Sermon Study Guide | Series: The Art of Showing Up | Sermon: Calling > Comfort |
Scripture: Luke 10:1-9 | Date: August 24, 2025

CONNECT - “A Personal Reflection”

This section is designed to help you relate personally to the theme of the sermon. It encourages you to reflect on your own life experiences and how they connect to the message.

Think back to a time when you avoided something uncomfortable only to later realize you missed an opportunity to grow. Maybe it was a relationship you didn’t lean into, a challenge you chose to sidestep, or even a ministry opportunity you didn’t pursue. What did that experience reveal to you about your natural preference for comfort? How might God be calling you in this season to “show up” even when it feels easier not to? Share with your group

ENGAGE - “Exploring the Scripture”

This section invites you to dive into the biblical passage, discuss its meaning, and apply it to your life through thoughtful questions.

Read Luke 10:1–9 together and discuss:

• Jesus sent the seventy-two out in pairs. Why do you think he emphasized community in this mission? 
  
  • How have you seen the significance of two by two in your own walk with God?
    
    
• Jesus described the harvest as plentiful but the workers as few. Where do you see a “plentiful harvest” opportunity in the places you live, work, and play today?
  
  
• The disciples were told to travel light and depend on God’s provision. 
  
  • What is your easy button?
  • What might it look like for you to trust God with fewer safety nets or comforts?
    
    
• The BLESS framework: Begin with prayer, Listen with care, Eat together, Serve in love, Share your story, gives us a practical model for blessing others. 
  
  • Which of these practices comes naturally to you? Which one stretches you? Why?
    
    
• Jesus also told His disciples that rejection would happen and that it was not their job to change hearts.
  
  • When or where have you experienced rejection?
  • Why is it freeing to know that outcomes are God’s responsibility?

APPLY - “Putting the Scriptures into Action”

This section challenges us to take what we’ve learned and implement it in practical ways in our daily lives.

• This week, where is God inviting you to choose Calling over Comfort?
  
  
• Who in your life might you begin to BLESS using one of the practices: Begin with prayer, Listen with care, Eat together, Serve in love, Share your story.
  
  • Write their name down + The Practice you will do for/with them.
  • Know someone who is exploring faith? Invite them to Alpha and join them for the experience.
    
    
• What is one practical step you can take to “show up” in community—whether by committing to Lead a Life Group, Serving on a team, or being present in someone else’s life?
  
  
• What would you commit to, in prayer, for “more workers in the harvest” this fall?

PRAY - “Seeking God’s Guidance”

This section offers a short prayer to help us center our hearts and invite God to work in our lives through his scripture.

Lord Jesus, thank you for calling us into your mission, not as spectators but as participants. Give us courage to choose calling over comfort this week. Help us to travel light, depend on You, and bless the people You place in our path. Strengthen our hearts to show up for one another, for our communities, and for the work You are doing all around us. May we grow up as we show up, and may Your kingdom come near through us. Amen.