The Mountains of God – Week 1 Guide
The Mountain of Renewal – Genesis 8:1-22
To download the guide for this week, use the link below.
Connecting
*If your group is gathering for the first time:
- Introduce yourself, & share: your name (see attached sheet to write down everyone’s name to help you remember), what town you live in, how you heard about BBC and which worship service you attend.
- When you’ve gone through a difficult or exhausting season in life, what has helped you recognize that things were finally beginning to change?
*If you’re in an ongoing group:
When you’ve gone through a difficult or exhausting season in life, what has helped you recognize that things were finally beginning to change?
As a group, take turns reading aloud the Healthy Habits for a Small Group. Whether your group is new or ongoing, it’s a good idea to regularly be reminded of the habits and expectations that help groups thrive.
Healthy Habits for a Small Group
Come with 100% of yourself. Each of us brings all of who we are to the group – our joys and successes, as well as our fears and failures.
Presume welcome and extend welcome. We all learn most effectively in spaces that welcome us. Know that you are welcome, that you belong, and extend this welcome to others.
No fixing. Offer advice or reflection to another person only when invited to do so, but otherwise avoid the temptation to fix, set-straight or counsel another member of the group.
Share the air. Pay attention to how much of the group time you take. Every voice is important, and no single voice ought to dominate.
Speak for Self. A helpful practice is to use “I” statements. This is a time to reflect on your own faith journey and not on someone else or “the world.”
Pay attention to people, put your phones away : )
Listen to Silence. Silence is a rare gift in our busy world. Allow silence to be another member of the group.
Observe Confidentiality. This is especially important for trust to develop. What’s said in the group stays in the group.
Believe that it’s possible to emerge from this experience refreshed, surprised, and less burdened than when you came. Expect that our time together can provide for renewal, refreshment, and helpful perspectives for our spiritual journeys.
Here is the Introduction to The Mountains of God Series
Throughout Scripture, people often encounter God on mountains. These elevated places become sacred spaces where heaven touches earth — where God reveals His character, renews covenants, confronts idolatry, and ultimately reveals the Son. From Ararat to Moriah, from Sinai to Calvary, each mountain tells part of the great story of redemption. During this series, The Mountains of God, we will journey through these defining moments in biblical history, watching how each summit points us more clearly to Jesus Christ. As we walk this path together through Lent and Easter, we will discover that the same God who met His people long ago still meets us today — calling us to trust, obedience, surrender, and resurrection hope. May this journey lift our eyes, deepen our faith, and draw us nearer to the heart of God.
Read Genesis 8:1-22.
Overview of Genesis 8:1-22 (read aloud in the group after reading the passage)
Genesis 8 is the theological hinge of the flood narrative. After 150 days of judgment, the story turns with one powerful sentence: “But God remembered Noah.” This does not mean God had forgotten; it signals divine turning — God’s covenant faithfulness moving creation from chaos toward restoration. The same God who once sent waters now sends wind (the Hebrew word ruach can also mean spirit or breath), echoing Genesis 1 as God again brings order out of chaos.
The ark rests on the mountains of Ararat, but renewal unfolds slowly. There is waiting, testing, watching, and finally worship. This chapter reminds us that rescue and renewal are not the same thing — restoration takes time, discernment, and trust.
Encourage your group to reflect not only on Noah’s story but on where they may be in their own journey: still in the storm, waiting on the mountain, testing the waters, or stepping into something new.
Questions
- “God remembered Noah…” (Genesis 8:1) How does this shape the way we think about God during long seasons of waiting or silence?
- Waiting on the Mountain The ark rests on Ararat, but Noah remains inside for months. Why do you think God allows such a long gap between rescue and release? Can you think of a time when renewal was slow or incomplete, at first, for you?
- Testing the Waters Noah sends out the raven and the dove. What do these small, tentative steps teach us about discernment and trust after a crisis? How do you usually look for signs that it’s “safe to move forward” again?
- First Steps into a New World Noah’s first act after leaving the ark is worship. Why do you think worship comes before rebuilding or planning? What might that say about how renewal is meant to begin?
- God’s Response to Human Weakness (Genesis 8:21–22) God promises stability while acknowledging human sin. What does this reveal about God’s grace in response to human weakness?
- The Mountain of Renewal Today What might renewal look like in your own life right now? Where do you sense God inviting you to step out of the ark — but also to be patient with the process?
Optional Closing Reflection
You might close by reading Genesis 8:22 aloud, together:
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
Invite the group to sit quietly for a moment, reflecting on where they need to trust God’s steady faithfulness in this season.
Praying for Each Other
Are there any joys to celebrate, any burdens we can share?
Closing Prayer
Faithful God, Thank You that You remember Your people and never abandon us in the storm. Teach us to trust You in seasons of waiting, and to recognize the quiet ways You bring renewal. Give us patience when restoration is slow, and courage when it is time to step forward. May our first response always be worship, grounded in Your steady grace. Amen.