Series Resources

sermon-based study guide

This guide is designed to guide a group discussion around the weekend sermon. You can also use this as an individual, but we highly recommend finding a friend and inviting them to discuss with you. Menlo Church has Life Groups meeting in-person and online using these guides. We’d love to help you find a group.

What you will find in this guide: A discussion guide for groups and individuals. If you are using this as an individual be sure to engage with each question in a journal or simply in your mind as you prayerfully consider what you heard in the sermon and seek to discover what God is inviting you to know and do.

Study Guide: Introduction

Connect

Did you grow up hearing bible stories as a child?
Have you ever seen a puppet ministry tell a bible story?

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Engage

Read Genesis 1

What do you notice about God in this passage?
What does God do at the end of each creation day?
What was made in the ‘image of God’?
What does God give humankind?

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Apply

How does Genesis 1 remind us of our true identity?
Which of the Four Views, that Phil highlighted, is most appealing to you? (Young Earth Creationism, Old Earth Creationism, Historic Creationism, or Theistic Evolution)
Phil said “when it comes to the origins of the world, Who matters more than how. Why matters more than when.” How does that statement help you understand the creation narrative in Genesis 1?

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Prayer

Spend time sharing in your prayer needs together. Close your group time by praying over your group.

A prayer practice for the week can be to use the lectio divina guide to prayerfully experience scripture during this week. You can find the guide at the recourses link below.

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Going Deeper

The Rest of the Story Resources:

Go to this website to see all the resources for this series including a guide for lectio divina. https://menlo.church/the-rest-of-the-story

Menlo Midweek Podcast:

Tune in every Wednesday for a conversation with the previous week’s speaker. It’s a deeper dive into the message and an engaging time to learn, reflect, grow—and have fun.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/menlo-church-sermon-podcast/id129950807