A six-week small group series, working section by section through the Expanded teaching above.
This six-week study walks your group through the Expanded teaching above, section by section, so that by the end of the series you have effectively worked through the whole teaching together — meditated on, discussed, and learned, not just read. Each week stands alone and holds enough material for a full hour of group study. Print each week separately; each one begins on its own fresh page.
Week 1: A Town Built on a Hill
Old Testament Passage
New Testament Passage
Walking Through It
A town built on a hill is visible by design, not by accident. It cannot be tucked away, because that is simply what a hill does — it puts whatever sits on top of it in full view.
Jesus does not tell His followers to try to become light. He states it as an already-accomplished fact: you are the light of the world. The identity comes first, and visibility follows naturally.
Isaiah's picture of the mountain of the Lord drawing many peoples toward it is the same shape of imagery — elevated, visible, and drawing others toward something greater than themselves.
Discussion Questions
- What does it mean that Jesus said "you ARE the light" rather than "try to become the light"?
- How does Isaiah 2:2-3 add to your understanding of what a "city on a hill" is meant to accomplish?
- Where in your life do you try to hide your faith rather than let it be visible by design?
- What is the difference between visibility that draws people toward God and visibility that draws attention to yourself?
- What would it look like this week to simply let your light be seen rather than working to manufacture it?
Week 2: Apart From Him We Can Do Nothing
Old Testament Passage
New Testament Passage
Walking Through It
None of the light believers carry is self-generated. A branch cut off from the vine does not produce anything on its own, no matter how much it might want to.
Apart from Him, nothing — not a diminished version of good fruit, but nothing. Every good thing traces back to remaining connected to the source.
Psalm 1's picture of a tree planted by streams of water pictures the same dependence — fruitfulness that comes from constant nearness to a life-giving source, not from the tree's own effort.
Discussion Questions
- What does it mean practically to "remain" in Christ, the way a branch remains attached to a vine?
- How does Psalm 1:3 add a picture of what staying connected to the source looks like day to day?
- Have you ever tried to produce spiritual "fruit" through willpower alone? What happened?
- Why do you think it matters that Jesus says "nothing," not "less," apart from Him?
- What is one practical way you can stay more connected to the vine this week?
Week 3: The Sun, the Moon, and Crossing by Faith
Old Testament Passage
New Testament Passage
Walking Through It
The sun generates its own light. The moon only reflects what the sun provides, and yet at night that reflected light is enough to light the sky. God is the sun; His people are the moon.
The light that took root on this continent arrived by ship, across an unknown ocean, carried by people with no guarantee of what waited on the other side — supernatural faith in its plainest form.
A city on a hill is not built by people who wait until every risk is removed. It is built by people willing to cross open water toward a light they could not yet see, trusting the One who could.
Discussion Questions
- How does Genesis 1:16 help you picture the relationship between God (the sun) and His people (the moon)?
- What does it mean that a believer's job is to "stay facing the source" rather than generate their own light?
- How does Hebrews 11:1 describe the kind of faith it took to cross an unknown ocean toward an unseen shore?
- What is an "unknown ocean" in your own life right now that requires this same kind of faith?
- Discuss: what is the difference between reckless risk-taking and the kind of faith described in Hebrews 11:1?
- Spend time this week reflecting on a moment you stepped into the unknown trusting God's character rather than certainty.
- How does knowing the pilgrims crossed by faith, not by sight, encourage you in a decision you're currently facing?
Week 4: Darkness Loves Itself
Old Testament Passage
New Testament Passage
Walking Through It
Not everyone wants the light, and Scripture is honest about why. Light exposes, and some things do not want to be exposed.
Light and darkness are not equal, competing forces in some neutral balance. One is the presence of God, and the other is simply what remains in His absence.
Job's description of people who "rebel against the light," preferring the cover of dawn or dusk for wrongdoing, is a vivid Old Testament picture of the same pattern John describes.
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think people sometimes prefer darkness even when the light is freely offered?
- How does Job 24:13-15 illustrate the same pattern John 3:19-20 describes?
- Is darkness a real, independent force, or simply the absence of light? Why does that distinction matter?
- Have you ever avoided the light in some area of your own life because you didn't want something exposed?
- How can you be a source of light for someone without shaming them for the darkness they're in?
Week 5: Even Without Belief, the Line Still Holds
Old Testament Passage
New Testament Passage
Walking Through It
Even someone who does not believe in God still lives inside a moral order set by Him, whether they acknowledge the source or not.
Seeing what the world would look like without that fixed line between right and wrong is itself a kind of thankfulness, and makes the light more obviously worth choosing.
God's instruction was never a once-a-week mention — constant, woven into ordinary moments, sitting, walking, lying down, rising up, especially while a child's heart is still receptive.
Discussion Questions
- How does Romans 2:14-15 explain why even non-believers often share a basic sense of right and wrong?
- Why do you think Deuteronomy 6:6-7 emphasizes constant, everyday conversation rather than a single formal lesson?
- What would it look like for you to "talk about" truth naturally throughout an ordinary day, the way Deuteronomy describes?
- Children are described in this teaching as "naturally inclined toward truth." Have you seen that in your own experience with children?
- What is one practical way you can train up the next generation this week, whether your own children or someone else's?
Week 6: Bringing the Light Is Not Optional
Old Testament Passage
New Testament Passage
Walking Through It
There is real grief in watching people choose darkness anyway, but grief cannot become an excuse for silence. Bringing the light is not an optional extra for the especially devoted.
Ezekiel's warning about the watchman's responsibility puts real weight behind this — silence in the face of darkness is not a neutral, harmless choice.
This present pattern of light and darkness rotating is not eternal. In heaven there will be no more night, because there is no darkness left to rotate away from — the destination this whole teaching has pointed toward all along.
Discussion Questions
- How does Ezekiel 3:18-19 change how you think about the responsibility to speak up rather than stay silent?
- What is the difference between grieving over someone's choice of darkness and using that grief as an excuse to stay quiet?
- How does Revelation 22:5's picture of "no more night" motivate you in the present, while darkness still exists?
- Looking back over all six weeks, what has this study changed about how you understand your calling to "shine"?
- What is one specific place — home, work, neighborhood — where you sense God calling you to stop hiding your light?
- Close this series in prayer, asking God for the courage to shine visibly and the grace to grieve rightly over darkness without falling silent.
Want to read these passages in their full setting? Browse every book of the Bible on BibleRef (opens in a new tab), a free site with plain-language commentary.