MESSAGE: I Need People                         Date: 3/16/2025

SERIES: Fundamentals 

COMMUNICATOR: Pastor Kevin Geer

CHECKING IN: How was your week? What was a highlight?

Share Wins: How did you see God love this week? Has God answered a prayer, reminded you of His presence, or used you to bless someone? In what ways have you seen Jesus advancing His mission? 

THINK, DISCUSS, LIVE: These questions are ideal for personal devotion or group discussions, guiding you to grow spiritually, engage deeply in biblical community, and live out your faith in the world around you.

1. What’s one thing you’d like new people to know about you, and why is it important to you?
2. Read Genesis 2:18. What do you think might have caused Adam to feel lonely, even though he had all the animals and God Himself as companions?
3. Despite being more connected than ever through technology, why do you think many people still experience loneliness today? What do you think are some of the key factors that contribute to people’s feelings of loneliness?
4. As you reflect on Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, where have you personally experienced the truth of these verses? How do you think this passage connects with the idea of bearing one another’s burdens as described in Galatians 6:2? Who do you typically turn to when you need to share your burdens? 
5. When you think of being an “amazing friend,” what qualities or actions come to mind? What does an amazing friend look like to you? What are some things you think you could do differently to become an “amazing friend”? How might those changes impact your relationships?
6. How do you think the focus on trying to be more interesting rather than being more interested in others plays out in conversations and relationships? Can you think of ways you might shift your approach to be more genuinely interested in others?
7. As you reflect on Ephesians 4:31-32, which of the behaviors in verse 31 do you find yourself struggling with, and what qualities from verse 32 do you hope to cultivate more in your life? Can you think of someone who embodies the characteristics described in verse 32?
8. Read Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 26:56; Matthew 27:46. How has reflecting on Jesus’ experience of rejection and abandonment helped you understand that He truly knows what it’s like to live through the challenges you face? How does this impact the way you relate to Him in your own life? 

1. TAKING NEW GROUND! This week, take the risk to connect with someone new—whether it’s at church, with a coworker, neighbor, or classmate. Start a conversation, introduce yourself, and ask thoughtful questions to get to know them better. Consider inviting them for coffee, a meal, or another fun activity to continue building the connection. To help you along the way, we’ve created a tool called “Create Strong Friendships.” Visit Canvas.church—Engage—Experience God—Outward—“Create Strong Friendships” for guidance on asking meaningful questions and fostering deeper relationships.

1. How is your faith journey progressing within the Transformational Model? Where do you currently see yourself in the Canvas Circle, Jesus Friends Circle, and Lost Friends Circle? In what ways are you growing to be more like Jesus and moving closer to the center of the diagram?

2025 TRANSFORMATIONAL CHALLENGE: We’ve created a Bible reading plan to help us go through the entire New Testament in a year. Read or listen to just one chapter a day, five days a week. Simply go to the Canvas Church app. and click on ‘Bible Reading Plan.’ If you prefer to listen, that option is available too! Join us on this life-changing journey! 

INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP PRAYER OPTIONS: “Jesus hasn’t revealed a God we can perfectly understand, but he has revealed a God we can perfectly trust. Trust is the certainty that the listening God hears and cares.” Tyler Staton

1. Praise Sentences: Take a moment to offer short sentence prayers of thanks to God for who He is and what He has done this week. Allow multiple people to pray, even more than once. Then, lift up the needs shared within your group. Finish by thanking Him for hearing your prayers.  
2. Invite Jesus into the challenges you or a loved one are facing right now, trusting in His presence and guidance. As you pray aloud, encourage one another with your words.
3. Pray for the person on your right, it can be out loud or in silence, if in silence nudge the person next to you letting them know you are done. 
4. Prayer Clusters: Groups of two or three (by gender) and share your week together. Pray together and for each other. Send them a text, or leave a message letting them know you have prayed for them this week. 

Practice on your own: What if you made it a daily habit to ask God what He wants you to know? It could be in every situation or just the ones that arise. Next, ask Him what He would like you to do?  It could be a specific answer or a way to apply what He reveals about what He wants you to know. Try it and see what happens! 

Ask someone in your group to keep an ongoing list of prayer requests and the answers to those prayers. This will help everyone in the group stay up-to-date on each situation, celebrate when prayers are answered, and encourage us to keep praying when the answers haven’t come yet.