Take about 30 minutes during your missional community gathering to discuss what God is teaching you and how he is leading you in light of the weekend sermon.
General sharing: Reflecting on the end of 2018, what is something you learned about yourself and something you learned about God. How do you see yourself applying these lessons to your life in 2019? Did you have any significant prayer requests where you were able to see God's work? Is there anything you are hoping to understand better about God in 2019?
Application [don’t overestimate your ability, overstate your situation, or underestimate God]: How can looking at the past lead to you overstate your ability? How can looking to the past make it so your eyes are trusting in yourself for strength and not God (You can see yourself in the past, present, and future. You can see God in the past, but it’s hard to trust him in the present and future). Why is it so easy for us in times of temptation to overstate our situation? What effect does this victim mentality have on our trust in God over the situation? How does it affect our witness to others when we underestimate God in challenging circumstances?
Application [God permits the extent, provides an escape, and promises endurance]. Do you find it hard that God would permit certain hardships? How can it be encouraging to know that he oversees its extent? What kind of encouragement could you give to a friend going through a difficult circumstance by using this truth? Are the escapes God provides in temptation always ones that we want to choose? Are there any experiences from your life where an escape actually felt like a punishment? Did your faith mature through that experience?