Small Group Time:

Talking through the message during the week helps you and your group turn what God is saying to you into action steps. Begin with key questions, add any optional Scriptures and questions if needed, and then wrap up by deciding on your next steps.

Main Idea:

What makes you happy? Something came to mind, right? Something comes to mind for all of us. We all daydream about a trouble-free life made possible by something: a job, house, car, spouse, child, family, or pile of money. But what if what makes you happy isn’t a what at all. What if it’s a who?

Key Questions:

1. What was one of the happiest moments of your life?
2. “God doesn’t want you to be happy. He wants you to be holy.” Have you ever heard some version of this quote? Do you ever find yourself believing that? If so, how do you think that influences the way you look at God & your relationship with Him?
3. Read Matthew 5:1–10. Do you have trouble believing that happiness follows from the list of behaviors Jesus describes? Why or why not?
4. What are some reasons it’s difficult for us to live as though we’re dependent on God for provision, pardon, and protection? What do we lose when we live like that? What do we gain?
5. One of the points Ben talked about was that “Happy people are reconcilers.” They don’t hold grudges. They don’t seek revenge. They don’t withhold forgiveness. Is there someone in your life that you need to reconcile with because you recognize it’s been eating away at your happiness?
6. Read Matthew 7:24–26. To what extent have you built your life on dependence upon God? How do you think that has affected your happiness?
7. If happiness is powered by the law of the harvest, what do you need to “sow” in your life right now so that you can “reap” happiness in the future? How can this group support you?

Next Steps:

• What’s one thing you will do this week as a result of something you learned from this message?