Sermon Recap
Pastor Shawn Haggerty spoke from Matthew 4, where Jesus is tempted in the wilderness as the devil challenges the word that the Father had just declared over Him. Through Jesus's unwavering response, we see how the Word of God serves as the anchor of our identity as a child of God and is the fuel that individually and as the church we are designed to run on. Pastor Shawn concluded with by urging listeners to become "people of the Word" who seek to know the character of the author in its pages.
Ice Breaker Option: Go around the circle and have each person answer one of the following (their choice). Encourage short, lighthearted, and even humorous answers.
- “One voice that gets way too much of my attention lately is ______.”
- OR “If my phone could talk, the main thing it would say to me all day is ______.”
HEAD: Read Matthew 3:16-4:11
- What tactics did the devil employ during these temptations? How did Jesus respond?
- For each temptation, specify what the devil was challenging and explain Jesus’s response.
- How does John 1:14 further our understanding of how we are to understand and read scripture?
HEART:
- What are some 'good things' in your life that might be distracting you from finding your primary satisfaction in God?
- Respond to this quote from Henry Nouwen: Many voices ask for our attention... But underneath all these often very noisy voices is a still, small voice that says, ‘You are my beloved and my favor rests on you’. What makes it difficult for you to hear God’s truth in your life?
- What does it mean to be 'people of the Word' and why is this about more than just reading the Bible out of obligation?
HANDS — Go Deeper Together
“The devil challenges the power of Jesus’s identity, the identity that God the Father had just declared over him and he invites him instead to be satisfied by three alternatives other than the word of the Father.”
(Choose one or two practices below)
1. Remember What Was Spoken — Anchoring Your Identity
Before Jesus faced temptation, He heard the Father say, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” In the wilderness, Jesus refused to forget what had already been declared.
Reflect and Respond.
- Allow a few quiet minutes for individuals to read and reflect on Matthew 3:16–17.
- What words or phrases reveal how the Father sees the Son?
- How might God want you to receive these words personally through your trust in Jesus?
- Invite group members to share one phrase from the passage that stood out to them.
- Ask: Where are you most tempted to prove your worth, secure control, or seek affirmation elsewhere? How can these words anchor you in those moments?
Reflection Prompt:
- Allow time for everyone to write down and complete this sentence: “Because I am God’s beloved child, I do not need to __________ to be secure.”
- Encourage the group to use this prompt as they spend time in the Word this week.
Prayer:
End by thanking God for our identity in Christ, using the words from Matthew 3:16-17.
2. Name the Competing Voices — From Temptation to Truth
In the wilderness, “the devil challenges the power of Jesus’s identity—the identity that God the Father had just declared over Him—and invites Him instead to be satisfied by three alternatives other than the word of the Father.” Jesus refuses every alternative by anchoring Himself in God’s Word. Matthew 4:1-11.
Perks Provided — being distracted or satisfied by good things instead of God Himself
Prove God’s Love — testing God to prove what you already know is true
Parallel Path Offered —seeking an alternative way rather than trusting God’s design
Group Activity:
- On a shared page or board, create a list of Scriptures that respond to:
- Perks Provided
- Prove God’s Love
- Parallel Path Offered
- Ask: How do these scriptures reorient our hearts back to the voice of the Father when other voices are loud?
Personal Reflection:
- Take a moment to reflect or journal:
- Which temptation do you most relate to right now?
- What voice is behind that temptation, and what promise does it make?
- How is that promise different from what the Father has already declared over you?
Action Step
- Write down one Scripture you will speak aloud this week when that voice shows up—especially in moments of stress, distraction, or decision-making.
Group Option
- In pairs or triads, share one temptation pattern you’re noticing. Group members prayerfully listen (without fixing, debating, or correcting). Partners then pray God’s truth over one another, thanking God that His Word anchors us when our identity is tested.
3. Being People of the Word — From Reading to Remaining
“The Bible is no longer a book in the house, here it is the living voice of the village .”
God’s Word forms us individually, but it also fuels us as a people of God—guiding how we listen, speak, discern, and live as a community.
Personal Practice
- Choose one way to intentionally engage God’s Word this week, not as an obligation, but as a way of learning to hear the Father’s voice:
- Read It | Chapter a Day – Remain faith in daily scripture reading, asking: What does this show me about the character of God?
- Speak It | Promise a Day – Begin each morning by speaking one promise of God aloud.
- Memorize It | Truth Week – Internalize scripture as a guide. Memorize a short passage that reminds you who you are in Christ.
- Live It | Get a Jesus tribe - Carve out time to connect with a friend around scripture.
- Pray It | Holy Spirit, Remind Me – Ask the Spirit daily to bring God’s Word to mind when competing voices arise.
Reflect:
How does meeting God in His Word shape what you listen to, trust, and live from this week?
Group Connection
God never intended Scripture to remain a private possession—it becomes the “living voice of the village” when it is shared among His people. As a group, discuss:
- How does our individual time in the Word strengthen our ability to hear God together?
- What happens to a community when Scripture becomes a shared language rather than a silent book?
Group Practice:
- Invite each person to share which practice they are committing to this week
Corporate Action Step
- Encourage the group to bring the Word back together next time:
- Begin your next gathering by sharing a Scripture, phrase, or truth that shaped you during the week
- Listen for how God might be speaking a consistent or clarifying word to the group
Close by praying:
That God would form your group into people who not only read the Word, but live from it together—as sons and daughters anchored in the voice of the Father.
PRAYER
- Ask God to reveal the voices that distract from His truth in our daily lives.
- Pray for the understanding to be anchored in God's word, not just in times of trial but in everyday life.
- Pray that we would discover our Father’s heart as He reveals Himself through scripture in our lives.