LG LEADER GUIDE
Welcome
Briefly welcome the group & pray before eating.
Welcome to life group! Life group is a safe, committed community to walk out our journey with Jesus together. Let’s pray and then eat!
Dinner Discussion (30-40 mins)
Here are some questions to get you started based on last week’s message. Encourage people to share, not report.
Welcome to life group! Life group is a safe, committed community to walk out our journey with Jesus together. Let’s pray and then eat!
Dinner Discussion (30-40 mins)
Here are some questions to get you started based on last week’s message. Encourage people to share, not report.
- How was walking out your response from last week with the Holy Spirit of denying the flesh?
- What are some ways you’ve seen “compounded interest” from your actions and choices in life?
- Are there ways you feel the Lord inviting you to turn back to him? To sow in the Spirit?
- Does anyone have any testimonies to share from fasting in the past?
Announcements
(5 mins)
This week! Ownership Class | Sunday, February 19 from 4-6pm in the auditorium
Whether you're new to Antioch or you've been involved for years, you are invited to our Ownership Class! Similar to a new members class and a State of the Church meeting, we will discuss our history, beliefs, finance, vision, and what being a part of this family means.
Grief Share | Saturday, February 18 & 25 from 9-11am in the multipurpose room
If you or someone you know is grieving a loved one, you are invited to Grief Share. This time is designed to help process grief and learn how to help those who are grieving.
Encounter Night | Friday, February 24 from 7-8:30pm in the auditorium
As a people who are passionate about Jesus, encounter nights are a way to come into his presence and worship Him!
We Are Moving to 2 Services! | February 26
Starting February 26, we will be offering two service times: 8:45am and 10:30am. Kids Ministry will be available during both services! We would love to invite Life Groups to attend the same service!
Bible reading (15 mins)
Together, read Isaiah 58:1-12 and Matthew 6:16-18 out loud. Leave time after for reflection.
Briefly discuss these questions as a group. If you have 12 or more people, split into groups of no more than 7 for discussion.
This week! Ownership Class | Sunday, February 19 from 4-6pm in the auditorium
Whether you're new to Antioch or you've been involved for years, you are invited to our Ownership Class! Similar to a new members class and a State of the Church meeting, we will discuss our history, beliefs, finance, vision, and what being a part of this family means.
Grief Share | Saturday, February 18 & 25 from 9-11am in the multipurpose room
If you or someone you know is grieving a loved one, you are invited to Grief Share. This time is designed to help process grief and learn how to help those who are grieving.
Encounter Night | Friday, February 24 from 7-8:30pm in the auditorium
As a people who are passionate about Jesus, encounter nights are a way to come into his presence and worship Him!
We Are Moving to 2 Services! | February 26
Starting February 26, we will be offering two service times: 8:45am and 10:30am. Kids Ministry will be available during both services! We would love to invite Life Groups to attend the same service!
Bible reading (15 mins)
Together, read Isaiah 58:1-12 and Matthew 6:16-18 out loud. Leave time after for reflection.
Briefly discuss these questions as a group. If you have 12 or more people, split into groups of no more than 7 for discussion.
- What do these passages teach us about fasting?
- What does God say his response will be to our fasting?
- What has your experience been with fasting in the past?
- How could we encourage each other in fasting in the coming season of Lent?
Practice: Fasting
Read this overview aloud together. (10 mins)
Lent refers to the 40 day period that leads up to Easter. Corresponding to Jesus’ 40 day fast (Matthew 4), this season was firmly established in the early church by the fourth century to be an intentional season of fasting and renewal. Originally used as a time to prepare new followers of Jesus to be baptized on Easter, Lent was eventually observed by the entire church as a way of recognizing the need for God’s transforming work in us all through prayer, fasting, self-examination, repentance, and meditation on Scripture.
One of the primary ways that we lean into the observance of Lent is through the practice of fasting. While fasting allows us to enter into the suffering of Jesus, it is also meant to draw and center our hearts on the deeper gift we receive through his death, burial, and resurrection. Simply put, fasting is a way to place ourselves in the way of grace by withdrawing our reliance on earthly things so that we can feast on God’s presence and power.
Participating In the Lenten Fast (20 mins)
You can either read this as a group or encourage everyone to engage directly with it individually using the Life Group Guide. You may want to print copies of this to share if your group is less tech-inclined.
In fasting, we expect spiritual nourishment when we give up physical comforts and nourishment. Through this act of discipline, we build our self awareness and perspective. Self awareness of our spiritual hunger and need for the Lord. Perspective that builds thankfulness and expectation of Jesus’ power in our lives. We fast from things that bring us comfort in order to feast on God’s presence.
Announce this and mention possibilities of attending as a group:
Antioch will be hosting a Fast Breaking Prayer Rally on March 1 from 6-8pm. The idea is to have a central time to break our Lenten fasts together and then celebrate with worship and testimonies. Come at 6 to eat together (bring your own meal) and then worship starting at 7.
Work through the following steps to discern how you will be participating in Lent this year.
Consider the following questions. Take some time to process or journal through the following questions. Pay attention to any invitation you sense from the Spirit.
