LEADER’S GUIDE

– The God Is… Series –
BIG & CLOSE  .  HOLY KING  .  LOVING & JUST  .  ALL…

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Student Notes

The BIG IDEA

God is all-powerful, ever-present, and everywhere.   

The PROBLEM
God designed us to depend on him. If we don’t believe that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present, it will be difficult to trust him with our lives. Our lack of trust will cause us to have low expectations of God and undermine any security that we feel because of him. We will become self-sufficient and inward focused, missing opportunities to step out in faith.  

Our RESPONSE
As we better understand that God is all-powerful, ever-present, and everywhere, we will begin to trust him more. We will be able to step into difficult situations and take bold steps of faith because we know we are serving an all-powerful God who can do anything.  

I WANT MY STUDENTS TO:

• KNOW: God is a big God who knows everything, is everywhere, and is all-powerful.  
• EXPERIENCE: A sense of comfort that this God knows everything about them and still loves them completely.
• DO: We can begin to be more bold with loving others and sharing our faith, as we believe that the all-powerful God is going before us.
  

The idea box is a place where you can find some creative ideas for leading this study. You might find videos, activities, or great illustrations that really bring the main point home. The ideas come from small group leaders like you, so if you have an idea that isn’t in there, click below to share it with the community!

GET AN IDEA  I  SHARE AN IDEA

*WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Who would you say knows you the best?
What are some things they don’t know about you?

As humans, we are limited in how much we can really know someone. Today we are going to talk about how God is different because he is…   

• All-knowing
• All-present (everywhere)
• All-powerful

WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT THIS?

1. Read Psalm 139:1–6. According to these verses, what does God know about you?
Allow the group to discuss. God knows everything about you. He knows when you sit down or stand up. He knows your thoughts. He knows where you are. He knows everything you do and what you’re going to say.

2. Is it a good thing or a bad thing to you that God knows everything? Why?
Allow the group to discuss. You will probably get answers that go both ways. If they comment that it is bad because they are doing bad things, discuss how it is really good because God can turn that around and forgive.

3. Read Psalm 139:7–12. According to these verses, where is God?
Allow the group to discuss. Everywhere, Heaven, the grave, the morning, the farthest oceans, in the darkness, in the light. 

4. Read Psalm 139:13-18 and Jeremiah 32:17. What do these verses say about God’s power?
Allow the group to discuss. He created humans and we are very complex. He created the heavens and nothing is too hard for him. 

5. What do verses 17–18 say about how God feels about you?
He thinks about me so much, I can’t even count it. He is waiting for me when I wake up. He is with me all the time.

HOW DO WE APPLY THIS TO OUR LIVES?

6. What would your life be like if God wasn’t all-powerful, all-knowing, or everywhere?
Allow the group to discuss. Life would be more full of fear because we wouldn’t have a loving God who knows everything, is all-powerful, and always with us. Have your students spend some time thinking and talking about this one. 

7. How can knowing these three things about God help you to be more bold in talking about God with others and loving others?
Allow the group to discuss. If I genuinely believe that God is all-powerful, I can step out in faith more boldly because I can know that He will go with me. He can change hearts that I have no hope of changing. If he knows everything, I can trust that he isn’t surprised by things that happen. If I know that he is everywhere, I can be comforted because I am never alone. 

8. Sometimes we feel the need to be all-powerful (never run out of energy), all-knowing (always be “in-the-know”), and everywhere (never miss out on anything). 

• How can this create problems for us and others?
• What difference does it make when we let God be God in these ways?

Allow the group to discuss.

9. Write the answers to these questions on scraps of paper, fold them up, put them into the middle of the table.

What are some problems people have? 

What are some problems in your life that you are personally worried about?

Take turns pulling them out one by one and answer as a group, “How does what we learned today address that problem?”

Allow the group to discuss. Leader, this is a way for our students to apply what we learned in this study to real life problems—some of them are their friends’ problems. If they struggle with it, help them make the connections of how these 3 traits of God can meet these specific needs. Try to use their own stories to show them that God can meet them where they are. If appropriate, spend some time praying for those problems. 

Our review cards are an excellent way to review your past lessons with your students before each study. Not every lesson has one yet but if we have them, you can find them on the PRINT page. Check them out and use them each week to help your students grab hold of the truths in these studies.

What ideas do you have that could improve this study? Are there creative things you do to bring this topic home to your students? Please share with the community clicking the FEEDBACK button or leaving a comment below.