Sometimes Things Get Worse Before They Get Better

Jesus said we would have in this world but for the Christian most days should still be pretty !

Exodus 5:1-19; John 16:33, 17; Romans 5:1, 3-5, 12:18; 2 Corinthians 12:9-11; Philippians 4:6-7; Psalm 73.

Pleasing occasionally means disappointing .

Exodus 4:21, 5:20-23; 1 Peter 4:12-13.

Hold onto ► God is when we are not !

Exodus 6:1-13; Romans 8:18; Ephesians 3:20-21, 6:12.

Small Group Questions

What do you think?

From Sunday’s service, what struck a chord with you?

The story of your life.

1. 2020 will be gone in a short period of time. It’s often helpful to look back at some highs and lows from the year. What were some of your biggest successes or wins in 2020? What were some of the biggest mistakes or hardest lessons?
2. God told Moses that the journey to free the Israelites from slavery would be hard. Despite that fact, last Sunday we saw that Moses was still surprised by the intensity of the challenges. The story ended with virtually everyone frustrated. How do you balance your expectations going into situations in life? What advice might you give your younger self about how to get through what you went through more smoothly?

Digging deeper in God’s Word.

1. Read Romans 5:3-5. Looking at the list below, how have the following played out in your life this past year? Don’t just breeze past this, take a good chunk of time to talk through each of these.
   • Trials.
   • Perseverance.
   • Character.
   • Hope.
2. Part of spiritual growth is realizing that we don’t always hear perfectly from God. One of the ways we can better hear from the Lord is to involve Godly Christians in our lives. What do the following verses suggest about how this might look?
   1. What aspects of the armor of God kept you in the right headspace this past year?
   2. What elements of the armor of God might you have neglected a bit?
   3. What element(s) do you sense God asking you to focus on as you pray about a new year?

Personal reflection and application.

1. Have everyone in the group share one thing someone else said that struck a chord with you during tonight’s discussion.
2. Pray for one another.