Small Group Guide
WELCOME AND OPENING
Before diving in, take a moment to go around the group and answer this icebreaker question:
Who was your favorite superhero growing up, and what drew you to that character?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
1. Rise Above the Limits Placed on You
God raises up people that the world overlooks or underestimates. Deborah led a nation in a world that tried to keep women down. The gospel has always worked to raise the ceiling on human potential, not lower it. If you have been walking around hunched over because of what others have said about your gender, your race, your age, or your past, today is the day to stand up tall as a child of the King.
2. Rise Beyond What You See in Front of You
Deborah faced an enemy with nine hundred iron chariots. Anyone could see the problem. The hero sees past the problem to what God can do. In order to let the hero inside you out, you have to see more than the way things are and begin to see the way things could be.
3. Rise Up and Help Others Rise Up Too
Deborah did not just rise up for herself. She inspired Barak to do what he already knew he was called to do. A true hero uses their courage to help others find theirs. The hero inside you is not just about you — it is about the people around you who need someone to walk alongside them.
Before diving in, take a moment to go around the group and answer this icebreaker question:
Who was your favorite superhero growing up, and what drew you to that character?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
1. Rise Above the Limits Placed on You
God raises up people that the world overlooks or underestimates. Deborah led a nation in a world that tried to keep women down. The gospel has always worked to raise the ceiling on human potential, not lower it. If you have been walking around hunched over because of what others have said about your gender, your race, your age, or your past, today is the day to stand up tall as a child of the King.
2. Rise Beyond What You See in Front of You
Deborah faced an enemy with nine hundred iron chariots. Anyone could see the problem. The hero sees past the problem to what God can do. In order to let the hero inside you out, you have to see more than the way things are and begin to see the way things could be.
3. Rise Up and Help Others Rise Up Too
Deborah did not just rise up for herself. She inspired Barak to do what he already knew he was called to do. A true hero uses their courage to help others find theirs. The hero inside you is not just about you — it is about the people around you who need someone to walk alongside them.
SCRIPTURE FOCUS
Read Judges 4:1–9 and Judges 5:7 together as a group.
In Judges 5:7, Deborah declares that the villages of Israel were abandoned and the roads were deserted until she arose. Notice that she does not say someone else arose. She took personal ownership of the moment she was called to step into.
Read Judges 4:1–9 and Judges 5:7 together as a group.
In Judges 5:7, Deborah declares that the villages of Israel were abandoned and the roads were deserted until she arose. Notice that she does not say someone else arose. She took personal ownership of the moment she was called to step into.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Opening the Conversation
1. The sermon opened with the idea that God has placed a heroic nerve on the inside of every person. Do you believe that is true about yourself? Why or why not?
2. One social psychology journal cited in the sermon found that people who frame their own life as a hero's journey report more meaning, less depression, and greater resilience. What does it look like practically to frame your life that way?
Going Deeper
3. Deborah led during a time when women were treated as second-class citizens. Yet God placed her in a position of authority and influence. What does this tell us about how God views human potential? Have you ever felt limited by something outside of your control — your background, your age, your past mistakes? How did you respond?
4. The sermon described how the pastor found himself walking hunched over in parts of the house where the ceiling was actually high — out of habit from the low-ceiling areas. In what areas of your life might you be walking hunched over even though the gospel has already raised the ceiling?
5. The enemy Sisera had nine hundred iron chariots. The sermon asked: what are the nine hundred chariots you are facing? What feels overwhelming, long-standing, or impossible in your life right now? Have you been facing it for what feels like twenty years?
6. Deborah told Barak that victory was coming, but he said he would only go if she went with him. Rather than shaming him or doing it for him, she said she would go with him. What does this teach us about how to help others who are stuck in fear? Is there someone in your life right now who needs you to say, I will go with you?
7. The sermon highlighted that Barak ended up in the hall of faith described in Hebrews 11, in part because Deborah helped him take that step. What does it mean to you that someone else's courage could help write your story — and that your courage could help write someone else's?
Personal Reflection
8. Think about someone in your own life who helped you push past fear and take a step of faith. What did they do specifically that made a difference?
9. The sermon closed with the challenge to rise above limits, rise beyond what you see, and help others rise up too. Which of these three is the hardest for you personally right now, and why?
Opening the Conversation
1. The sermon opened with the idea that God has placed a heroic nerve on the inside of every person. Do you believe that is true about yourself? Why or why not?
2. One social psychology journal cited in the sermon found that people who frame their own life as a hero's journey report more meaning, less depression, and greater resilience. What does it look like practically to frame your life that way?
