Life Group Leader Guide
📌 LEADER'S BULLETIN
Leader Heart Check
You are not just hosting a conversation this week. You are creating a space where people can say their dreams out loud, maybe for the first time. Some in your group are carrying hopes they have quietly set aside, and your welcome, your listening ear, and your faith can make it safe for them to hope again. God has trusted you to shepherd them, and He will meet you in the room.
Attendance Reminder
Please log your group's attendance in the Church App or email by Sunday. Your faithfulness in tracking helps us stay connected as a church family.
🔑 CONNECTION KEY (Leader Briefing)
Core Theme: God invites us to dream with Him, and we live those dreams out through surrender, fellowship with Him, and generosity that reaches beyond ourselves.
Key Discussion Goals:
Help group members name what they truly want and honestly examine why they want it.
Explore how God speaks through dreams and why every dream needs to be weighed and tested.
Help each person identify where they feel stuck and what God may be asking them to surrender.
Encourage members to connect their dreams to blessing others in their neighborhood and city.
Leader Tip: North Park is full of dreamers: artists, musicians, chefs, brewers, small business owners, students, and young professionals building something from nothing. It is also a neighborhood where the cost of living keeps climbing, and many people feel the tension between their dream and their daily reality. Some in your group may be excited about a vision, while others may feel worn out or disappointed. Make space for both. Be careful with the conversation about dreams that come through sleep. Some members may have had powerful experiences and others may feel skeptical, so keep the focus on God's character and His Word rather than debating dream interpretation. The sermon also touched on foresight and grief, so be sensitive to anyone who has lost someone and may carry heaviness into this topic.
Key Phrase: "Idols die in sacrifice."
Sermon Points
Dreams and visions are the language of God.
God speaks again and again, and one of the ways He speaks is through dreams and visions. He can use them to give instructions that direct and protect us, as He did with Joseph when an angel told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. Dreams can bring insight, foresight, and warning, yet Scripture reminds us that many dreams and many words can also be empty, so we listen carefully and test what we hear. Foresight does not remove grief, and seeing something ahead of time does not make the loss any lighter. At Gibeon, God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him a searching question: "Ask! What shall I give you?" That question is still before us today: What do you want, and why do you want it?
Reflection Questions:
Describe a time when you sensed God speaking to you. How did you recognize it, and what did you do with it?
Why do you think Scripture encourages us to listen carefully instead of simply chasing every dream or word we hear?
If God asked you today, "What shall I give you?", what would you say? What does your answer reveal about your heart?
When you think about your answer, what is the "why" underneath it?
3 Responses To Live Our Your Dreams.
1. Be Willing To Give Everything.
The Burnt Offering: A Life of Surrender
When Solomon woke from his dream, he responded with burnt offerings. Unlike other sacrifices where portions were eaten, the burnt offering was wholly consumed on the altar, a picture of a life fully surrendered. When God asked Abraham to offer Isaac, Abraham did not lose his son, but the place Isaac held in his heart was laid down. Idols die in sacrifice. King David refused to offer God something that cost him nothing, and Jesus taught that a seed must fall to the ground and die before it can produce a harvest. Many dreams stay stuck because we are holding on too tightly to the thing God wants to multiply.
Reflection Questions:
What is one dream, plan, or comfort you find hardest to hold with an open hand?
Why do you think surrender often has to come before fruitfulness?
Where might something good in your life have quietly become something you need more than you need God?
What would it look like for your group to encourage one another toward surrender this week?
2. Prioritize Your Relationship With God.
The Peace Offering: A Life of Fellowship
The peace offering represented fellowship, thanksgiving, and communion with God. It was a celebration of being close to Him. Jesus asks what it profits someone to gain the whole world and lose their own soul. Rachel's story shows how a good desire can turn into desperation. Seeing her sister's children, she cried, "Give me children, or I'll die!" Even after God answered, her heart still reached for more. Peace comes when we bring our requests to God with thanksgiving instead of anxiety, and His peace guards our hearts and minds. A dream pursued without that closeness can leave us anxious, comparing, and stuck.
Reflection Questions:
What does your time with God look like right now, and what tends to crowd it out?
Where do you notice comparison or anxiety creeping in when you think about your dreams?
How does thanksgiving change the way you pray about something you want badly?
What is one rhythm of fellowship with God you could protect this week?
3. Make Sure Your Dream Is Bigger Than You.
The Feast: A Life of Generosity
Solomon did not keep his blessing to himself. He made a feast for all his servants. God told Abraham that he would be blessed to be a blessing, so that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him. Joseph saw this too. What others meant for harm, God meant for good, to save many lives. A dream that is only about us will run out of fuel, but a dream that serves others carries God's heart and can keep going through hard seasons.
Reflection Questions:
Who could be blessed if your dream came to life?
How might your gifts and passions serve the people of North Park and the wider San Diego community?
How has God taken something painful in your story and used it to help others?
What is one way you could "set a table" for someone this week, whether with your time, skills, or resources?
🛠Practical Application
The Challenge
This week, write down your answers to two questions: "What do I want?" and "Why do I want it?" Then share one dream with someone in your group or a trusted friend, and ask them to pray with you. Finally, take one generous step connected to that dream, such as offering your skill, time, or a meal to a neighbor, coworker, or someone in your community.
Audit / Reflection
Take an honest look at your heart. Is there something you are holding too tightly, a dream, a plan, or a comfort, that has begun to compete with God? Where do you feel stuck, and is it because of fear, comparison, or an unwillingness to surrender? Ask yourself whether your dream is mostly about you or whether it is big enough to bless others.
Prayer Focus
Lead your group in a prayer of surrender and desire. Invite each person to bring their dream to God with open hands. Pray that God would give them an understanding heart, as He did Solomon, and that He would purify their motives, deepen their fellowship with Him, and enlarge their vision beyond themselves. Close by asking for His peace to guard their hearts and minds as they move forward.
Suggested prayer: "Father, thank You for inviting us to dream with You. We lay our desires on Your altar and ask that You keep what is Yours and remove what is not. Draw us close in fellowship with You, and give us hearts that want to bless others. Make our dreams bigger than ourselves, for Your glory and for the good of our neighborhood and city. In Jesus' name, Amen."
📣 Weekly Declaration
I am not stuck, because God has invited me to dream with Him. I choose to hold my dreams with open hands and to surrender whatever competes with Him. I prioritize my relationship with God above every desire, and His peace guards my heart and mind. I believe my dream is bigger than me, and I will use what God gives me to bless others. I receive an understanding heart, and I walk in His ways with confidence. Amen.
