There is a deep well of spiritual connection that is available to us, but we often overlook the chance to spend personal time with God.  How could dedicated time that we share only between us and God shape the rest of our daily lives?  What could our lives be like if we had a more intimate and vital personal relationship with God?  This week we’ll explore several important ways that we can experience God beyond Sunday mornings, learning how to feel and rely more on the presence of God in our lives. 




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Discussion Guide 







To view the Leader Guide for this week, click here.



To view a .docx version of this guide, click here.







Begin your time together with prayer 







Introduction 



Take some intentional time to discuss what you determined you will be more involved in when it comes to serving, being in community with others, and/or generosity, like we talked about last week. How is that going?



This week we will be discussing being intentional to spend time with God. 







Connect  




* What was one small moment from this week that was meaningful or made you feel grateful?  



* When you really need to focus on something (work, school, hobby, etc.), what do you do? What helps you block out distractions? 








Opening  



Life moves quickly and it can be hard to stay focused on what really matters. Between distractions, worries, and our own plans, our connection with Jesus can easily get pushed to the side so we it is important to stop and take a moment of quiet to spend time talking to God. He wants us to commit our lives to Him and remain connected and when we do this, we find it easier to notice how he brings growth we could never make happen on our own. Just like our other relationships, this time spent helps us get closer to Jesus.  







This leads us to our main idea for this week: 



We can develop a rich personal relationship with Jesus. 







Unpack 



Read each set of verses out loud as a group, making observations as you go. Afterward discuss each of the connected questions before moving to the next set of verses: 



Read  



Lamentations 3:25-26 



Psalm 37:4-5 




* What stood out to you about these verses?  



* Lamentations says the Lord is good to those who depend on Him. What helps you depend on God in your daily life? 



* Why do you think depending on God with everything makes a person’s life different? 

* How do we do this if we can’t see what He’s doing? 






Read  



Colossians 4:2 



Matthew 6:5-8