WEEK 16 // What do people gain from all their labours?

1st September // Pastor David // Great Questions of Life and Faith

Reflection & Discussion Questions
  • Read Eccles chapter 1 verses 1 to 11, and chapter 3 verses 9 to 14. What stands out to you?

  • When did you gain something significant in life?

  • Reflecting from verses 3-11 of chapter 1 on the cycles of life such as human endeavour, generations, nature and old and new, why do these things not bring real meaning to life?

  • Reflecting on the first part of verse 11 of chapter 3, how does God setting everything to ‘be beautiful in its time’ bring greater meaning to life?

  • Reflecting on the second part of verse 11 of chapter 3, how does God setting eternity in our hearts also bring a sense of meaning to life?

  • Reflecting from verses 12-13 of chapter 3, how does recognising life as a gift from God bring meaning to our lives?

  • Reflecting from verse 14 of chapter3, how does the enduring nature of God’s work bring meaning to life? (also refer to Matthew 6:19-20, 25-27,33)

WEEK 15 // Where can I go from your Spirit?

25th August // Pastor David // Great Questions of Life and Faith

Reflection & Discussion Questions
  • Take a few minutes to read Psalm 139. What stands out to you?

  • How can images about God or ourselves be distorted by looking at the ‘mirror of our culture’ or the ‘mirror of others or ourselves’ instead of the mirror of what God sees and says?

  • Reflecting from verses 2-6 on how God knows you, how does that make you feel? Why?

  • Reflecting from verses 7-12 on how God keeps on being present with you, how does that make you feel? Why?

  • Reflecting from verses 13-16 on how God knit you together, how does that make you feel? Why?

  • Take time to pray the words that Psalm 139 closes with – ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’

WEEK 14 // How Long Oh Lord?

18th August // Pastor David // Great Questions of Life and Faith

Reflection & Discussion Questions
  • Take a few minutes to read Psalm 13. What stands out to you?

  • What ‘How long?’ questions do you have in life or faith?

  • Reflecting from verse 1 on how David felt, have you ever felt forgotten or forsaken by God? What led to you feeling that way, and what helped you move beyond that place?

  • Reflecting from verse 2 on the battles within us and without or around us that we might have, which is the more challenging battle for you?

  • Reflecting from verse 3 on how David shifts to the language of personal relationship, what difference does having a personal relationship with God make when we call out in prayer?

  • Reflecting from verses 5-6 on how we need to cling to God’s unfailing love, unmatching salvation and unending goodness, which of these are most meaningful to you? How can you hold on to this even when caught in the rip of life and faith

  • Take some time to write out your own prayer to God if you didn’t already do so on Sunday.
WEEK 13 // What is mankind that you are mindful of them?

11th August // Pastor David // Great Questions Of Life And Faith

Reflection & Discussion Questions
  • Take a few minutes to read Psalm 8. What stands out to you?

  • Reflecting from verse 2 on how the unique fingerprints of God are evident in God choosing to work in back the front ways (also refer to 1 Cor 1:27-29, 2 Cor 12:9-10), in what ways do you need to rely on God in your life?

  • Reflecting from verse 3 on how the unique fingerprints of God are also evident in what we see above us, what is your response when you look up at the stars and the moon?

  • Reflecting from verses 4-8 on how the unique fingerprints of God are above all evident in who we are, what is the thing of greatest value to you? How does it make you feel to know that we as people are what God values and cares for most out of everything he has made?

  • Reflecting from verse 5 on how God has crowned us with glory and honour, created in His image, how does that shape your identity and how you see yourself?

  • Reflecting from verses 6-8 on how God has commissioned us for a unique role to be in charge of or look after His creation, what are some ways that you can do that?
WEEK 12 // Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?

4th August // Pastor David // Great Questions Of Life And Faith

Reflection & Discussion Questions
  • Take a few minutes to read Job chapter 38 verses 1 to 18, or if you have time, the whole chapter. What stands out to you?

  • What questions do you have as you try to make sense of or understand life and faith in this world?

  • Which part of God’s ‘macro view’ of life in this world described from verse 4 onwards through Job chapter 38 is most amazing to you?

