Wk 1 // September 6 & 7

Wk 1  //  GOD’S MASTERPIECE
September 6 & 7, 2025
Small Group Study


SERMON RECAP

Spend a few minutes recapping this week's sermon together.

TAP HERE TO VIEW THE SERMON NOTES.
 

• What was one takeaway from this week's sermon for you?
• Were there any stories, ideas, or points that stuck out?
• Was there anything that challenged you?

INTRODUCTION

• When you were a kid, what nickname did people give you—good or bad? Did it stick?
• What’s one way you tend to “label” yourself today (funny, clumsy, organized, mom, athlete, etc.)?
• Share about a time when you realized you were harder on yourself than anyone else was.
  
  

Our identities shape the way we think, act, and interact with the world. Many of us walk into church or through life carrying labels like “failure,” “divorced,” “addict,” or “not enough.” But God gives us a new identity through Jesus Christ. It is an identity that is not based on shame or our past, but on His love and grace. Let’s look together at what God says about who we really are.


UNDERSTANDING

HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ ROMANS 5:8 & 1 TIMOTHY 1:15–17.

• How does it impact you that God loved you while you were still a sinner?
• Why do you think Paul calls himself the “worst of sinners,” and how does his story encourage us?
• What would change in your life if you acted, every moment of every day, truly as if “God loves me”?
  
  

God’s first message to us is that we are deeply loved. But His love isn’t passive. He loves us too much to let us stay the same.


HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ JEREMIAH 29:11 & 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9.

• What do these verses teach us about God’s plans for our future?
• How does knowing God has chosen you (John 15:16) change your perspective on your worth?
• In what ways have you experienced God nudging you to grow or change?
  
  

God doesn’t just forgive us; He transforms us. That transformation gives us a brand-new identity in Christ.


HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-21

• What does it mean to you to be a “new creation” in Christ?
• How would you explain the difference between your “old identity” and your “new identity” to someone else?
• What keeps us from fully embracing our new identity?
  
  

God redefines us not as failures, sinners, or mistakes, but as His masterpieces. Our new identity allows us to live in freedom and purpose.


HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ PHILIPPIANS 4:8 & PROVERBS 18:21.

• How do your thoughts about yourself affect your actions?
• Why is it important to “speak life” both to yourself and to others?
• Parents, how have you seen your words shape your kids’ identity (for better or worse)?
  
  

When we align our words and thoughts with God’s truth, we step fully into the identity He has already given us.


APPLICATION

• Which of the old labels or lies about yourself do you still struggle to believe?
• What new identity statement from Scripture do you need to hold onto this week (e.g., “I am God’s masterpiece,” “I am the righteousness of Christ,” “I am chosen”)?
• What’s one practical way you can speak life into someone else’s identity this week?
  
  

PRAYER

Thank God for His incredible love that doesn’t leave us where we were. Pray for courage to throw off old labels and embrace the identity of being God’s masterpiece. Ask God to help each member of the group live out this new identity in their relationships, their thoughts, and their words.