Small Group Discussion Guide

"Wake Up" | Based on the Message by Pastor Robert Moo

Acts 20:7-12

A Note to Facilitators: Welcome! This guide is designed to help your group engage meaningfully with Sunday's message. You don't need to be a theological expert to lead a great discussion — your job is simply to create space for honest conversation and let the Holy Spirit work. Feel free to skip questions that don't fit your group, and always prioritize authentic sharing over covering every question. Estimated total time: 60–90 minutes.

OVERVIEW

In this message, Pastor Robert Moo used the story of Eutychus — a young man who fell asleep during Paul's sermon, tumbled from a third-story window, and was miraculously raised back to life — to issue a powerful spiritual wake-up call. The sermon challenged us to recognize the gradual, often unnoticed ways we drift spiritually: from engaged, to distracted, to tired, to asleep. Through Paul's response of going down to where Eutychus had fallen, we also saw a beautiful picture of the gospel — and of the kind of community we're called to be for one another.

ICEBREAKER

(5–10 minutes)

To get things started, go around the group and answer this question:

"Are you Team Snooze or Team No Snooze when your alarm goes off — and what does your morning routine actually look like?"

After a few laughs, transition with something like: "It turns out how we handle our alarms might say something about how we handle life spiritually. That's actually where Sunday's message began..."

SCRIPTURE READING

(5 minutes)

Ask a volunteer to read the passage aloud. Encourage the group to listen for anything that surprises or stands out to them.

Acts 20:7–12 (NIV)

"On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. 'Don't be alarmed,' he said. 'He's alive!' Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted."

Additional passages referenced in the sermon:

Luke 22:45–46 (NIV)

"When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 'Why are you sleeping?' he asked them. 'Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.'"

1 Thessalonians 5:5–6 (NIV)

"You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober."

[Leader Context Note]: Eutychus (sometimes spelled "Uticus" or "Udicus" in the sermon transcript) is a minor but fascinating character in the book of Acts. His name actually means "fortunate" or "lucky" in Greek — which feels fitting given what happened to him! The book of Acts was written by Luke, a physician, which may explain why he records the detail that Eutychus "was picked up dead" with such clinical precision. This is one of the few recorded resurrections in the New Testament outside of Jesus himself.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

(30–45 minutes)

Work through as many of these questions as time allows. Questions are organized to move from lighter and observational to deeper and more personal. You don't need to cover all of them.

SECTION 1: SETTING THE SCENE

Observational Questions — Getting into the Story (~8–10 minutes)

1. What was your initial reaction to the story of Eutychus? What surprised, amused, or intrigued you about it?

[Leader Tip]: This is a great warm-up question — the story is genuinely funny and unusual, so let people laugh and react naturally. Don't rush past this. Humor and honesty often open the door to deeper conversation.

2. Pastor Robert pointed out that the room was already filled with "many lamps" before Paul even began preaching. What do you think that detail tells us about the people who gathered that night? What does it look like today when someone "prepares their lamps" before coming to worship or a group like this one?

3. Pastor Robert made an interesting observation: Eutychus was the only one who fell asleep, even though Paul preached for hours. What does that suggest about the role our own expectation and posture play in how we engage spiritually?

[Leader Tip]: If the group gets stuck, try this follow-up: "Think about a time you came to church, a group, or a conversation with God expecting something. How did that expectation shape what you experienced?"

SECTION 2: THE WINDOW SEAT

Interpretive Questions — Understanding the Message (~10–12 minutes)

4. Pastor Robert said his issue wasn't really that Eutychus fell asleep — it was where he chose to sit. He described the "window seat" as a place where someone tries to get as close to the edge as possible without fully falling. Where do you see "window seats" in everyday life — situations, habits, or environments where people (or we ourselves) drift toward the edge without realizing the danger?

5. The sermon described a gradual progression from spiritually engaged → distracted → tired → asleep. Looking back on your own journey, what tends to be your first sign that you're starting to drift? What does "distracted" look like for you personally?

[Leader Tip]: This question invites vulnerability, so model openness yourself if you're the facilitator. Share briefly from your own experience before opening it to the group. Affirm that drifting is common and doesn't mean someone has failed — the sermon made clear that even the disciples fell asleep in the garden.

6. Pastor Robert listed several signs that we might be spiritually sleepy:

• Loss of appetite for God's Word
• Little or no desire to pray
• Things that used to convict us no longer bother us
• Avoiding accountability
• Isolating from godly community

Which of these resonates most with you right now — either as something you've experienced personally or something you've noticed in people you care about? Why do you think that particular sign tends to creep in quietly?

SECTION 3: GOING DOWN

Application Questions — Living the Message (~10–12 minutes)

7. When Eutychus fell, Paul didn't look down at him from the window — he went down to where he was. Pastor Robert connected this to the gospel itself: Jesus didn't redeem us from a distance; he came down and put on human skin. How does this image of "going down" challenge the way we often respond when someone in our life stumbles or falls?

8. Pastor Robert asked a challenging question about the community in that room: "How come nobody went up to Eutychus and said, 'Wake up — that's not a good place to sit'?" What makes it hard for us to lovingly speak up when we see someone we care about drifting or heading toward a dangerous place? What would it take for our group to be the kind of community where that kind of honest, caring conversation is possible?

[Leader Tip]: This question can surface some tension around the difference between judgment and genuine care. If it comes up, help the group distinguish between looking down on someone (judgment) and going down to someone (love). The sermon made this distinction clearly — use it to guide the conversation.

