MESSAGE: The Approach Date: 8/17/2025
SERIES: The Parables of Jesus
COMMUNICATOR: Pastor Kevin Geer
CHECK-IN & SHARE WINS: What was one highlight from your week? Where have you seen Jesus at work—in your life or in the world around you? Celebrating wins helps fuel God’s mission and inspire others to join in.
THINK, DISCUSS, LIVE: These questions are great for personal reflection, group discussion, or both. They’re meant to help you grow in your faith, deepen your connection with your Jesus friends, and live it out in the world around you.
- When was the last time you caught yourself silently thinking you were ‘better’ than someone else? What sparked that thought, and how did you feel when you realized it?
- Read Luke 18:9-14. What stood out to you about the two prayers? Which person do you relate to more? Be honest. Which one feels closer to your own heart and prayer life?
- When you hear Jesus’ warning in Luke 18:9, what examples come to mind of how we can drift into self-righteousness without realizing it?
- If Jesus listened in on your prayers this week, would they sound more like the Pharisee’s (me focused) or the tax collectors (God focused)? Why do you think that, and can you share an example?
- When you think about your good deeds, the things you do for others, do they lead you to gratitude for God’s grace—or pride in your own effort?
- Why do you think humility is so hard to maintain once we start doing “good” things for God? How can our personal success cause us to drift towards pride or self reliance?
- Read Galatians 2:20. How do you interpret Paul’s words about the life of a Jesus follower? Now read Galatians 5:24. What specific attitudes, desires, or habits in your life need to be nailed to the cross and put to death? Be as specific as you can.
- If you truly believed God wanted you, not just your time, money, or service, how would it change the way you live?
- How can genuine sorrow for sin and turning back to God, (repentance) bring joy, peace, and deeper intimacy with Him? Can you share a personal example? How might self-reliance or denying our sin keep us from experiencing the fruit of the Spirit?
- When God or a trusted Jesus-friend points out sin in your life, do you tend to justify or hide it like the Pharisee, or bring it to God like the tax collector? What influences your choice?
TAKING NEW GROUND! This week, take new ground with a simple prayer-life check-up. How do you usually approach God—flippantly, with demands, humbly, reverently, sporadically, or in another way? Who do you know with a powerful prayer life, and what makes it so? Ask them what practices have shaped it, and invite them to walk alongside you in strengthening your own prayer life.
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL MODEL: Update where you are in the Canvas Circle, Jesus Friends Circle, and Lost Friends Circle. In what specific ways are you becoming more like Jesus, showing His love, and moving closer to the center of the diagram?
STRUGGLING TO READ YOUR BIBLE? We’ve put together a Bible reading plan to help you read through the entire New Testament in one year. Just one chapter a day, five days a week—plus a short bonus passage to reflect on. You can find it on the Canvas Church app—just tap “Bible Reading Plan.” Prefer to listen? That’s an option too! Join us on this life-changing journey with Jesus.
WORDS THAT IGNITE: Slow down and sit with the word Joy. Joy is deep, lasting delight and contentment rooted in knowing and trusting God, unaffected by circumstances. It comes from the verb (chairō), meaning to rejoice, to be glad. Joy is a command to be obeyed and something we are to do daily. Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice (chairō) in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Does your heart and face show the joy of the Lord today?
INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP PRAYER OPTIONS:
- Time to Pray: What’s one thing to celebrate and thank God for—and one thing to bring to Him in prayer?
- Praise Sentences: Take a moment to thank God in short sentence prayers—for who He is, what He’s done this week, and for people in your group. Let several people pray, even more than once. Then, pray for any needs shared, and close by thanking God for hearing you.
- Prayer Clusters: Meet in groups of two or three (same gender) to share praises and prayer requests. Pray together and for one another during the week. Let those in your group know you prayed—send a quick text of encouragement.
TRY IT… I DARE YOU! In any moment—big or small—pause and ask: “God, what do You want me to know?” Then: “What do You want me to do?” Try it this week and watch how God shows up. Bless someone by sharing what He’s doing in and through you!
