PRIDE COME BEFORE THE FALL

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MEETING AGENDA

  1. OPENING PRAYER – Ask one person to open the meeting in prayer.
  2. GROWTH QUESTIONS – Ask everyone the Growth Questions.
  3. ATTENDANCE – Take attendance through the DG Attendance System.
  4. TODAY’S LESSON – Go over this week’s DG lesson.
  5. GIVING – Encourage everyone to give on the App.
  6. CLOSING PRAYER – Ask for prayer requests and pray.

GROWTH QUESTION #1

Who would like to share a highlight, praise report, or testimony from this week?

GROWTH QUESTION #2

What did you learn from this week’s sermon?

GROWTH QUESTION #3

What was your most important accomplishment this week?

TODAY’S PASSAGE:

Genesis 11:1–9 (NLT)
1 At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. 2 As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there. 3 They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) 4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.” 5 But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. 6 “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! 7 Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”8 In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.

Opening QUESTION

What stood out to you from the passage we just read?

TRUTH #1

HUMAN PRIDE LEADS TO REBELLION

  • The people wanted to build a tower “for ourselves.” Their goal was not to honor God, but to glorify themselves.
  • Pride always says “my way, my strength, my fame.” Humility says “God’s will, God’s power, God’s glory.”
  • The people were united, but united in rebellion. Unity without God leads to destruction.
  • We see the same pride today: people chasing power, status, and recognition apart from God.

Proverbs 16:18 (NLT) – “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.”

James 4:6 (NLT) – “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

  • We must guard against pride that seeks to build our own name instead of lifting up the name of Jesus.

INTERACTIVE QUESTION

What are some ways pride shows up in our culture today? How can we avoid falling into the same trap?

TRUTH #2

GOD WILL CHECK OUR PRIDE

  • God came down and confused their language. This was not just punishment, it was protection. Left unchecked, humanity’s pride would have only led to greater sin and judgment.
  • When we build things apart from God, He will disrupt them. He won’t allow us to build a life that leaves Him out.
  • Sometimes, when plans fall apart, it’s actually God’s mercy redirecting us back to Him.
  • God scattered the people, because His will was always for mankind to “fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). They resisted His plan, so He made sure it was carried out.

Psalm 127:1 (NLT) – “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted.”

  • It's better to have God interrupt our plans than to succeed in something that leads us away from Him.

INTERACTIVE QUESTION

Can you think of a time when God disrupted your plans and later you realized it was for your good?

TRUTH #3

ONLY JESUS CAN RESTORE WHAT SIN DESTROYED

  • Babel brought division, scattering, and confusion. But in Christ, God is restoring unity through the Spirit.
  • At Pentecost (Acts 2), God reversed Babel. Different languages heard the same gospel in their own tongue, but this time to unite people in Christ, not in rebellion.
  • What humanity tried to do in pride (make one name for themselves), God fulfilled through Jesus (Philippians 2:9–11—God gave Jesus the name above all names).
  • The only true foundation we can build on is Christ. Everything else will collapse.

1 Corinthians 3:11 (NLT) – “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 2:19–20 (NLT) – “Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.”

  • The gospel is God’s answer to our problems. What sin destroyed, only Jesus can restore.

INTERACTIVE QUESTION

How does knowing Jesus as the “cornerstone” change the way we build our lives, families, and future?

CLOSING QUESTION

What did you learn today that you can apply to your life this week?

GIVING

We have received so much from God and should give generously of all that He has blessed us with.

Matthew 10:8 (NLT) 
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!

Encourage everyone to give their tithes and offerings.

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PRAY

QUESTION #1

Who are you praying for to be saved?

QUESTION #2

Who can you invite to the next meeting?

QUESTION #3

What are your prayer requests?