*9. Paul's words over the seemingly lifeless Eutychus were: "Don't be alarmed — he's alive." The sermon applied this to people in our lives and situations that feel beyond hope. What area of your life — a relationship, a dream, a prodigal person you love, a struggle you've been carrying — do you most need to hear God say, "It's not over. There's still life here"?*

[Leader Tip]: Give people a moment of quiet before answering this one. It's a deeply personal question and some may need a beat to think. It's perfectly okay if a few people choose not to share aloud — encourage them to write something down privately instead.

10. The sermon ended with a call to "wake up." What do you think God is specifically calling you to wake up to in this season of your life? Is it a relationship, a habit, a calling, a spiritual discipline, or something else?

PERSONAL APPLICATION

(10–15 minutes)

These questions are more reflective. You may choose to have people answer silently, journal briefly, or share with just one other person in the group before coming back together.

1. On a scale of 1–10, how spiritually "awake" do you feel right now — with 1 being deeply asleep and 10 being fully alert and engaged? What's one honest thing that's contributing to where you are on that scale?

2. Pastor Robert said, "Faith prepares for what it's praying for." Is there something you've been praying for but haven't been preparing for? What would it look like to take one concrete step of preparation this week as an act of faith?

*3. Who in your life is your "Paul" — someone who loves you enough to say, "Hey, you're dozing a little. That's not the best place to sit"? If you don't have someone like that, what would it take to invite that kind of relationship?*

4. Is there someone in your life who might be sitting in a window seat right now — someone you've noticed drifting, struggling, or pulling away from community? What's one way you could "go down" to where they are this week, not to judge them, but simply to be present with them?

✅ THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

Choose one (or more) that fits where you are:

• The Lamp Lighter: Come to your next church service, small group, or time with God with intentional preparation — pray beforehand, arrive early, bring a notebook, or simply ask God to give you expectation. "Light your lamps" in advance.

• The Window Mover: Identify one "window seat" in your life — a habit, environment, relationship, or pattern that's putting you closer to the edge than is wise. Take one step this week to move away from it.

• The Paul: Reach out to one person you know who may be drifting. Don't lecture them — just show up. Send a text, grab coffee, or make a call. Simply say, "I've been thinking about you."

• The Eutychus: If you recognized yourself in this message, share it with someone you trust. Tell them where you are honestly, and ask them to help keep you accountable.

PRAYER FOCUS

(5–10 minutes)

Close your time together in prayer. You can pray as a group, have one person lead, or use the prompts below to guide a time of open prayer.

Suggested prayer topics:

• 🙏 Gratitude — Thank God for the "wake-up calls" he sends through his Word, his people, and his Spirit — even when they're uncomfortable.

• 🙏 Honesty — Ask God to reveal honestly where each person in the group may be drifting, distracted, or sitting in a "window seat."

• 🙏 Courage — Pray for the courage to speak up lovingly when someone we care about is heading toward a dangerous place — and the humility to receive that kind of love when it's directed at us.

• 🙏 Resurrection hope — Pray over specific situations in the group that feel "dead" — relationships, dreams, struggles — and declare together that it's not over until God says it's over.

• 🙏 Community — Ask God to make your small group the kind of community where people don't fall unnoticed — where someone will always say, "Wake up. I've got you."

[Leader Tip]: If your group isn't used to praying aloud together, you can simply invite people to pray silently while you close aloud. Or try "popcorn prayer" — short, one-sentence prayers from anyone who wants to participate. Lower the barrier and let it be natural.

OPTIONAL DEEP DIVE

For groups with extra time or those wanting to go further

Deep Dive 1: The Sleepy Disciples

Re-read Luke 22:45–46. The disciples fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane — one of the most critical moments in human history — while Jesus was in anguish just steps away. Jesus connects their sleeping directly to the danger of temptation. What does this passage suggest about the relationship between spiritual alertness and our vulnerability to temptation? How does staying connected to prayer act as a kind of "alarm system" in our lives?

Deep Dive 2: Children of the Light

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 in full. Paul uses the metaphor of day and night, light and darkness, sleeping and waking to describe two very different ways of living. According to this passage, what are the characteristics of someone who is spiritually awake? What does Paul say we should "put on" to stay alert? How does this connect to the community aspect — notice how many times Paul says "one another" in verses 11–15?

Deep Dive 3: Capacity to Receive

Pastor Robert made a striking point: the room had enough capacity to receive everything Paul had to pour out — but Eutychus didn't. He asked, "Do you have the capacity to receive what God wants to pour into you?" Explore this idea together: What are the things in our lives that reduce our spiritual "capacity"? What does it look like practically to increase our capacity for God's Word, his presence, and his voice? Use Matthew 13:1–23 (the Parable of the Sower) as a reference point if helpful.

RELATED SCRIPTURES FOR FURTHER READING

For anyone who wants to continue exploring this week's themes on their own:

QUICK-REFERENCE SUMMARY FOR FACILITATORS

Final Encouragement for Facilitators: The goal of tonight isn't to get through every question — it's to create a space where people feel safe enough to be honest about where they actually are spiritually. If one question sparks a 20-minute conversation that leads to real breakthrough, that's a win. Trust the process, trust the Spirit, and trust your group. You've got this.

"Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." — Ephesians 5:14

Discussion guide prepared for Life Church Small Groups | Based on "Wake Up" by Pastor Robert Moo