Sunday, November 25, 2012

Build it! | Gratitude (Discussion Guide)



Life Group Discussion Guide :: Sunday, November 18, 2012 (JXG) 
Sandy Lake Wesleyan :: Pastor Shawn
Build it! | Gratitude (week 6)


Remember, this Guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of what can be discussed, but is best used as a guide to help your Group process what God is teaching them. Read through the discussion points below and prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit would have you work through.

 Be sure to pray for, encourage each other, 
and share the victories God is giving your Group.

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Pastor Shawn shared that there’s much more than meets the eye when it comes to “CMUs” (Concrete Masonry Unit), including that there a ‘top’ and ‘bottom.’ 
  • What other aspects to these blocks did you find interesting?
  • How do these details give us more insight into what it means to be part of building Christ’s Kingdom with the ‘blocks’ of our experiences?

Most importantly, we learned there is a right way and a wrong way to use CMU building blocks; the same is true when it comes to building the Kingdom of Jesus. What are ways that we can use the right “blocks” (time, talent, treasure & experiences) in the wrong way when it comes to the Kingdom reality spoken of by Jesus?
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” (Francis Chan)
  • What are ways that a fear of failure can hinder us?
  • What are ways that a fear of failure can move us to look for success in things that don’t really matter?
  • What are symptoms of succeeding at things that don’t really matter?
  • What do you think are the things that ‘matter most’ to God’s heart?
  • How can we position ourselves to invest and succeed in the things that matter most?

“Gratitude serves as the mortar between the bricks of experience as God builds his Kingdom in and through us.”
  • What happens if you build without mortar? With the wrong kind of mortar?
    • How is this a warning for us when it comes to gratitude?
  • How do we allow our experiences to be ‘positioned’ in such a way that God can build something lasting out of them?
    • What are indications that we have allowed our experiences to be mis-placed? If this has happened, what can we do?

Read Matthew 18:21-25
  • Why is it significant that the King forgave the man’s debt?
  • What is significant about the servant lording debt over his peer?
  • Why do you think Jesus used a story about financial debt to share about forgiving offenses?
  • What do you think would have happened if the first servant had operated out of gratitude?
    • What are ways gratitude or a lack of gratitude can alter the trajectory of our lives? Do you have examples of this from your own life?
  • How is holding onto offense a symptom of our lack of gratitude for what God has done?

Read James 1:2-4
  • How does gratitude position us to be joyful in difficult circumstances?
  • How is gratitude a mark of maturity in the life of a Christ follower?
  • How are gratitude and perseverance intrinsically linked?
  • How can your Group call each other to ‘more’ in light of this?

We were asked, “Where is a lack of gratitude limiting what God can to build in your life?” 
  • Take time to pray for each other that God would search your hearts and answer this question for you.
    • What are ways we can determine where this might be?
    • What are practical ways we can operate with greater gratitude?
    • Share with one another one area God is indicating the need for a greater gratitude in your life--areas He wants to build stronger, higher, or bigger for His Kingdom but has been limited--pray for each other and check-in with each other about how God is working in you.

Read 1 Corinthians 3:10-15
Pray for each other, that God would help you individually and as a Group to build with care using materials that are eternal. Ask Him to show you where you’re building with things that will not last and lead to no reward. Pray for Him to help you be passionately faithful.


***

What ‘missional expression’ (opportunity to be ‘Jesus with skin on’) is God calling your Group to? Please prayerfully consider where God would have you serve in a practical way and communicate this with Pastor Jeremiah. If you need ideas, don’t hesitate to connect with the church office.



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Sunday, November 18, 2012

Build It! | Some, Not All (Discussion Guide)



Life Group Discussion Guide :: Sunday, November 18, 2012 (JXG) 
Sandy Lake Wesleyan :: Pastor Shawn
Build it! | Some, Not All (week 5)



Remember, this Guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of what can be discussed, but is best used as a guide to help your Group process what God is teaching them. Read through the discussion points below and prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit would have you work through.
 Be sure to pray for, encourage each other, and share the victories God is giving your Group.

