Week 1: Sometimes we find ourselves in a wilderness because of our own sin, mistakes, and choices, yet God still meets us there with grace.

Week 2: Not every desert is a punishment; sometimes God leads us into difficult seasons to refine our faith and prepare us for what is ahead.

Week 3: The wilderness teaches us to trust God's promises and hold onto hope even when the journey is longer than we expected.

Week 4: God called Israel into covenant and holiness, but they quickly turned to a golden calf, showing how easy it is to lose faith when God seems silent or distant.

Week 5: Standing on the edge of the Promised Land, Israel allowed fear and doubt to overpower faith, turning an eleven-day journey into forty years of wandering.

Luke 4:1-13

4 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
    and him only shall you serve.’”

9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    to guard you,’

11 and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

    1. Do you have any questions or thoughts from this?

    2. What are some "wilderness seasons" people commonly experience today?

    3. Jesus said that man does not live by bread alone. What does it practically look like to be nourished by God's Word?

    4. What can we learn from the fact that Satan knew Scripture but misused it?

    5. The Father did not abandon His Son in the wilderness. How does that truth help you trust that God will not abandon you in yours?

    6. What in this series has encouraged you most and what can you tangibly apply going forward?

    1. How was your emotional and physical health this week?

    2. What is a serious stressor in your life?

    3. How has your personal time with God been this week?

    4. Would you like to share your personal temptations and how can we help you overcome them?

    5. Is there anything that we need to discuss that we have not already?

    6. How can we pray for each other this week?

    Pray for one another, invite each person to pray even if it is just a few sentences.