Stand Alone
Sermon Discussion Guide - 20th Anniversary
September 20, 2026 ·
Big Idea
Where God has planted us, we are called to bless and multiply.
Recap
We celebrated 20 years by looking forward, not back. The message walked through Jeremiah 29, a letter written to God's people while they were living in Babylon, a place they did not choose and did not like. God told them something surprising: settle in, build houses, plant gardens, raise families, and seek the good of the city where I sent you. Church at the Grove is not in exile, but we are in a place God chose for us, in a county that will keep growing for years. So the call landed here: we don't retreat from our community, we reach our community.
Looking Back
Care
What is one good thing that happened to you this week, and one hard thing? Tell us both.
Leader cue: pray for one another before you move on. If it fits your group, read Psalm 145:4 out loud together first: "One generation will declare your works to the next."
Accountability
Three weeks ago we talked about the scars we didn't choose, and about who we walk through pain with. Did you take a step toward somebody, or did you stay in your corner?
Tell us a story. When did you ask someone for help, or show up for someone else, since we last met?
Looking Up
Invite the Holy Spirit (before anyone opens a Bible)
We are not here for information tonight. We are here because God speaks, and we are expecting Him to speak to us. Leader, pray this out loud first, then ask two or three others to pray in their own words.
Setting the Scene (read this to the group before you read the passage)
Around 597 BC, the armies of Babylon carried thousands of people out of Jerusalem and resettled them hundreds of miles from home. They lost their city, their temple, and their normal life. Some prophets were telling them it would all be over in two years, so hang on and don't unpack. Then a letter arrived from Jeremiah, back in Jerusalem, with a very different word: this is going to last seventy years. Most of the people reading that letter would die in Babylon. Now listen to what God tells them to do there.
Read Jeremiah 29:4-14 aloud together, twice, slowly. The first time, just listen. The second time, notice the one word, phrase, or verse that stands out to you.
Highlight
Which word or verse stood out to you? Say it out loud, then tell us why you think it caught your attention.
Explain
In verse 4, who does God say sent them to Babylon? Why does that one phrase change everything else in the letter?
In verse 5, what are the two things God tells them to do? What do both of those things have in common?
In verse 6, God says "multiply there; do not decrease." What is He asking them to believe about the future?
In verse 7, what is God's instruction about the city that took them captive? How do you think that landed on them?
In verses 11-13, what does God promise, and what does He never promise?
Leader cue: before you move on, ask one person to retell the passage in their own words. If they can, you're ready.
Apply
Where has God planted you right now that you would rather not be? Name the actual place: a job, a neighborhood, a season, a house.
God told them to plant gardens they would eat from for decades. What is one thing you have refused to plant because you were waiting to see if you'd stay?
Walton County is adding around 2,000 people a year. Who is new around you, and what is their name?
Be honest. Is it easier for you to assimilate, or to isolate? Which one is your default?
Who benefits from you living here? Who would notice if your family moved away tomorrow?
Respond
What does God want you to believe about Him tonight?
Leader cue: give people a moment to process before anyone answers. Let the quiet sit.
Looking Ahead
Training
Walk through the how. As a group, talk about what it would actually look like to bless one street, one classroom, or one break room this month. Not a program. One concrete first move. Talk it out together; nobody has to perform anything.
Setting Goals
Write down one step you'll take before we meet again. It should come straight out of what you said to God tonight. Nobody has to read theirs out loud, and if you're not ready to name one, that's okay. Example: "I will learn the names of the family that just moved in two doors down, and I will take them something this week." A smaller version: "I will pray for that family by house number every morning this week." Put it somewhere you'll see it. We'll come back to it next week with no shame attached.
Pray together
Confess where you've been retreating instead of reaching.
Ask the Spirit for help with the one step you wrote down.
Pray for someone else in the room by name, and for the people who will move into this county in the next ten years.
Leaders: keep praying for your group by name this week, and follow up privately with anyone who got quiet tonight.