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Please use some of these notes from Orphan Sunday to spur conversation with your Groups (the full Guide is at this link):

“It was never God’s intent that there would be that many orphans and the Church would be silent.”
What is your reaction to this statement?
How can we step more into the call of God and his heart for us to “Do good. Seek justice. Encourage the oppressed.”?
How do we move in response that is less oriented on us and more on loving God?

Read Isaiah 58:6-12
What are the conditions God sets out for knowing his righteousness, healing, and leadership; for rebuilding, and experiencing all of the newness of life he has for us?
What are things in your life, community, Group in need of restoration? 
How has God positioned you/your Group to see that restoration come?

We can get very caught up in discerning the will of God--but if we’re not engaging in the clear calls he sends to us from Scripture, we won’t hear him in the smaller things.
Why do you think this is?
How do we often turn ‘discerning God’s will’ into something more about us than God?
That God is so clear in this means it must be priority for us; why do you think it can be so hard to make our priorities line up with what are obviously God’s priorities?

On Global Orphan Sunday we highlighted the call to practice ‘true religion’ by caring for the widow and the orphan. The overarching challenge was to “do for one what we wish we could do for all” and to “identify the one.” Who is ‘the one you can start with (right in front of you)’ for you as individuals? What are ways that your Group can champion, be involved with, and help resource orphan care? Who is ‘the one’ for your Group?

***

The Kingdom of God needs to be something that happens in us before it can happen through us.
What did Pastor Shawn mean by this?
How have you seen this reality in the history of your life and relationships?
How can we position ourselves to experience having the Kingdom transform us internally? How can we be positioned to offer this transformation to others?
Read Luke 5:12-16
What is significant about Jesus saying “I am willing”? How does this change in the context & reality that Jesus did not heal everyone?
Why is it important to note that Jesus withdrew from those seeking him? 
What other examples can you think of where there is a ‘some, not all’ reality in Scripture? In Jesus’ ministry?
Why is this such a place of struggle for so many of us when it comes to our understanding of God and our expectation of what He does?

Read Matthew 12:15 and Luke 4:40
Why do you think there were some instances where God healed everyone present and other times when he did not?

How does all of this inform our understanding that “building the Kingdom means trusting in who God is and not what he does...no matter what he does”?
What is the difference between who God is and what he does?
What are symptoms that we’ve confused these? How can this confusion lead to an unhealthy place where we feel offended with God and his actions?
How is a proper perspective of the temporal and eternal vital for us as we continue to ask for “Your Kingdom come”?

Read Luke 7:18-23
What is most significant to you in this passage?
Have you ever been tempted to turn away from God because of difficulty? 
     How did you handle that situation?  
How can we “stumble”/find ourselves offended on account of Jesus?
What are ways that God may not meet our expectations? What examples in your own life can you think of? 
How do we position ourselves to have our expectations in line with God’s desires and character?

We were challenged to make a commitment to not be offended by Him.
What does it look like for you and your Group to call one another to more in this area? How can you help each other to grow in trust and intimacy with God despite difficulty and suffering?


Prayerfully reflect as individuals on this question: Is there anything in my life and relationship with God that would undermine my steadfast trust in Him? Ask the Holy Spirit to search and know you. Share with someone in your Group whom you trust that can pray with and for you over the next several months that God would bring wholeness and steadfastness.

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Sunday, November 11, 2012

Build it! | Success -- Discussion Guide



Life Group Discussion Guide :: Sunday, November 11, 2012 (JXG) 
Sandy Lake Wesleyan :: Pastor Shawn
Build it! | Success (week 4)


Remember, this Guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of what can be discussed, but is best used as a guide to help your Group process what God is teaching them. Read through the discussion points below and prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit would have you work through.
 Be sure to pray for, encourage each other, and share the victories God is giving your Group.

