We are a group of imperfect people pursuing a perfect God. We exist to help each other find and follow Christ. These are some things we want to be true of our group:

We create a safe and honest environment, staying transparent and authentic.
We keep it inside the circle. Confidentiality is necessary for a healthy group.
We look together to the Bible for help and guidance, and keep out our own politics, sales, or agendas.
We do not try to fix each other, preach sermons, or give unsolicited advice. We instead encourage, listen to, and celebrate each other.
We handle conflict between us quickly and honestly by going to the person, owning our part, and practicing forgiveness.
We respect each others’ time by starting and ending when we say we will.
We trust that it is God’s role to change people, not ours.
We believe that in Jesus Christ, there is hope for everyone.

Jodi brought us to the first valley in the series, where one of the greatest underdog stories ever took place. A preteen squared off against a 9-foot champion, convinced that His God was bigger than any champion that threatened God’s people. Because of that faith, David moved toward his giant and saw God show up in an incredible way.

BREAKING THE ICE

Have you ever been the underdog in a big way?

CONNECT

Who you relate with
What is your favorite part in the story of David & Goliath, which characters (David, Goliath, people of Israel, etc) do you most relate with?
Your past giants
Share a “giant” that you’ve faced or are facing? Could be a giant circumstance, giant decision, giant addiction, giant resentment, etc...

APPLY

Multiple questions in a question

Sometimes, there are multiple questions marks in a single “question”! That’s because there are actually a TON of different questions that could guide our conversations! Don’t let multiple questions overwhelm you or your group - it can be too much to process through multiple deep questions and come up with a response.

SO, you can pick one of these questions, or just ask them in order. They’re there because they’re all good questions… but you don’t have to read them all at once! Use the progression to create a natural flow of conversation.

What your giant is saying to you
Everyday Goliath taunted the people of God saying “Your god is not big enough for me!”. Even though they had seen God come through for them in the past, this new giant had them terrified and doubting whether their God was actually big enough to take this giant on. How have you experienced this in your life? What things do you “hear” the giant(s) in your life saying to you?

Your view of God
David had unshakable confidence in WHO God was. And instead of seeing the size of the giant in front of him, was focused on the size of his God that was with him. Why is this so important? How have past encounters with giants shaped your view of who God is? What about your view of God helps you face giants or leaves you uncertain that God is dependable?

I will move toward my giant...
Jodi encouraged us with the statement “I will move toward my giant(s)… with God… relying on His strength, not my own.” To move toward your giant(s) requires courage, to do it with God requires trust and to rely on his strength not your own requires dependence on God. Which of those three do you feel the most uncertain about and why? Is there one (courage, trust, dependance) that comes easier?

HOW you will move toward your giant
What is one practical thing you could do this week to move toward a giant in your life, with God relying on His strength not your own?
If you aren’t already doing it, start doing the daily SYNC challenge in the Mission Church app and watch how God shows up in the simplest of things!

SYNC Challenge

The SYNC Challenge is an AMAZING opportunity for your group to connect outside of group and create great habits together. A big part of the challenge is sharing ONE thing with someone else after you read for the day. Don’t miss the chance to be that one person for someone in your group, or to start some great message threads about what you’re reading with everyone in the group.

READ. PRAY. DO.

READ

During this series at Mission, we are all challenging each other to do the SYNC Bible Challenge! Head to missionventura.com/sync for more info!

PRAY

Pray this prayer on your own, or use it to kickstart your own personal prayer time.
God, you have been so faithful. I believe that you are good and that you are with me. You know the giants in my life. You know how they take up too much space, how they have a history of winning and how relentless they are.
Today, I am asking you to give me courage. Courage to move toward my giant. But, I will not move without you. Show me God, what steps I need to take and give me your strength. I am choosing today to silence my giant with your word. I am choosing to walk by faith and not by sight. I am choosing to replace the facts of my circumstance with your truth and promises. I am choosing to combat fear with the confidence that you are with me and I am choosing to rely on your strength in my battles and not my own.

DO

Make some time this week to identify a giant in your life and write it down. Invite God to show you some tangible ways to start moving towards it and share that with a friend. Have them hold you accountable to take that tangible step toward your giant.