Lent The Wilderness

Small Group Discussion Guide (Week 1 – Fasting & the Wilderness)

Icebreaker: If life were a sport, what “off-season training” do you avoid but know you probably need? Why?

(Example: stretching, budgeting, hard conversations, sleep, etc.)

Read the Text Together

Read Matthew 4:1–4 slowly.

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness…”

Question:
What stands out to you about Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness? How does that challenge the idea that hardship means God is distant?

Follow-up if needed:
Have you ever experienced a season that felt like wilderness but later realized it was formative?

The Real Issue: Trust

In the sermon we said the issue wasn’t bread — it was independence.

Question:
When life feels fast or pressured, what do you instinctively reach for instead of waiting on God?

• Control?

• Comfort?

• Distraction?

• Achievement?

• Something else?

Where might fasting confront that instinct in you?

Encourage specificity here. The power is in naming it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 — The Way Out

Read First Epistle to the Corinthians 10:13 together.

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind… God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear… he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

Questions:
What does this passage tell us about God’s character in moments of testing?

How might fasting help us recognize “the way out” instead of reacting automatically?

(You’re helping them see that fasting slows reaction time and strengthens awareness.)

Invitation: We said: You won’t rise to the level of your intentions — you’ll fall to the level of your training.

Question:
What would it look like for you to begin training your trust this week through fasting?

Be specific:

• One meal?

• One day off social media?

• One practice of silence?

• Something else?

Close by inviting each person (if comfortable) to name one concrete step they will take before next week.

Closing Encouragement

Remind the group: Fasting isn’t about proving strength. It’s about practicing dependence.

We aren’t trying to survive the wilderness. We’re allowing God to form us in it.

And when life speeds up —we want to be people who can stay slow because we’ve learned to say:

“God will, so I don’t have to.”

End with Prayer: how can we celebrate and encourage one another this week?