ABLAZE Connect Groups Discussion
Life is better together.
Icebreaker Question:
You're Not Broken, Just in the Process
Jeremiah 18:1–6 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.”
Why Does Following Jesus Hurt Sometimes?
Jeremiah 18:4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
In the time of Jeremiah, potters were a familiar image in daily life. The people of Israel would have easily understood the significance of clay being reshaped by the hands of the potter. When God used this illustration with Jeremiah, He was speaking to a nation in need of renewal and reminding them and us, that failure doesn’t disqualify us. It’s part of the process.
Sometimes we think that if something is broken, it’s no longer useful. But in the hands of the Potter, even what’s fallen apart can be transformed. God doesn’t work with perfection, He works with willingness. And if you’re still willing, He’s still forming. No matter how many times you’ve felt like you’ve failed, if you’re in His hands, you’re not discarded, you’re in process.
Think of a sculptor with a lump of clay. He doesn’t toss it out when it doesn’t go as planned, he presses in, shapes again, molds it with intention. That’s what God does with us. He sees the bigger picture even when we don’t.
Life in Christ isn’t about quick fixes, it’s about continual shaping. There are good days and bad days, but none of them define your worth. What matters is that you stay on the wheel. God is making something new again.
📍 Discussion Question: Have you ever felt so disappointed in yourself that you thought God couldn’t use you anymore? How does your view change knowing God doesn’t throw away the clay, He reshapes it?
In the time of Jeremiah, potters were a familiar image in daily life. The people of Israel would have easily understood the significance of clay being reshaped by the hands of the potter. When God used this illustration with Jeremiah, He was speaking to a nation in need of renewal and reminding them and us, that failure doesn’t disqualify us. It’s part of the process.
Sometimes we think that if something is broken, it’s no longer useful. But in the hands of the Potter, even what’s fallen apart can be transformed. God doesn’t work with perfection, He works with willingness. And if you’re still willing, He’s still forming. No matter how many times you’ve felt like you’ve failed, if you’re in His hands, you’re not discarded, you’re in process.
Think of a sculptor with a lump of clay. He doesn’t toss it out when it doesn’t go as planned, he presses in, shapes again, molds it with intention. That’s what God does with us. He sees the bigger picture even when we don’t.
Life in Christ isn’t about quick fixes, it’s about continual shaping. There are good days and bad days, but none of them define your worth. What matters is that you stay on the wheel. God is making something new again.
📍 Discussion Question: Have you ever felt so disappointed in yourself that you thought God couldn’t use you anymore? How does your view change knowing God doesn’t throw away the clay, He reshapes it?
From Shame to Purpose
John 4:13–14 (NIV)Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
In John 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at the well, a place loaded with cultural and personal significance. Samaritans and Jews didn’t associate, and this woman carried social shame and religious misunderstanding. Yet Jesus engages her with compassion and truth, flipping her shame into a moment of divine purpose.
The Samaritan woman came to the well for water, but she left with grace. She arrived carrying shame, avoiding people, stuck in a routine. And Jesus met her there, not in a temple or a perfect moment, but in her ordinary, messy reality. He spoke to her, saw her, and restored her.
Jesus didn’t avoid people with a past... He sought them out. He knew her full story and still offered her living water. In doing so, He showed us that our broken places don’t disqualify us from purpose; they prepare us for it.
God doesn’t wait for you to get your life together. He meets you in your process. The shame you carry isn’t a barrier for Jesus, it’s an opportunity. What you see as failure, God can use to bring freedom... not just to you, but to others through your story.
📍 Discussion Question: Why do you think Jesus was so intentional with a woman who had such a messy past? What does her story teach you about what God can do with yours?
In John 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at the well, a place loaded with cultural and personal significance. Samaritans and Jews didn’t associate, and this woman carried social shame and religious misunderstanding. Yet Jesus engages her with compassion and truth, flipping her shame into a moment of divine purpose.
The Samaritan woman came to the well for water, but she left with grace. She arrived carrying shame, avoiding people, stuck in a routine. And Jesus met her there, not in a temple or a perfect moment, but in her ordinary, messy reality. He spoke to her, saw her, and restored her.
Jesus didn’t avoid people with a past... He sought them out. He knew her full story and still offered her living water. In doing so, He showed us that our broken places don’t disqualify us from purpose; they prepare us for it.
God doesn’t wait for you to get your life together. He meets you in your process. The shame you carry isn’t a barrier for Jesus, it’s an opportunity. What you see as failure, God can use to bring freedom... not just to you, but to others through your story.
📍 Discussion Question: Why do you think Jesus was so intentional with a woman who had such a messy past? What does her story teach you about what God can do with yours?
What Keeps Us from Letting God Mold Us?
Jeremiah 18:6 “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.”
Jeremiah was delivering God’s message during a time when the nation of Israel was resisting correction and going their own way. This verse is a reminder that even when we stray, we are still in God’s hands, if we choose to stay there.
Letting go of control is hard. We all have areas we struggle to release, relationships, decisions, emotions. Sometimes it’s fear. Other times it’s pride. We think if we let go, everything will fall apart. But in God’s hands surrender isn’t failure, it’s formation.
And formation takes trust. Trust that God isn’t out to hurt you, but to heal you. Trust that even when things feel uncertain, His plan is better. That’s faith in real time, not just belief, but action.
There are parts of your life that God wants to shape, but He can’t mold what you won’t release. When you choose to trust, even without immediate results, you’re saying, “God, do what only You can do in me.” And that’s when real transformation begins.
📍Discussion Question: What part of your life is hardest for you to put in God’s hands? What do you think is holding you back from letting go?
Jeremiah was delivering God’s message during a time when the nation of Israel was resisting correction and going their own way. This verse is a reminder that even when we stray, we are still in God’s hands, if we choose to stay there.
Letting go of control is hard. We all have areas we struggle to release, relationships, decisions, emotions. Sometimes it’s fear. Other times it’s pride. We think if we let go, everything will fall apart. But in God’s hands surrender isn’t failure, it’s formation.
And formation takes trust. Trust that God isn’t out to hurt you, but to heal you. Trust that even when things feel uncertain, His plan is better. That’s faith in real time, not just belief, but action.
There are parts of your life that God wants to shape, but He can’t mold what you won’t release. When you choose to trust, even without immediate results, you’re saying, “God, do what only You can do in me.” And that’s when real transformation begins.
📍Discussion Question: What part of your life is hardest for you to put in God’s hands? What do you think is holding you back from letting go?
Final Thoughts & Application
Final Thoughts & Personal Challenge
This summer break, remember: you are not thrown away. You are being shaped. What hurts today could be the very thing God uses tomorrow to bring healing to someone else. What feels broken in your life is still usable in God’s hands.
Make space in your life to stay on the wheel. Talk to God. Tell Him you’re open. Even when you don’t see the change yet, trust that He’s still molding something good in you.
This week:
Reflect: What part of your life do you need to remember is still in process?
Remember: God doesn’t need perfection, He works with a willing heart.
Act: Say a simple prayer each morning: “Lord, here I am. Shape me as You will.”
Let’s Pray.
This summer break, remember: you are not thrown away. You are being shaped. What hurts today could be the very thing God uses tomorrow to bring healing to someone else. What feels broken in your life is still usable in God’s hands.
Make space in your life to stay on the wheel. Talk to God. Tell Him you’re open. Even when you don’t see the change yet, trust that He’s still molding something good in you.
This week:
Reflect: What part of your life do you need to remember is still in process?
Remember: God doesn’t need perfection, He works with a willing heart.
Act: Say a simple prayer each morning: “Lord, here I am. Shape me as You will.”
Let’s Pray.