Going Deeper
3. Deborah led during a time when women were treated as second-class citizens. Yet God placed her in a position of authority and influence. What does this tell us about how God views human potential? Have you ever felt limited by something outside of your control — your background, your age, your past mistakes? How did you respond?
4. The sermon described how the pastor found himself walking hunched over in parts of the house where the ceiling was actually high — out of habit from the low-ceiling areas. In what areas of your life might you be walking hunched over even though the gospel has already raised the ceiling?
5. The enemy Sisera had nine hundred iron chariots. The sermon asked: what are the nine hundred chariots you are facing? What feels overwhelming, long-standing, or impossible in your life right now? Have you been facing it for what feels like twenty years?
6. Deborah told Barak that victory was coming, but he said he would only go if she went with him. Rather than shaming him or doing it for him, she said she would go with him. What does this teach us about how to help others who are stuck in fear? Is there someone in your life right now who needs you to say, I will go with you?
7. The sermon highlighted that Barak ended up in the hall of faith described in Hebrews 11, in part because Deborah helped him take that step. What does it mean to you that someone else's courage could help write your story — and that your courage could help write someone else's?
Personal Reflection
8. Think about someone in your own life who helped you push past fear and take a step of faith. What did they do specifically that made a difference?
9. The sermon closed with the challenge to rise above limits, rise beyond what you see, and help others rise up too. Which of these three is the hardest for you personally right now, and why?
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Choose at least one of the following to put into practice before your group meets again:
• Identify your nine hundred chariots. Write down the one thing that has felt like an iron enemy in your life. Then write down one specific step you can take this week to face it, trusting that God is with you and for you.
• Change the way you walk. Literally and figuratively. This week, pay attention to moments when you shrink back because of a lie you have believed about yourself. When you catch yourself doing it, remind yourself: I am a child of the King. The ceiling has been raised.
• Go with someone. Identify one person in your life who knows what they are called to do but is stuck in fear. Reach out to them this week. Offer to go with them — to a doctor appointment a recovery meeting, a difficult conversation, or whatever step they need to take. Do not do it for them. Go with them.
• Reframe your story. Take fifteen minutes this week to write out a brief version of your life story framed as a hero's journey. What obstacles have you faced? What have you overcome? What chapter are you in right now? What does the next chapter look like if you rise up?
Choose at least one of the following to put into practice before your group meets again:
• Identify your nine hundred chariots. Write down the one thing that has felt like an iron enemy in your life. Then write down one specific step you can take this week to face it, trusting that God is with you and for you.
• Change the way you walk. Literally and figuratively. This week, pay attention to moments when you shrink back because of a lie you have believed about yourself. When you catch yourself doing it, remind yourself: I am a child of the King. The ceiling has been raised.
• Go with someone. Identify one person in your life who knows what they are called to do but is stuck in fear. Reach out to them this week. Offer to go with them — to a doctor appointment a recovery meeting, a difficult conversation, or whatever step they need to take. Do not do it for them. Go with them.
• Reframe your story. Take fifteen minutes this week to write out a brief version of your life story framed as a hero's journey. What obstacles have you faced? What have you overcome? What chapter are you in right now? What does the next chapter look like if you rise up?
CLOSING PRAYER PROMPTS
Close your time together in prayer. You may use these prompts to guide the group:
• Thank God for the heroic potential he has placed inside every person in the room.
• Ask God to reveal clearly the nine hundred chariots each person is facing and to give courage to face them.
• Pray for the person each group member identified who needs someone to walk with them.
• Declare together: It is time to rise up.
Close your time together in prayer. You may use these prompts to guide the group:
• Thank God for the heroic potential he has placed inside every person in the room.
• Ask God to reveal clearly the nine hundred chariots each person is facing and to give courage to face them.
• Pray for the person each group member identified who needs someone to walk with them.
• Declare together: It is time to rise up.
FOR FURTHER REFLECTION DURING THE WEEK
• Read the full account of Deborah in Judges 4 and 5.
• Read Hebrews 11:32, which includes Barak in the hall of faith, and reflect on what it means that an imperfect, fearful person made it into that list.
• Consider the words Deborah spoke over herself in Judges 5:7 — "until I arose" — and ask God what he is calling you to arise and do.
• Read the full account of Deborah in Judges 4 and 5.
• Read Hebrews 11:32, which includes Barak in the hall of faith, and reflect on what it means that an imperfect, fearful person made it into that list.
• Consider the words Deborah spoke over herself in Judges 5:7 — "until I arose" — and ask God what he is calling you to arise and do.