SERIES TITLE
30 DAYS TO LIVE week 1
series overview
What if you knew you only had 30 Days to Live?
What would matter most?
Who would you prioritize?
What would you change?
This powerful new series explores how clarity about our time can transform the way we live right now. We’ll discover how to focus on what truly matters, let go of what doesn’t, and live with deeper purpose, greater faith, and lasting impact.
Don’t just count your days. Make your days count.
sermon TITLE
Look Clearly
weekend in review
In this Easter message, Gene opened the 30 Days to Live series with a compelling question: “If I knew I had 30 days to live, would my life look any different?” Drawing from Psalm 39:4, he invites us to number our days and live with urgency. He also shared three takeaways from the final days of Jesus: 1. He faced the clock without flinching, anchored in hope (Hebrews 6:19); 2. He embraced the cross with joy because we were the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2); and 3. He rose to open the door to new life (Matthew 28:5–6). The sermon challenges us to stop postponing the things that matter most—relationships, forgiveness, faith—and to live as people whose days are numbered and precious.
WARM UP
Take a few minutes to warm up with this lighthearted question before diving into the discussion:
- If you had one completely free day—no responsibilities, no budget worries, and no obligations—what would your perfect day look like from morning to night?
DISCUSSion
Select questions from the list below to guide your discussion time.
- The message opened with a stark hypothetical: a doctor calls and tells you that you have 30 days to live. Gene then asks, “Would you still chase the same things?” What is one area of your life—a relationship, a habit, a priority—that you think would change immediately if you received that call?
- Takeaway #1 highlights how Jesus “faced the clock without flinching” in John 12:27 and Luke 9:51. He was honest about the weight He carried, yet He “resolutely set His face” toward His mission. Gene described Jesus as steadfast–not because He was detached but because He was anchored (Hebrews 6:19). Most of us, when we feel the clock ticking — in a hard diagnosis, a crumbling relationship, a season of uncertainty — either panic, freeze, or frantically try to outrun it. Which of those tends to be your default response? Why do you think that is?
- Takeaway #2 is that Jesus embraced the cross with joy Hebrews 12:2, because you were the joy set before Him. Gene also referenced 1 Corinthians 6:20: “For God bought you with a high price”, reminding us that everything from collectables to our homes are really only worth what someone will pay actually for them. How does that change the way you see yourself knowing that Jesus considered you worth the cost of the cross? Share honestly with your group any comfort, relief or struggle that brings up within you.
- Gene says that people on their deathbeds never brag about work achievements or bank accounts, but they do extend apologies, ask for forgiveness, and give their lives to Jesus. He poses this question: “If tomorrow you stood before Jesus, what would you wish you had done today?” What is one thing on your list that you have been putting off? What has been keeping you from doing it thus far?
- Takeaway #3 is that Jesus rose to open the door to new life (Matthew 28:5–6; Romans 6:4). The resurrection is what makes it possible to live with the hope that death is not the end and that what happened to Jesus’ body will happen to ours (1 Corinthians 15:49-58; 1 John 3:2). If the resurrection is true — if death is not the final word for you — what is one fear, one area of avoidance, or one “someday” decision that can lose its power over you? And what would it look like to live this week as someone who is free from that power?
WRAP UP & PRAYER
You can close your time together by praying over these themes from the sermon:
- Anchor – Pray that each group member would find their ultimate security in a relationship with God rather than in money, career, or people, so that they can face the uncertainties of life without flinching (Hebrews 6:19).
- Urgency – Pray for someone who has the courage to stop postponing something that matters most—reconciling relationships, extending forgiveness, and taking the next step of faith—before the window of opportunity closes (Psalm 39:4).
- Worth – Pray over anyone who struggles to feel valued or loved, that they would truly receive the truth that they were the joy set before Jesus on the cross (Hebrews 12:2; 1 Corinthians 6:20).
New Life – Pray for anyone known by someone in the group who is on the edge of a spiritual decision—perhaps taking their first step of faith or responding in obedience to something God has been nudging them toward—that the reality of the resurrection would give them the boldness to act (Romans 6:4; Acts 22:16).