holy Spirit to guide your hearts and minds as you reflect on how to faithfully use what God has entrusted to you.

Scripture Focus

Read Luke 19:11-27 together. Reflect on the parable of the minas and its implications for our lives as followers of Jesus.

Icebreaker

• Share about a time when you had to serve in a role that felt insignificant or unnoticed. What did you learn through that experience?

Key Sermon Themes for Discussion

1. The Role of Every Believer

“Even when you’re not the key player, you still have an important role on the team.”

• How does this statement challenge our culture’s notions of significance and success?

• Do you find it easy or difficult to see your everyday actions as meaningful in God’s kingdom?

• Where do you see “benchwarmers” making a difference—either in scripture, your church, or your own life?

2. Fear vs. Faithfulness

“Fear-driven inaction isn’t just a missed opportunity. In this parable, Jesus calls it a moral failure.”

• Reflect on situations where fear held you back from serving or stepping out in faith. What was the underlying reason for your fear?

• The servant in the parable justified his inaction by saying, “I was afraid.” How does Jesus respond to fear as an excuse for not using what He’s given us?

• How can you distinguish between godly wisdom and fear when deciding whether to step into a new opportunity?

3. Stewardship and Accountability

“You can’t steward what you haven’t acknowledged.”

• As followers of Jesus, what does faithful stewardship look like in your context (work, family, church)?

• What are the gifts, resources, or opportunities God has specifically entrusted to you? Have you named them?

• Read Romans 14:12: “So then each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” What feelings does this raise for you?

4. The Dangers of Lukewarm Living

“Lukewarm isn’t just a neutral space to be in… it’s playing it safe, it’s disengaged.”

• Have you experienced seasons of “lukewarm” faith? What contributed to that season, and what helped you move forward?

• How does our community encourage or discourage full engagement in Christ’s mission?

• What practical steps can help someone move from disengagement to active participation?

5. Passing It On and Seasons of Service

“The role here has not disappeared. There are people in here sitting right next to you that need your wisdom.”

• How might your role in the church change over time? What unique value does each generation bring?

• Who can you mentor, encourage, or pray with in this season?

6. Practical Application

“Pick something, anything, and show up. The boat needs your oar in the water.”

• What is one area—inside or outside of church—where you sense God inviting you to step in and serve?

• What is a new, concrete step you can take this month to use your gifts for God’s glory?

Prayer and Commitment

Close your time by inviting group members to share a specific area where they want to be “all in” this week. Pray for one another by name, asking God for courage, clarity, and joy in serving.

Going Deeper (Personal Reflection)

• Take time this week to “name what’s in your hands.” Write out the gifts, influence, relationships, or resources God has given you.

• Ask God: “Where am I holding back?” Listen for His leading and write down what you sense.

Final Encouragement

“There are no insignificant roles in the kingdom of God.”
How will you faithfully wield what God has entrusted to you this week?

Opening Prayer

Begin your discussion by inviting God’s presence:

“Heavenly Father, God, we thank you that you meet us in this place…we ask that the word that you would give us today would come alive, that we hear it by the power of the Holy Spirit in a fresh way. It would transform not only how we see you, but how we live and how we love.”

1. Encountering Disappointment

• Andrew Kasberg shared: “Nobody’s life falls apart because they didn’t win the dinette set. But that feeling of walking out of that studio, walking out of a place, you know, with a dream that had been crushed...feeling empty handed, right?”

• Discuss:

  • Can you recall a time you faced disappointment, feeling “empty handed”?

  • How did you process that experience, and what did you learn about God in those moments?

2. Honest Questions About Faith

• Andrew Kasberg noted, “Every Easter…you will find something to the effect of, ‘Is the Resurrection real? Can I believe in this?’...that kind of question comes from people like you and I…”

• Discuss:

  • Why do you think even committed believers struggle with questions about the Resurrection and faith?

  • Is it okay to ask hard questions about God? Why or why not?

3. The Kingdom of God

• “The simplest way that I know to describe the kingdom of God...is the kingdom is not a place. It’s not a political entity. But it’s where God is ruling and reigning, where what God wants to have happen actually happens.”

• Discuss:

  • How would you describe God’s kingdom?

  • What does it mean for you personally to enter God’s kingdom—not through earning, but by “receiving it”?

4. The Road to Emmaus

• The story: two disciples, walking away from Jerusalem, hearts broken. “‘We had hoped that he was the one...’”

• Discuss:

  • Have you ever felt like the disciples, struggling with dashed hopes? What keeps hope alive in such moments?

  • Is there a situation in your life where you feel God has not answered as you expected? How do you move forward?

5. Jesus Walks With Us

• “Jesus walks alongside two grieving, confused people on this dusty road...offering a question...listens to their pain...enters into their story.”

• Discuss:

  • How does Jesus’ willingness to walk with us in our pain shape your understanding of God’s character?

  • Why do you think the disciples failed to recognize Jesus at first? How does God sometimes work in ways we don’t expect or immediately see?

6. The Invitation

• “Jesus never forces himself on anyone. Instead, he waits for the invite. He waits for us to invite him into our lives, into our challenges, into our questions.”

• Discuss:

  • What does it look like to invite Jesus into your story, your struggles, your day-to-day life?

  • Can you share a time when you sensed Christ waiting for your invitation?

7. The Resurrection’s Impact

• “Jesus does something that no king in history could ever do...no king in history had defeated death...had defeated sin...that’s exactly what Jesus the king does.”

• Discuss:

  • What does the Resurrection mean for your everyday life and hopes?

  • How does believing in Jesus change the direction in which you “walk”?

8. Hope Has a Name

• “We exist to be a place where tomorrow’s hope is found today…hope has a name. His name is Jesus.”

• Discuss:

  • Where do you need hope in your life right now?

  • How does the promise of Jesus—the light, friend, and Savior—speak to your current circumstances?

9. Response

• “Might today be the day that you stop walking around, return toward him and toward the future that he has for you?”

• Discuss:

  • Is God inviting you to take a step toward Him today? What would that look like?

  • How can the group support each other in seeking and following Jesus together?

Closing Prayer

Invite participants to pray or write their own invitation to Jesus, welcoming Him into their story. End with thanksgiving for the hope and new life found in Christ.

Theological Alignment

This guide emphasizes the presence of Christ, the transforming power of the Resurrection, the possibility and importance of honest questions, God's sovereign invitation, and the call to respond. It affirms core Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians convictions about Christ’s lordship, Scripture’s authority, God’s grace, and the necessity of personal faith.