CONNECT
1. If new people have joined your group, take time to introduce yourselves to each other.
2. What’s something you had to face in high school you wish you could’ve avoided?
3. What words come to mind when you hear the word heaven?

PRAY TOGETHER
Spend a few minutes releasing your cares and worries to God. Draw your attention to the One who knows you and cares about you far beyond what you can think or imagine.

You might pray, God, I trust You with… (then name things that come to mind).

Add to this your own prayers and praise, allowing time for everyone to pray as God leads.

SCRIPTURE MEMORY
Memorizing Scripture enables us to carry within us the life-giving, life-shaping words of God at all times in all places. Here’s a verse to memorize based on this week’s teaching:

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
John 17:3 (NIV)

A SONG FOR THE SOUL
Listen to this by yourself, with a friend or in your group.

Counting my Blessings, Seph Schlueter

STUDY AND DISCUSSION
tips
Resist the urge to get through all the questions. It’s OK if you don’t. That’s not the point. Let the Holy Spirit guide your reflection and discussion. Spend time reading and really thinking about what the Bible is saying.

If your group has eight or more people, it might be helpful to break into circles of four or five for greater participation and deeper discussion. When you come back together, invite each group to share a few takeaways from their conversation.

1. What stands out to you about how Isaiah describes the Lord and the scene around Him? What might those details be inviting us to notice about God’s character?

2. The seraphim emphasize God’s holiness (holy, holy, holy). What do you think it means to experience God as holy, not just know it intellectually?

The word Seraphim comes from the Hebrew root word to burn, so they’re often associated with fire, light and purity. Seraphim are the highest-ranking angels.

3. Isaiah immediately becomes aware of his unclean lips. Why do you think encountering God’s holiness often brings awareness of our sin?

4. Why do you think Isaiah thought of his lips to be unclean (and not his hands or skin or even his actions, for example)?

5. If you were to name your own version of unclean lips, what comes to mind—patterns, words, attitudes or inner struggles?

6. Sin is often categorized in two ways: sins of commission—what we do, and sins of omission—things we should do but fail to do. Give examples of each.

7. How do you typically respond when you become aware of sin or weakness in yourself—do you move toward God, away from Him, or try to manage it another way? Explain.

8. What emotions do you imagine Isaiah felt in that moment—fear, relief, confusion, gratitude? Which of those resonate with your own spiritual journey?

9. The passage moves from exposure (“I am ruined”) to assurance (“your guilt is taken away”). Where do you sense that movement happening—or needing to happen—in your own life?

10. Where might God be inviting you to see Him more clearly right now—and what might be getting in the way?

11. If you truly believed your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for, how might that change the way you show up this week—in relationships, speech or decisions?

PERSONAL APPLICATION
After this week’s lesson, what’s one thought, question or takeaway you’re sitting with right now? Pause and ask God what He wants to say to you. Allow time for Him to speak, being sensitive to thoughts that come to mind. Growing often comes by simply making yourself available to God.

PRAY
Invite someone to close your time in prayer.

1. When you hear Jesus describe people who thought they knew Him but didn’t, what emotions or questions surface in you?

2. How do you personally discern the difference between knowing about Jesus and truly knowing Him?

3. Where do you sense confidence in your relationship with Christ—and where might there be uncertainty worth exploring?

1. What does it mean to have the Son?

2. What does it mean to have life?

3. What do you notice about how God wants believers to experience assurance of eternal life?

4. How would you describe your current sense of assurance—steady, fragile, unclear? What contributes to that?

5. How might your life be different if you thought more about having eternal life?

App and the Daily Devotional
Spend time with God with the Daily Devotionals available on the App. You can also find Sunday Message resources and videos, leave prayer requests, give and more.

Why Jesus?
If you’ve never experienced God’s forgiveness and grace, we’d love the opportunity to talk with you about a life-changing relationship with Jesus. Email thepastors@brookwoodchurch.org or call 864.688.8200.

Additional Study Tools
For additional Bible Study tools, guides and devotionals, check out bible.com, youversion.com, biblegateway.com and blueletterbible.org.