Welcome to Week Nine of The God Experiment! During these 12-weeks, we are personally testing the extreme nature of God and talking about it with others.  Building on Pastor Josh’s weekend message, we will be unpacking his content and taking it further. Feel free to use this guide or change it to fit the dynamics of your unique huddle. Reminder: While people can journey at their own pace, Monday (February 28) starts Week Nine of The God Experiment. Pastor Josh will be teaching on the weekends and huddles will be written on this schedule. 

Icebreaker: Getting the conversation started. 

  1. In your daily readings, do you have any “ah-ha” moments, questions, or challenges to what you’ve been reading? Maybe share something you wrote in the “Seek and Simmer”section for this week – page 176. 
  2. Optional: Need something lighter to open your huddle? Try this…Have you ever experienced a culture different from what you were brought up in (outside of the United States or stateside)? What did you learn most from that experience?

Focus Questions: Going deeper together.  

  1. Pastor Josh opened his message this weekend with story about neighbors “adopting” each other. Have you ever felt “adopted” by anyone? A person, a boss, neighbor, etc who took you under their wing?
  2. God has called us into a mindset of adoption, not a mindset of being an orphan. Have you ever felt “orphaned” (outside of the family) in your relationship with God? Why or why not?
  3. Turn to Ephesians 2:1-22. (Tip: By now, people in your huddle should be more comfortable reading the Bible to others. Ask a few volunteers to help you read the passage.)  
  4.  (Optional) Choose 2-3 Discovery Bible Study questions to talk about: (1) What do you like about this passage? (2) What is confusing about this passage? (3) What does this passage say about God? (4) What does this passage say about us? (5) How do we obey this passage? (6) Who else needs to hear this passage?
  5. In verses 1-3, Paul wants to remind us of our desperate, helpless state before God intervened in Christ. Elaborate on the following terms, used here by Paul, and what you think they mean in this context: (a) Dead in your transgressions and sins? (b) gratifying the cravings of our flesh? (c) by nature deserving of wrath?
  6. When you think about these phrases, are they easy or difficult to think that these are true? Why or why not?
  7. Paul describes how God’s perspective changes toward us with salvation (v.4-10). How do these descriptions of God’s action toward us move or encourage you? Are any of them new or surprising insights? 
  8. (Optional) Reread v.14-16. These verses describe the division (hostility) between Jews and Gentiles. What “dividing walls of hostility” are still active in our community and world today?
  9. Reread 18-22. These verses are packed full of metaphors of our new reality in Christ. As you read, which word picture stands out most to you?

Final Challenge: If you are a follower of Jesus, you are not a guest in God’s family, in Heaven, or in His Kingdom. Live in the truth that you are adopted!

Be sure to gather names/contact information for your weekly report.