Small Group Questions

June 7 - 13

Sermon Series: Birth of a Naton

Week 1: Jacob Wrestles with God

Ice Breaker, If Needed

What is your secret talent?

Discussion Questions for Small Groups or Individual Study

1. What is your deepest, ongoing question? Read Genesis 32:22-31 and consider what you know about Jacob’s life to that point. What had he endured? How were his problems both inside and outside his control? Why is it important to identify your deepest questions? Examine patterns of repeated disappointments, frustrations, dysfunction, and sin in your life. What do they reveal about your deepest question? 

2. Re-read Genesis 32:22-31. What do you notice about Jacob? In verse 24, it states he was alone, without family and possessions. Why was his state of being alone a key part of his wrestling match with God? Where did Jacob’s energy and persistence come from? What was he ultimately seeking? What does this passage reveal about God’s character? 

3. As you think about your deepest question or recurring struggle, ask yourself if your struggle is ultimately with God and His truth. If the answer is yes, how does the story of Jacob’s wrestling match show us how to proceed? 

4. What is the relationship between your persistence in not letting go and faith? Read Romans 9:30-32. What does faith want? Believe? Desire? Why is the word “pursue” interesting? Jacob’s underlying motivation was always a pursuit of the blessing of God. Share examples from Scripture of others who relentlessly grip God with great resolve. 

5. Why didn’t God simply end the fight? What did Jacob discover about tenacity in the struggle? Read verse 28. What does this name change signal? When does the struggle end? What must you surrender? In that surrender, what will you receive? What did Jacob receive? 

6. Do you have a “limp” like Jacob/Israel? How did you get it? What does it remind you of? How does understanding your limitations and the boundary of your efforts lead to freedom? 

7. Read and meditate on 2 Corinthians 16-19. What parallels can you identify between this passage and the story of Jacob wrestling God?