  • Reflecting on how wisdom and understanding is found in shifting beyond a micro view of life in this world to a macro view, how can that help bring perspective to great questions of life and faith?

  • Reflecting from verses 8 to 12 on how God can and does bring order even out of what can be chaotic, what do you find most chaotic or confusing about life in this world? How does what took place at and beyond the cross reflect how nothing can get in the way of God bringing about His purposes for good?

  • Reflecting from Job chapter 42 verse 5 on how Job came to discover that true wisdom and understanding came not from an explanation but from an encounter with God, reflect on whether you have come to see God for who He really is through Jesus. If you have, how and when did that take place? If you haven’t, what do you think is stopping you from coming to that place yourself?

WEEK 11 // Who Knows…. For Such A Time As This?

28th July // Pastor Kat // Great Questions of Life and Faith

Reflection & Discussion Questions

Start with the reading: Take a few minutes to read Esther 4:1-17. What stands out to you?

Esther is a book that is full of moral ambiguity and questionable behaviour. It’s the only book of the Bible that doesn’t even mention God.  

  1. Some people are okay with not having all the answers; for others, this is deeply uncomfortable. How well do you handle ambiguity and uncertainty?  
  2. How do you interact with the Bible when you have uncertainty in life? 

Reread Esther 4:14. This is where we find today’s Great question—who Knows……for such a time as this? 

The term who knows, is mi yodeya in Hebrew, can mean ‘the unknown’ or ‘God only knows.’ In life, we will find ourselves in difficult and unclear situations, much like Esther and Mordecai. 

  1. Have there been times in your life when you have had a ‘god only knows moment’? Reflect on those times for a moment.
  2. How did you cope and respond? Did God feel near or far? 

    In our series so far, we have seen God speak directly through angels, appear to Jacob as a man and to Moses as a burning bush, speak through prophets, and reveal himself in miracles. Throughout these scriptures, we experience God overtly.  

    In Esther, God doesn’t show up in the way we have come to expect from the scriptures before it. There are no overt miracles, no voices from the clouds, no burning bushes and talking donkeys.  However, both the number and nature of “coincidences” in the book of Esther suggest that something deeper is going on – placing Mordecai in just the right position to hear of a plot against the king’s life, giving Esther access to the king of Persia, and moving the King’s heart to favour Her among all the others and to grant her desire to rescue her people, the Jews.  

    I wonder if some – maybe most – of us might even say that the God we encounter in Esther is closer to our own experience: a God who reveals Himself subtly through hints and coincidences rather than dramatic signs like burning bushes or stairways to heaven. 

    1. In what ways do you discern the quiet movement of God in your life? 
    2. How might you grow your ability to discern the subtle movement of God? 

            WEEK 10 // Where Now Is The God Of Elijah?

            21st July // Pastor David // Great Questions Of Life and Faith

            Reflection & Discussion Questions

            Start with the reading: Take a few minutes to read 2 Kings chapter 2 verses 1 to 18. What stands out to you?

            What do you find different or difficult about life and faith in our present times compared to days gone by?

            • Reflecting on the symbolism and significance of Gilgal as the starting point (verse 1) for the journey of Elisha and Elijah, read Joshua chapter 4 verses 19-24. What kind of things help you to remember what God is like and what God can do?
            • Reflecting on Bethel as the next stop on their journey (verse 2), read Genesis chapter 28 verses 10 to 18. What kind of things help you to be reminded of God’s presence or God’s promises or God’s provision?
            • Reflecting on Elijah and Elisha’s journey heading to Jericho next (verses 4-5), read Joshua chapter 6 verses 1 to 7. What helps you to step out in faith under God? What holds you back from doing that?

            As you reflect from verses 13 and 14 in 2 Kings chapter 2 on Elisha coming to the place of the Jordan river, and stepping out in faith to see God do what only God can do in parting the waters for him to cross over, and so answering the question ‘Where now is the God of Elijah?’, what do you do need God to do that seems impassable or impossible that only God can do? Take some time to bring that before God in prayer and faith, asking God to be at work in the present and into the future.

