ICEBREAKER: When have you felt like an outsider in a group or community? How did you respond?
Have someone read John 15:19-20 and John 15:27-16:1 for the group.
What do you think Jesus means when he says, “I have chosen you out of the world”?
Why do you think rejection by the world can serve as a marker of alignment with Jesus?What does it look like to “stand firm” against cultural pressure in your day-to-day environment?
When you face rejection, what determines whether it becomes a catalyst for growth or a source of bitterness?
How do small, daily choices to follow Jesus accumulate into a life of faithfulness?
What “small, daily choice” of faithfulness do you feel prompted to make this week?
In the face of cultural opposition or misunderstanding, how can you become more resilient without becoming calloused?
What would change in your life if your deepest source of identity truly came from being “chosen by God” rather than accepted by others?
Where is God inviting you to rest instead of striving? How might you respond to that invitation?
CLOSING PRAYER: Father, thank you for choosing us before we could ever earn it. May we stop trying to earn acceptance from the world when we already have it from You. Show us the small, daily choices we need to make in order to stay faithful to you. Amen.
Group Questions – july 6, 2025
WHAT DO I NEED TO ASK?
ICEBREAKER: What’s something in your life right now that feels like a “race” you’re running?
Read Hebrews 12:1-2 together. What words or phrases stand out to you most—and why?
In the movie, there’s a “cloud of witnesses” in the sense of past Jedi and ancestors guiding the heroes. Who are your “cloud of witnesses” in your spiritual journey?
How does the idea that “everyone’s race is marked out differently” challenge or encourage you?
When you hear the phrase “throw off everything that hinders,” what comes to mind first in your own life?
Jesus endured the cross “for the joy set before him.” What do you think kept him focused on that joy?
“In seasons of hardship, persevere.” What does perseverance look like for you right now?
What’s something that might be hindering you right now—big or small—that you sense God inviting you to “throw off”?
How easy or hard is it for you to believe your race is unique and valuable to God?
How might God want to use your story to help someone else keep running their race?
