Small Group
study guide

God's in the business of changing lives. 

Overview
This week, three members of our church family shared personal testimonies of how God worked in their lives through struggle, pain, and surrender. Josh shared his journey through a dual life of faith and hidden sin, ministry burnout, and alcohol dependency. Jenna described years of people-pleasing, self-harm, and a misplaced identity that God redeemed through community and surrender. Nick opened up about depression, suicidal ideation, and the moment he finally chose honesty and began to find his identity in Christ. Together, their stories point to a God who pursues, sustains, and restores.


Key Takeaways

• God is at work even when we cannot see Him. All three speakers described moments where they only recognized God's presence in hindsight.
• Hidden sin and a double life create distance from God and from others. Honesty and community are essential to healing.
• Identity built on the approval of others will always be unstable. True and lasting identity is found only in Christ.
• Surrender is not weakness. It is the beginning of restoration.
• Community matters. Each speaker pointed to specific people or programs that God used as instruments of change.

Getting Started
When you think about the word "testimony," what comes to mind? Is it easy or uncomfortable to talk about your own story? Why?
Has someone else's story of faith ever had a significant impact on you? What made it meaningful?


Discussion Questions
On Honesty and Hidden Struggle

1. Josh described living a double life for years, appearing one way at home and church while living differently elsewhere. What do you think makes it so difficult to be honest about our struggles, especially in a church setting?
2. Nick said that for the first time in his life, he was honest when his therapist asked him a direct question. What do you think finally made honesty possible in that moment? What does it take for us to get to a place of real honesty?
3. Jenna described wearing different masks and changing who she was depending on who she was around. In what ways do you think people-pleasing and fear of rejection can function as a kind of spiritual problem, not just a personality tendency?

On Identity

1. Jenna said that her greatest struggle was not simply a lack of belief but a misplaced identity. She was looking to people for value instead of looking to Christ. How would you describe the difference between knowing about your identity in Christ and actually living from that identity?
2. Nick grew up being told things about himself that he internalized as truth. How do the words others speak over us shape the way we see ourselves? How does Scripture challenge or correct those voices?
3. Galatians 2:20 describes the believer's life as one where Christ now lives within us. What would it look like practically for that truth to shape how you see yourself on a daily basis?

On God's Presence in Dark Moments

1. Nick said, "I can see that God was there. Didn't see him in the moment, but he was there." Have you ever looked back on a painful season and recognized God's hand in ways you could not see at the time? What did that recognition do for your faith?
2. Josh read from Lamentations 3:19-23, where the writer moves from remembering affliction and bitterness to declaring hope in God's faithfulness. What does it look like to make that same mental and spiritual shift in the middle of a hard season rather than only in hindsight?
3. All three speakers described moments where God used very ordinary things, a friend, a family member, a program, a surgery, to intervene in their lives. How does that shape the way you think about your own role in the lives of people around you?

On Community and Surrender

1. Each speaker mentioned Regeneration as a turning point. Josh compared it to the sharpening relationships he had in college. What is it about honest, consistent community that makes spiritual growth possible in ways that private faith alone often cannot produce?
2. Josh said, "We're all addicts in some way." Do you agree with that framing? How does recognizing our own need for God's grace change the way we relate to others who are struggling?
3. Pastor Lucas closed by reading from Hebrews, noting that Jesus shared in our humanity specifically to set us free, not only for eternity but today. What does it mean to you that freedom is available now, not just eventually?

Practical Applications
Choose one or more of the following to discuss or commit to as a group.

This Week:

• Identify one area of your life where you have been less than fully honest, whether with God, yourself, or someone close to you. Take one concrete step toward honesty this week, whether through prayer, a conversation, or writing it out in a journal.
• Reflect on a season of your life where you can now see God's hand even though you could not see it at the time. Write it down or share it with someone as an act of declaring His faithfulness.
• Reach out to learn more about ReGen and consider joining the new group this Fall. 

Prayer 
Spend time as a group praying specifically for those in your lives who are in dark seasons right now, including those who may not yet know that God is present with them. Thank God for His faithfulness, ask him for courage to be honest, and declare that his purposes in each of your lives are not finished.