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Please use some of these notes from last week to spur conversation with your Groups (the full Guide is posted as last week's entry):

“It was never God’s intent that there would be that many orphans and the Church would be silent.”
What is your reaction to this statement?
How can we step more into the call of God and his heart for us to “Do good. Seek justice. Encourage the oppressed.”?
How do we move in response that is less oriented on us and more on loving God?
What are the conditions God sets out for knowing his righteousness, healing, and leadership; for rebuilding, and experiencing all of the newness of life he has for us?
What are things in your life, community, Group in need of restoration? 
How has God positioned you/your Group to see that restoration come?

We can get very caught up in discerning the will of God--but if we’re not engaging in the clear calls he sends to us from Scripture, we won’t hear him in the smaller things.
Why do you think this is?
How do we often turn ‘discerning God’s will’ into something more about us than God?
That God is so clear in this means it must be priority for us; why do you think it can be so hard to make our priorities line up with what are obviously God’s priorities?

On Global Orphan Sunday we highlighted the call to practice ‘true religion’ by caring for the widow and the orphan. The overarching challenge was to “do for one what we wish we could do for all” and to “identify the one.” Who is ‘the one you can start with (right in front of you)’ for you as individuals? What are ways that your Group can champion, be involved with, and help resource orphan care? Who is ‘the one’ for your Group?

***

The master says, “you have been faithful with a few things” or, “faithful with little,” but a single ‘talent’/bag of gold in this passage is worth approx. 15-20 years’ income for the average worker--how does this change the way we may read this passage? How does this change the way we look at what God has given us?
Our readiness for Jesus’ return is defined by our stewardship of the things he has entrusted to us.
How do we see that “God gives according to ability.”
How is this encouraging?
How does this show that God wants to see the greatest success in us?
What does the anger of the Master show us?

Why is “after a long time” such a significant part of the story?
In what ways are you experiencing the ‘long time’ gap in the story of what God is doing in your life?

What is the danger in confusing ‘successful’ with ‘selfish’? How does Colossians 3:23-24 speak into this?

Why do we sometimes mistake success for the absence of cost or suffering?
Read John 16:33; how does avoiding suffering and cost rob us of the full experience of success God calls us to?

We tend to think success is gaining position, possessions, and prominence. How does Acts 20:35 refute this perspective?
Why do you think God designed his Kingdom in such a way that gain is directly connecting to giving?

“In the Kingdom of God, success is determined by what we do not what we have.”
What are indications we’ve given way to selfishness or laziness in our  relationship with God? 

Pastor Shawn shared these ‘truths to embrace’:
  1. You cannot be successful on your own (John 15:5) -- what does it look like to embrace in this in our journey as Christ followers? How do we receive and give what God gives us?
  2. Success isn’t just about winning and losing. What is it about, then? What has God given us individually and corporately that he is calling us to use for building his Kingdom.
  3. Success must be weighed before it can be measured--where we invest must have meaning. What are ways God is calling us to shift our perspective to experience him ‘along the way’ rather than pursuing a goal for the goal’s sake?

Pray with one another as a Group that He would speak to you as individuals and a Group about how you’re currently defining a ‘win’ and what he would change in that.  Invite members to share an area where this is a struggle with at least one additional person in your Group and invite that person to pray specifically for each other during the weeks ahead. Set the expectation of  Checking-in with each other about what God is doing in each of you and your relationships as you seek him together.
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Sunday, November 4, 2012

Orphan Sunday Discussion Guide

This Guide is Available as a .pdf for download here.

While none of our Groups are scheduled to meet this week, the discussion surrounding the morning message and Orphan Sunday is too significant to not discuss with your Life Groups.