              WEEK 9 // What Are You Doing Here?

              14th July // Pastor David // Great Questions of Life and Faith

              Reflection & Discussion Questions

              Start with the reading: Take a few minutes to read 1 Kings chapter 19 verses 1 to 18. What stands out to you?

              What place do you find yourself at in life or faith at this time? Is it a place you want to be at?

              • Reflecting from verses 5-8 on the gracious provision of God and His care, how might you need that at the moment? What needs do you have? How might you need rest or renewal in life or faith?
              • Reflecting from verses 8-12a on the grand wonder of God being revealed afresh to Elijah, what reminds you of the grand wonder of God? How might you come out of the cave of discouragement or disappointment, fear or frustration, stress or self-pity, or weariness or weakness, or other things, and simply take time to allow God to reveal Himself to you?
              • Reflecting from verses 12-13 on hearing the gentle whispers of God, what stops you from hearing God’s whispers in life and faith? What helps you to hear God’s whispers?

              Take some space and time in prayer to reflect on and receive the gracious provision of God for you, to allow God to reveal the grand wonder of His power but also love and care for you, and to hear the gentle whispers of God to you.

                WEEK 8 // To Whom Do You Belong?

                7th July // Pastor David // Great Questions of Life and Faith

                Reflection & Discussion Questions

                  Take a few minutes to read 1 Samuel chapter 30 verses 1 to 31. What stands out to you?

                  Where you do find a sense of belonging in life or faith?

                  • Reflecting on the sense of heartbreak over loved ones evident in verses 1-6a, what heartbreak might be there in you over loved ones who might be at a place far from what you would have hoped for in life or faith?
                  • Reflecting from verse 6b on what David does next, finding strength in the Lord His God, when things don’t turn out as you hope for, where and how do you find your strength?
                  • Reflecting on verses 7-8 and how David seeks God for guidance as to how to best respond, is that something you do as a part of your life and faith? How has that helped you (refer also to Proverbs 3:5-6 and James 1:5))
                  • Reflecting on our limitations as people from verses 9-10, what limitations do you find that you have in life or faith?
                  • Reflecting from verses 11-16 on how God brings across our path and uses unexpected people in His purposes, when and how have you experienced that? How can you be open to recognising and responding to God at work through the unlikely and unexpected?
                  • Reflecting from verses 17-20 on how God recovers what the enemy has snatched away (also refer to John 10:10), what might our enemy Satan have robbed or taken away from you that God wants to restore or redeem or recover?
                  • Reflecting from verses 21-31 on how God’s mercy and grace is extended to all, not just the strong but the weak, not just to those who overcome but to those who are overwhelmed, how might you extend mercy and grace and blessing to others, whoever they are?

                  Reflection & Discussion Questions
                  • Take a few minutes to read through 1 Samuel 16 verses 1 to 13. What stands out to you? 
                  Traveling to Bethlehem… 
                  – Why is Samuel so worried by this assignment? 
                  – Why are the elders of the town so worried by Samuel’s arrival? 
                  A key phrase is verse 7 is: “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
                  – We live in a world obsessed with appearances, what’s the antidote? 
                  – How do we move from being pre-occupied with appearances to judging rightly? 
                  – Why is David initially excluded from the meeting with Samuel? 
                  – What might this say about relationship dynamics? 

                  Read 1 Corinthians 1 verses 27 to 29, what might this tell us about what God looks for? 

                  Should our lives be made up of a list of achievements? Yes/No? Why? 

                  WEEK 6 // What if they don’t believe me?

                  23rd June // Pastor Kat // Great Questions of Life and Faith Series

                  Reflection & Discussion Questions

                  Start with the reading: 

                  • Take some time to read Exodus 3:1 – 4: 17. 
                  • Highlight the five excuses that Moses makes to try to avoid his calling. 
                  • Highlight God’s responses to each excuse.

