Families of Promise
This Week in Lifegroups - Sunday January 18, 2026
Jimmy’s sermon this week casts vision for the new season at Antioch, centered on God's heart for His family. The biblical theme of family runs from Genesis through Revelation. The church is called to be a healthy, grace-filled family that brings other orphans in, learning to live under God the Father's rule and reign together. The promise of the Holy Spirit is not just for us individually, but for our children, our households, our neighborhoods, and those far off. The vision culminates in Revelation's picture of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation standing together before God's throne. What awaits us in eternity, God wants to bring to earth now through strengthened, multiplying families that reveal His glory.
As a Lifegoup leader, you are playing an important role in strengthening the family to multiply! Here are three truths to marinate on this week to strengthen your leadership:
1. You are Leading a Room Full of Orphans (Including Yourself) into Family The sermon powerfully stated that we were all orphans until we were born again, and in many ways, when you lead a church or a Lifegroup, you're leading "one big orphanage" where everyone is learning to live under God the Father's rule and reign.
This should deeply shape how you think about your leadership. The people in your group are learning how to be family. Many of them still carry orphan habits: isolation, self-protection, independence, fear of vulnerability. Your Lifegroup is the place where the Holy Spirit transforms orphans into sons and daughters who know they belong, brothers and sisters who love one another. Focus this week on building family in your Lifegroup. Here are 50 Community Building Questions you can use to deepen y’alls relationships with one another!
2. Your Lifegroup Can Be a Portal Where Heaven Touches Earth The message introduced this idea that there are places where we cultivate the grace of God, places where "the portal is open" and God's presence is accessible. Your home can be a portal. Your workplace can be a portal. And absolutely, your Lifegroup can be a portal. When you create space for worship, prayer, vulnerability, and the Word of God, you're sanctifying that time and place for God's purposes. People in your group get to encounter the living God when they gather. The reason we address sin and mixture in our lives is because it blocks that open heaven.
Think about what this means for your leadership. Every time your group meets, you're creating an environment where people can genuinely meet with God, where they can experience His presence and hear His voice.
3. Repititon is a Leader’s Friend: The sermon highlighted how God kept telling the young church the same thing year after year: fast, pray, read your Bible, repent. No flashy new strategies. No exciting revelations. Just the fundamentals, repeated. This is a masterclass in leadership. John Maxwell says, "People need to hear something seven times before they truly hear it." As a Lifegroup leader, give yourself permission to revisit the core truths consistently. Your group needs to hear about prayer again. They need to be reminded about Scripture again. They need to talk about obedience again. Consistency compounds over time.
For Ministry:
In 1 Corinthians 12 & 14, the Scriptures describe the gifts of the Spirit at work in the church to reveal Jesus, bring comfort, edification and encouragement to believers, salvation to the lost and glory to God. With that in mind, members of our prophetic community take time each Sunday to seek the Lord for insight into how the Spirit wants to minister and to whom during our services and this week in the life of our church. We often share these words on Sunday morning from the stage, but we also wanted to start sharing them here as well. By no means is this the only thing the Lord is doing in our midst, but we want to be faithful to steward these words, so please consider how they might minister to members of your group this week.
Words for Ministry:
I heard the name John & he feels or it is true that his life is a "mess". Jesus is willing to help us clean up our messes.
Jennifer is praying for a baby. God sees you, dear one. He is working on a solution and His love is a banner over you.
A full to the brim with coffee ☕️ styrofoam cup was highlighted to me, & the current phrase "just give me Jesus & coffee!" He wants you to know He is enough, even if you don't have coffee! Just plug in to Him, and He is more than able to recharge you!
Saw a mechanic / garage owner who is in despair over finances. God sees him and is his Provider. Lean in.
James, come to the well that will never run dry. Drink and be satisfied. Your family will drink from the overflow of satisfaction.
I heard lyrics to the Christmas Carol "I heard the bells on Christmas Day". The author, Longfellow, wrote this amid loss and tragedy, that God will prevail and peace will come.
I believe God is highlighting He is uniting families, churches and communities.
Tools for Your Lifegroup This Week:
1. Discussion Guide: The discussion guide for the sermon is available and ready for your group this week. It includes the sermon summary, key scriptures with full text, and 10 discussion questions to help your group engage deeply with this message.
2. World Mandate: World Mandate is coming up in three weeks! This is a significant moment for our church family to gather, hear from global workers, and renew our commitment to God's purposes around the world. Make sure your group knows about it and encourage them to be part of this gathering.
3. Worship: You can use this playlist from our worship team for worship in Lifegroup. It includes the songs we sing on Sundays!