That being said, probably the most important question from the Guide below is this one:
This was Global Orphan Sunday and we highlighted the call to practice ‘true religion’ by caring for the widow and the orphan. The overarching challenge was to “do for one what we wish we could do for all” and to “identify the one.” Who is ‘the one you can start with (right in front of you)’ for you as individuals? What are ways that your Group can champion, be involved with, and help resource orphan care? Who is ‘the one’ for your Group?
In the weeks ahead, please use whatever aspects of this Discussion Guide that you feel will be most helpful to your Group as we continue to seek the God of Justice in this region and our world.
Here's the rest of the Guide:
Life Group Discussion Guide :: Sunday, November 4, 2012 (JXG) 
Sandy Lake Wesleyan :: Pastor Beth
Build it! | Justice (week 3): GLOBAL ORPHAN SUNDAY


Remember, this Guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of what can be discussed, but is best used as a guide to help your Group process what God is teaching them. Read through the discussion points below and prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit would have you work through.
 Be sure to pray for, encourage each other, and share the victories God is giving your Group.


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THE FACTS:
:: There are an estimated 153,000,000 orphans worldwide (approx. half the US population statistically)
:: 5,700 children worldwide become orphans every day
:: 1,200,000 children are trafficked every year
:: 424,000 children are in foster care in the US
:: 29,000+ children “age out” of foster care every year
:: Orphans are most at risk to be sold into slavery and die before the age of 5

“It was never God’s intent that there would be that many orphans and the Church would be silent.”
What is your reaction to this statement?
How can we step more into the call of God and his heart for us to “Do good. Seek justice. Encourage the oppressed.”?
How do we move in response that is less oriented on us and more on loving God?

Read James 1:27
What does the Scripture say are the two things that make ‘genuine religion’ in the sight of God?
How are orphan/widow care and righteous living connected?

Read Isaiah 58:6-12
What are the conditions God sets out for knowing his righteousness, healing, and leadership; for rebuilding, and experiencing all of the newness of life he has for us?
What are things in your life, community, Group in need of restoration? 
How has God positioned you/your Group to see that restoration come?

We can get very caught up in discerning the will of God--but if we’re not engaging in the clear calls he sends to us from Scripture, we won’t hear him in the smaller things.
Why do you think this is?
How do we often turn ‘discerning God’s will’ into something more about us than God?
That God is so clear in this means it must be priority for us; why do you think it can be so hard to make our priorities line up with what are obviously God’s priorities?


Read 1 Corinthians 4:20
In what ways can we be guilty of talk without action?
What is “God’s power” we read about here?
How can we make ourselves more open to the power, leadership, and counsel of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

Pastor Beth shared about SLW’s JUST 1:17 initiative, because we believe the issues of justice and orphan care are the things God is calling us to. We shared about FREE 1 to address the crisis of 30,000,000 people caught in human trafficking and the issue of slavery is something happening ‘in our back yard.” Please pray for the opportunities we have been given. What does it look like us for again to be a place of ‘New Liberty’ and Freedom? What can your role be as an individual and as a Group to FREE 1?

LOVE 1 is our orphan and foster care focus. Through championing and resourcing adoption, foster parents, and respite care as well as groups of support for foster/adoptive parents, we will empower more to LOVE 1. 

Please pray for this initiative. The enemy would seek to derail this because it is so close to the heart of God. Pray for God to raise up people who will engage fully, for foster and adoptive parents to be raised up, for passionate advocates for freedom to be engaged. Ask for God to give us eyes to see and anointing in this area. Pray for us to be found faithful.


This was Global Orphan Sunday and we highlighted the call to practice ‘true religion’ by caring for the widow and the orphan. The overarching challenge was to “do for one what we wish we could do for all” and to “identify the one.” Who is ‘the one you can start with (right in front of you)’ for you as individuals? What are ways that your Group can champion, be involved with, and help resource orphan care? Who is ‘the one’ for your Group?

Ongoing discussion: What are the opportunities for your Group to connect with people who may be far from God? What are the ways your Group can live as ‘Jesus with skin on’ in practical ways in our region to see the advancement of His Kingdom? We’re challenging every Life Group to again engage in at least one missional expression--please connect with Pastor Jeremiah if you need help finding opportunities.

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