Consider the following list. Below, you will find some frequent things people fast from in the season of Lent. Pay attention to any invitation you sense from the Spirit.
Spend some time in prayer. Use your responses to the questions and the lists above to spend some time in prayer with the Spirit. Ask Jesus and yourself: What am I being invited into? Pick something you will notice the absence of, but not something that will genuinely cause you suffering. If you’re able to, we encourage fasting from food of some sort because the physical discomfort heightens our awareness and perspective shift.
Finally, commit it to God. After deciding what you will be fasting or abstaining from this Lenten season, commit it to Jesus. This could look like journaling about it, writing it on a sticky note to keep on your bathroom mirror, or remembering it in prayer each morning. However you choose, it’s important to enter this journey with clarity and commitment around what God is inviting you to do.
Close by sharing with others and praying (15 mins)
End in a time of prayer together. Split into groups of 2-3 and share what you feel like the lord is asking you to fast in the coming season. We do not share as a form of accountability, but as a way to celebrate God’s invitations to us. This is also the time to share any other prayer requests. Take turns praying over each other including encouragement and blessing over the fast to come. Continue to celebrate and share with them throughout the Lenten season what you sense the Spirit is doing in and through each of you.
Lent refers to the 40 day period that leads up to Easter. Corresponding to Jesus’ 40 day fast (Matthew 4), this season was firmly established in the early church by the fourth century to be an intentional season of fasting and renewal. Originally used as a time to prepare new followers of Jesus to be baptized on Easter, Lent was eventually observed by the entire church as a way of recognizing the need for God’s transforming work in us all through prayer, fasting, self-examination, repentance, and meditation on Scripture.
One of the primary ways that we lean into the observance of Lent is through the practice of fasting. While fasting allows us to enter into the suffering of Jesus, it is also meant to draw and center our hearts on the deeper gift we receive through his death, burial, and resurrection. Simply put, fasting is a way to place ourselves in the way of grace by withdrawing our reliance on earthly things so that we can feast on God’s presence and power.
Participating In the Lenten Fast (20 mins)
You can either read this as a group or encourage everyone to engage directly with it individually using the Life Group Guide. You may want to print copies of this to share if your group is less tech-inclined.
In fasting, we expect spiritual nourishment when we give up physical comforts and nourishment. Through this act of discipline, we build our self awareness and perspective. Self awareness of our spiritual hunger and need for the Lord. Perspective that builds thankfulness and expectation of Jesus’ power in our lives. We fast from things that bring us comfort in order to feast on God’s presence.
Announce this and mention possibilities of attending as a group:
Antioch will be hosting a Fast Breaking Prayer Rally on March 1 from 6-8pm. The idea is to have a central time to break our Lenten fasts together and then celebrate with worship and testimonies. Come at 6 to eat together (bring your own meal) and then worship starting at 7.
Work through the following steps to discern how you will be participating in Lent this year.
Consider the following questions. Take some time to process or journal through the following questions. Pay attention to any invitation you sense from the Spirit.
- Have I become dependent on something other than God to attend to the deeper aches of my soul?
- What do I use to find pleasure, comfort, or emotional regulation?
- What conveniences am I conditioned to automatically use? (e.g. elevators or escalators instead of stairs, close parking spaces, music/podcasts in the background, etc.)
- What could I abstain from that might help draw my attention to my deeper need for Jesus?
Consider the following list. Below, you will find some frequent things people fast from in the season of Lent. Pay attention to any invitation you sense from the Spirit.
- Food. Especially those that are generally associated with feasting: chocolate, all desserts, coffee, caffeine, alcohol, meat, bread, etc. Alternatively, consider fasting from a specific meal to refocus your days on Jesus or for a specific 24 hour period this week.
- Media or Entertainment: cell phone apps, television, a streaming service, movies, radio or music in the car, computer at home, video games, social media, etc.
- Habits and Comforts: shopping (online and/or in stores), using elevators instead of stairs, parking in a spot close to the store, finding the shortest checkout line, surfing the internet when bored, etc.
Spend some time in prayer. Use your responses to the questions and the lists above to spend some time in prayer with the Spirit. Ask Jesus and yourself: What am I being invited into? Pick something you will notice the absence of, but not something that will genuinely cause you suffering. If you’re able to, we encourage fasting from food of some sort because the physical discomfort heightens our awareness and perspective shift.
Finally, commit it to God. After deciding what you will be fasting or abstaining from this Lenten season, commit it to Jesus. This could look like journaling about it, writing it on a sticky note to keep on your bathroom mirror, or remembering it in prayer each morning. However you choose, it’s important to enter this journey with clarity and commitment around what God is inviting you to do.
Close by sharing with others and praying (15 mins)
End in a time of prayer together. Split into groups of 2-3 and share what you feel like the lord is asking you to fast in the coming season. We do not share as a form of accountability, but as a way to celebrate God’s invitations to us. This is also the time to share any other prayer requests. Take turns praying over each other including encouragement and blessing over the fast to come. Continue to celebrate and share with them throughout the Lenten season what you sense the Spirit is doing in and through each of you.