The Gift of the Garden

Speaker: Justin Matthews

Worship: In preparation for Life Group or during your quiet time, listen to the worship song “New Wine by Hillsong” Open your heart and yield to God, bringing what’s in your life to Him, allowing the Holy Spirit to bring healing.

Check-In: Share what has changed or shifted in your life over the past few weeks as we’ve looked at the life of Joseph.

Bible Readings: Genesis 2:8-9; Matthew 26:36-46; 2 Corinthians 4:8; John 16:33; Psalm 139:7-12; Deuteronomy 30:19-20; Philippians 4:6

Preparation and Discussion for Group Time:
If we look at the life of Jesus, we can learn from Him how to live from His script for our lives. We can see from the two gardens that Jesus was providing a gift of life, a gift to choose to be found in Him. (Read Genesis 2 and Matthew 26)

1. Stop looking for the “perfect” garden.
   Justin reminded us that our lives don’t have to look like the perfect garden “Garden of Eden” and that in reality, we’re living in the “Garden of Gethsemane” BUT Jesus is STILL with us! In this garden there is crushing, pressing, and even breaking. The climate conditions are not ideal and there’s always hard work. What does your garden (situation or circumstance) look like at present? We see Jesus calling on God for help in Matt 26:38-39. What do you need to surrender to God? Where do you need God to work in your life?
2. What do you do in the garden?
   In the Garden of Eden, we see Adam and Eve ran away. However, in Matthew 26 (in the Garden of Gethsemane) Jesus shows us what we are to do in the garden, that is to pray! In Philippians 4:6-7 we are encouraged to pray about everything. Share what your prayer time currently looks like. Then share: (1) how you can grow in this area, (2) what does pray first look like for you, and (3) what it would mean for you to pray throughout the day.
3. You have a choice.
   Today, no matter what we are facing, we have a choice – a choice to fully surrender our lives or to follow at a distance (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). Share with the group what you want to surrender to Jesus to put God first and to live a life that is empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Check out and Prayer:
Pair up and pray for one another from tonight’s sharing.
Encourage those you prayed with throughout the week to keep praying and to keep putting God first.

Love God:
The memory verse for this week is Philippians 4:6 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.”

For personal study, here are suggested YouVersion devotionals:

• Jesus the Creator, Carpenter, Gardener, and King.
• Lessons from the Garden.
• Graves Into Gardens: Restoring Hope in Dead Places.

Love People:
There are several next steps you can take on your discipleship journey over the coming weeks:

• join us at the Prayer Service on Wednesday 2 November at 7 pm.
• take a step of obedience – Baptism.
• sponsor a teen to attend Elevate “Imagine” Camp 2023 or sign up to serve.
• sign up to be part of the Christmas Production.
• sign up online via Church Center or the website.