SERIES TITLE
Road Trip
SERIES OVERVIEW
Do you remember that EPIC road trip? It was the one with a great playlist, roadside diners, and unforgettable memories. When you’re on the road, you can expect twists and turns, flat tires, and empty gas tanks. If you’re going to make it to your final destination, you’re going to need a good GPS because life is full of unexpected turns and detours. We need someone reliable to guide us.
SERMON TITLE
Stalled Traffic Ahead
WEEKEND IN REVIEW
None of us enjoy waiting; however, in our spiritual journey, waiting on God is part of His plan for us. In God’s plan, waiting isn’t wasted time. He has a purpose for it.
WARM UP
Begin with some conversation, checking in on how people are doing. You can talk about whatever you’d like, but here are a few potential questions to get the conversation going.
- How well do you handle waiting when you make a phone call and get put on hold for 10+ minutes? How about 20+ minutes? What do you do while you wait?
- When you’re in line behind other cars waiting at a red light, and the light turns green, but the person in the front of the line doesn’t move, what do you do? What do you say? What do you think?
- Explain why you think it is hard for us to wait?
DISCUSSion
Select 5-6 questions from the list below to guide your discussion time.
- Abraham waited 25 years from when he was promised he’d be a father of a great nation and when his son Isaac was born. Joseph had to wait for 13 years as a slave and as a prisoner in Egypt before he was made 2nd in command under Pharoah. David had to wait approximately 15 years between when he was anointed king and when he was actually crowned king. Why do you think God puts us through seasons of waiting?
- Our Teaching Pastor, Mike Breaux, said, “…in our culture, the word wait means inactivity, which means I’m spinning my wheels, twiddling my thumbs, and wasting my time. But in God’s way of thinking, waiting doesn’t necessarily mean inactivity. Waiting from God’s point of view is an active thing. Psalm 37 is filled with active instructions for “while you wait.” Read Psalm 37:3-9 (NASB) and write down 5 instructions that need to be on your personal “to-do-list” while you wait.
- What does it mean to “cultivate faithfulness?” verse 3 MSG
- What is the prerequisite for being given the desires of your heart? Verse 4 NASB, Verse 4 Good News
- What do anger, wrath, and getting upset (or fretting) lead to? Verse 8
Application
- From the list below, identify 2 specific things that would be most helpful for you to “rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him?”
- Remind myself that God sees what I cannot see. He has a much better view of my life and my future.
- Remind myself that God always wants and always knows what is best for me.
- God has a greater purpose for this time of waiting. He is at work in me while I wait for what He has prepared for me.
- While I wait for what is next, I need to keep doing the right thing here and now.
- Persevere in my present and bloom where I’m planted because in the proper time, I’ll reap a harvest if I don’t give up.
- Teaching Pastor Mike Breaux explained God’s will this way: “And I’ll say it again…because the key to learning is repetition…God’s will, above anything else in your life and my life, is that you and I come to know Him through Jesus Christ and that we fall in love with Him in a daily relationship, and that we walk with him every moment of our lives. That is why we were created in the first place…THAT’S God’s will for your life.” If someone who attended church came up to you and said, “I believe in Jesus and have put my faith in what He did on the cross for me, but I don’t understand what people mean by having a personal relationship with Jesus. What do I need to do in order to have a personal relationship with Jesus?” What would you say?
wrap up | prayer
Share prayer requests and spend time praying for each other.