                  In her sermon, Kat explored how we all have a past that informs the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves – Moses certainly did, and they fueled his excuses.
                  Things that impact this are: our life events (good and bad), our family of origin, the place and time in history we were born, our successes, our failures, relationships and faith experiences.
                  For Moses, it may have looked something like this – Orphan, Murderer, shepherd, aging,
                  husband and father in a foreign land.

                  WEEK 5 // Yet, Not I but through Christ in Me.

                  16th June // Pastor David // Great Questions of Life and Faith

                  Reflection & Discussion Questions
                  • Take a few minutes to read Genesis chapter 50 verses 15 to 21. What stands out to you?
                  • What have you found hardest when someone has wronged you? 
                  • What is it that makes us as human beings have a tendency to want to take the place of God when it comes to responding to times when others wrong us?
                  • Read Ephesians 2:4-5, 4:32. How do you feel about the place we are in because of God’s response to us even though we have wronged Him?
                  • ‘We do not forgive those who have wronged us because they are good; we forgive because God is good, and because our God can work for good out of every situation, even ones where we have been wronged, like He did with Joseph.’ How do you respond to this statement, particularly in the light of what Joseph says in verse 20? 
                  • Read 2 Thess 1:6-7 and Romans 12:17-21. How do you feel about God’s justice system? Have you come to the place of being able to leave things with God to deal with?
                  WEEK 4 // What is your name?

                  9th June // Pastor David // Great Questions of Life and Faith series

                  Reflection & Discussion Questions
                  • COMING SOON…
                  WEEK 3 // Where have you come from and where are you going?

                  2nd June // Pastor David // Great Questions of Life and Faith Series

                  Reflection & Discussion Questions
                  • Take a few minutes to read Genesis chapter 16 verses 1 to 16. What stands out to you
                  • Reflecting on verses 1-6, how has what has happened to you in life contributed to shaping the place you find yourself at?
                  • Reflecting on verse 7, how or when have you been at a wilderness place in life or faith?

                  Reflecting on verses 8 to 14, how is it significant that

                  – God calls us by name (verse 8)?

                  – God sees us (verse 14)?

                  – God comes to us with promises and purposes (verse 10)?

                  – God brings hope and healing as He rewrites the script in the story of our lives?

                  Read Galatians chapter 4 verses 4 to 7. What stands out to you?

                  · What might it mean to you to live this week with God’s voice saying ‘You are a son or daughter of God, no longer a slave to sin, but an heir in God’s blessing.’?

                  WEEK 2 // Am I my brother’s keeper?

                  26th May // Pastor David // Great Questions of Life and Faith series

                  Reflection & Discussion Questions

                  • Take a few minutes to read Genesis chapter 4 verses 1 to 9. What stands out to you?
                  • How do you respond to the question ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’
                  • What are some of the privileges of being a child of God?
                  • What are some of the responsibilities of being a child of God?
                  • Read Luke chapter 10 verses 25 to 27. What stands out to you?

                  ‘Whether or not we are responsible for knocking down our neighbour, we are all responsible for picking them up, not passing by on the other side.’ What can cause us to ‘pass by on the other side’ instead of picking someone up in life or faith?

                  ‘Anytime God brings someone across your path or something to your attention for you to be aware of; that is an opportunity for a God moment, a moment to be attentive to what God is calling us to or challenging us about.’ Have you had times like this in your life or faith journey? Are there any before you in the present where you can be ‘your brother’s keeper’?

                  WEEK 1 // Did God really say…?

                  19th May // Pastor David // Great Questions of Life and Faith Series

                  Reflection & Discussion Questions
                  •  Take a few minutes to read Genesis chapter 3 verses 1 to 13. What stands out to you?
                  • What aspect of the character of God is most significant to you? Why is that?
                  • What can cause you to question God’s character instead of anchoring in it?
                  • Take a few minutes to read Philippians 4:11-14 and Psalm 23. What stands out to you?
                  • What has brought you the greatest sense of contentment in life and faith?
                  • What can cause you to lose sight of a sense of contentment?

                  Take some time to prayerfully reflect on where you are at now when it comes to: 

                  • Anchoring in God’s character
                  • Learning in the secret of being content 
                  Allow God to reach out to you where you are at, and ask God to do what only God can do.