The Story We Didn’t Know We Were Living
*Groups may take a couple weeks to work through this discussion guide. No need to go through this in one evening.
READ INTRO: (2 minutes)
LEADER READ: “The experience of wrestling with our faith is profoundly personal. Often, we carry our pain and uncertainty with fears that create isolation. The end result is a sense that something personal is happening to us that is unique and disconnected from others. But no matter what it feels like, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The tension we feel bears witness to a greater crisis, and our story cannot be understood without seeing the cataclysmic rejection of faith that is occurring around us” (You Are Not Alone, p15)
KEY CONCEPT: One of the most significant tensions we experience in the impact Secularism has on our lives is the way it convinces us that what we are struggling with is personal, difficult to understand, and separate from the world around us. When we understand the true story of how our culture has impacted us we will discover how untrue this is, yet it is important to recognize that we are not alone in this struggle.
INTRO DISCUSSION (5 minutes: 1-2 people respond OR leader gives example from own life)
Have you ever experienced a challenging moment in your faith that you felt uncertain other people could honor or understand?
When we look at the bigger story, we see that the challenges are widespread. Here are some statistics that reveal the crisis of faith we are experiencing:
In 1972, 90% of Americans identied as Christians. In 2020, 64% of Americans identied as Christians. Research suggests that in 2070, only 35% of Americans will identify as Christians.
Church attendance statistically has plummeted from 70% average between 1940 and 1990 to its current rate of 30% in 2023.
In 2023 a study revealed only 4% of American adults held to a biblical worldview, with 14% having a somewhat biblical worldview.
When you look at these statistics what do you see? How do these help inform what is happening collectively in the challenges around our faith? (Leader let's 1 person respond or gives own answer)
SCRIPTURE : Matthew 6:13-23 (Read: 2 minutes)
Read Matthew 16:13-18 together and talk through questions like this (Spend 5 minutes & move on):
What stands out to you about the disciple’s initial answers to the question?
What stands out to you about Peter’s response to Jesus?
What stands out to you about Jesus’s response to Peter?
SUMMARY (Read: 5 minutes)
LEADER READ: "When you stop and think about Peter’s answer, you see the magnitude of what he was declaring, but you also see the weight of Jesus’s response in light of all that Peter still didn’t know. At this moment, Peter may have believed Jesus was the Messiah, but he had no idea what that meant or how the Messiah would rescue the world. Peter may have declared that Jesus was the Son of the living God, but he couldn’t fathom that he was speaking to the eternal Son of the triune Godhead, the one who spoke the world into existence.
Peter still deeply hated the Romans and envisioned an earthly kingdom that would dethrone the empire from their rule over Israel. He certainly didn’t understand that the other side of the lake wasn’t just the home of his enemies but was filled with the kind of people he would call brothers and sisters one day.
There was so much that Peter didn’t know, and Jesus knew that. With how much Peter was missing, it begs the question, what was the true nature of Peter’s confession?
Far more than a statement of perfect doctrine, Peter was declaring his allegiance. The Messiah and the Son of God were prophetic characters the people of Israel longed for in the days that God would finally come and rescue them, and Peter declared that Jesus was the one he had been waiting for.
In between the words, Peter was actually saying, “Jesus, I don’t fully know who you are either, but what I do know is that you are the one we have been looking for. You’re not another voice along the journey; you’re the voice we’ve been searching our entire lives to find” (You Are Not Alone, p19).
We often think faith in Jesus is about doctrine, but at the heart of true confession is allegiance. While we can’t twist that idea to claim “it doesn’t matter what we believe,” it does shift our central understanding of what it means to give our lives to Jesus. Faith isn’t a declaration that we know everything, but rather that we trust Jesus is enough even in the midst of everything we don’t know.
Read Matthew 16:19-23 (Discuss: 5 minutes... Only let 1 person respond or leader gives answer)
What do you notice in Peter’s rebuke of Jesus?
What do you notice in Jesus’s response to Peter?
LEADER READ: “Peter had just confessed his complete allegiance to Jesus, only to nd out that the kingdom Jesus was building was different from the one he wanted. Peter didn’t say yes to Jesus to follow a dead messiah; he followed Jesus to see a living king who would overthrow Rome and restore Israel.
He also knew the unspoken truth in the words of Jesus that we often miss: A dead messiah usually meant dead disciples. In this confrontation, Peter saw his own death in Jesus’s revelation, and he wanted no part of this.
As much as I can, I understand Peter. This news would have been overwhelming and life-altering to any of us. I don’t look at Peter with judgment; I look at Peter and see myself. In the tension, though, we can’t miss what is happening at the core of this story: Peter has realized that the kingdom Jesus is building is dierent from the kingdom Peter wants. In his conict, Peter feels he has no option but to rebuke Jesus. He won’t allow Jesus to rob him of the kingdom he truly wanted” (23).
Very quickly Peter goes from a confessing allegiance in Jesus to rebuking Jesus. What changed was the realization that the kingdom Jesus was establishing was dierent than the kingdom Peter wanted. This is often the challenge we face as well. As we grow as Christians we come to places where we realize that Jesus is dierent than we want him to be. There are times we are facing challenges because we don’t know what the right thing is, but often the substance of our challenges are that we want to rebuke Jesus to make his kingdom more like us.
DISCUSSION (10-15 minutes: Pick only 2-3 questions below)
If Jesus were with you right now and asked the question, “Who do you say that I am?” what would you say?
What does it mean to you to offer your allegiance to Jesus?
When you came to faith in Jesus was it different than this? What was your experience like?
Right now, are there places that you are withholding allegiance to Jesus because you don’t have all of the answers? What would it look like to trust what you know about Jesus amid everything you don’t? How do you see Peter’s rebuke?
Are there places you recognize tension in the teachings of Jesus and what you believe?
Are there any places you are secretly rebuking Jesus and saying, “Never Lord”?
**Should only take 30 minutes up to this point! If taking way longer, you are spending too much time:). Leave ample time for Prayer + Response.
PRAYER RESPONSE (20 minutes: Choose 1-2 areas to focus on)
As a whole group, or in smaller groups, take time to share anywhere you are wrestling with your faith and pray for one another.
Here are a few specifics to consider (Focus on just 1-2 areas):
If you have never given Jesus a confession of allegiance, consider doing it right now.
Ask the Holy Spirit to minister to any doubt, confusion, or uncertainty you are experiencing.
Ask one another if shame has connected itself to your story. If so, confess it, and receive the love of the Father that saw Peter where he was at and sees you where you are at.
Confess any place you feel tension with Jesus or his teachings. Be honest with one another even in unresolved tensions.
If there is anywhere you have rebuked Jesus, repent. Ask for forgiveness and talk together about what it looks like to come back into allegiance with Jesus.