
Week 4 – Fall 2026
LIFE GROUPS – WEEK 4
SERMON – Justice Coleman
ICE BREAKER:
Pastor Justice said the people he trusts most “walk with a limp.” Who’s someone in your life like that, humbler and more real because of what they’ve been through?
SCRIPTURE:
Genesis 32:22-30 NLT
22 During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. 23 After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. 24 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. 25 When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 “What is your name?” the man asked.
He replied, “Jacob.”
28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”
29 “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said.
“Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.
30 Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” 31 The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. 32 (Even today the people of Israel don’t eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the man strained the tendon of Jacob’s hip.)
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NLT
So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. 8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Observation
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Why did Paul say the thorn was given to him?
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How many times did Paul ask God to take it away? What did God say back?
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List every hard thing Paul names in verse 10. What is his attitude toward them now?
Understanding
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What’s the difference between God saying “no” and God not listening?
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Why does God’s power work best in weakness? What blocks it when we feel strong?
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Jacob kept his limp; Paul kept his thorn. Why might God leave a reminder instead of erasing the struggle?
Application
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Name the thorn. What are you wrestling with God about right now? Remember, struggling isn’t losing; it means you haven’t given up.
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Check the pride meter. Where is pride showing up in it: control, looking put-together, fixing it yourself?
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Surrender. What would “not my will, but Yours” look like this week? Name one specific step.
Next Steps & Prayer
- In twos or threes, name your thorn in one sentence. Pray that God’s grace is enough and His strength shows up in it.
- Each morning, pray “Not my will, but Yours” over your struggle.
- Tell one trusted person what you’re wrestling with.
- Memorize 2 Corinthians 12:9.
Life Journal Reading Plan
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Day 1: Mark 1
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Day 2: Mark 2
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Day 3: Mark 3
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Day 4: Mark 4
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Day 5: Mark 5
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Day 6: Mark 6
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Day 7: Mark 7
