In what ways has God communicated in the Bible that he is good, great, glorious and gracious?
In what ways has God demonstrated in your life that he is good, great, glorious and gracious?
In what ways do you communicate “without words” that God is good, great, glorious and gracious?
Can you identify ways that you communicate “without words” that God is not good, great, glorious and gracious?
1. Something good that happened.
2. Something you learned about God and yourself.
3. Something difficult/challenging that happened and why was it hard.
According to the teaching this morning in what way DID the arrival of Jesus bring peace on earth?
According to the teaching this morning in what way WILL Jesus bring even more peace?
What can you do to grow in your awareness and experience of the peace that Jesus offers?
Talk together about the times and situations where you are most tempted to become self-focused and selfish. If necessary, ask each other for forgiveness and pray for each other.
Talk together about people in your life who might be in need of a selfless act of kindness from you — make plans for what you can do for them over this week leading to Christmas.
What are some things you were hoping God would do for you? Commit to making these things a daily prayer list. Try matching these desires with specific Scriptures.
Pick one day a week to fast during Advent - feel what hunger feels like. Do you long for God like you long for food ?
Carve out a 15 minute block one a week to be in silence with God. Ask Him to speak to you, and just listen for Him in your heart.
Faith Steps
What are some things you were hoping God would do for you? Commit to making these things a daily prayer list. Try matching these desires with specific Scriptures.
Pick one day a week to fast during Advent - feel what hunger feels like. Do you long for God like you long for food ?
Carve out a 15 minute block one a week to be in silence with God. Ask Him to speak to you, and just listen for Him in your heart.
Faith Steps
What are some things you were hoping God would do for you? Commit to making these things a daily prayer list. Try matching these desires with specific Scriptures.
Pick one day a week to fast during Advent - feel what hunger feels like. Do you long for God like you long for food ?
Carve out a 15 minute block once a week to be in silence with God. Ask Him to speak to you, and just listen for Him in your heart.
What are two brand new things you learned from Stanley Jon?
On a scale of 1-4 how normal has living on mission become in your household.
1-it’s a challenge and doesn’t happen
2-it happens but it is rare
3-it’s not as consistent as I would like but it’s happening
4-it’s just part of who we are and what we do
Take some time as a household and review the On Mission page to consider how you can be part of what God is doing around the world.
Talk together about your view of the Christian faith: is it mostly head or heart? Is it mostly study and learning and doing or how much is there a place for feeling, the supernatural and a sense of intimate relationship? Talk about when you have experienced both.
Talk about the questions you have related to God’s presence. Consider emailing your questions to the pastors.
FAITH TALKS
FAITH TALKS
1. Get into groups according to where God has placed you as an ambassador. (Work, Life stage, Neighborhood, family, friends)
2. Share specific ways that you currently live as an ambassador where God has placed you.
3. Come up with a few practical things that you can do to live as an ambassador where God has placed you. (Don't over think it.)
Faith Talks:
Faith Talks
1. Tell about a time in your life that a timeless doctrine (a truth about God) answered a current question that you had.
2. What are some of the puzzles that you face or current questions that you have about God or what he is doing?
3. How might God be using those puzzles or questions to help you know Him?
4. Ask some people to pray for you over some of the pressing questions that you are currently facing?
1. What are specific ways you and your household can prepare yourselves for hearing Gods word?
2. Talk about things in your life that numb you to the things of God.
3. What are a few things you can do to eliminate the “God numbing” things in your life?
1. What are some ways you can keep your life pure in your daily walk ?
2. Share some ways you will say YES to living in community with the Word.
3. Pray with at least one other person asking God to show you where you can best fit in His plan for Living the Word in community
This week, find time to look to God’s Word alone, then talk together as a household about what you learned. Here’s a simple guideline.
Faith Talks
How has God used affliction in your life to shape your character and address issues of the heart? Be specific. Look for an opportunity to share that story this week. (Practice with a friend first).
Faith Talks
1. Can you identify one point of pain, something current or past that is a point of pain or grief?
2. It is time to write a Psalm of Lament by following the following steps.
⁃ Target your cry: Who are you crying out to
⁃ File your complaint: Tell God what is your complaint.
⁃ Verbalize your request: Tell God wha you desire
⁃ Preach to your soul: Remind yourself of a truth that you need to remember
⁃ Renew your resolutions: Tell God how you plan on moving forward
3. Share you Lament with a trusted friend.
Meet with a friend and tell a story of a specific situation in your life of pain, grief, or loss (past or current).
As you listen to each other, pay attention to spoken or unspoken “conclusions” about God, yourself, or others. Conclusions are belief statements about how life is (e.g. “People are cruel;” “God doesn’t care;” “It will never work out;” “There’s no use trying,” etc.)
Who might be a friend with whom you could interact, to both hear their story and share your story of pain.
1. If you were to record and playback your household's conversations, who would be the recipient of the most praise?
2. According to the teaching today, why is praise so important?
3. What were David’s obstacles to praise in Psalm 30?
4. What truth can you hold onto to overcome the lie that it is better to lower your expectations than to be disappointed again?
1. How real is Jesus to you? Has he taken up residence in your heart? Is He the sole object of worship? If not, what are the false god’s that need overthrown? Name them and share them with a trusted friend.
2. Are we ‘verbing’ worshippers? Are there views or practices of worship that we need to repent of? Are there points of legalism we need confess and repent of? If so, name them and share them with a trusted friend.
1. Read Romans 15:9 & Psalm 42:5, 11. What is the role of praise for the believer & the non-believer?
2. Make a praise list and share it with someone this week. Write down anything about God that fits any/all of these categories:
What’s one area in your life where you’ve seen God redeem a messy part of you?
Try and share with someone (not in your household) this week one way God has changed you.
Talk about the times you did something challenging for God and it turned out God used it to change you in some positive way.
Is there anything challenging you think God may be asking you to do that you are running from?
1-In what ways have you experienced, life on life discipleship that deals with the messy parts of your life?
2-What did you learn through the teaching today about the role of the household in the formation of disciples?
3-What are some steps you can take to make discipleship a central theme of your household?
What fears come up for you when you think about sharing your mess?
Talk about past experiences sharing your mess. Was it positive or negative? What happened to that messy area of your life?
Share 1-2 messy areas in your life with a trusted friend or leader.
Review together the characteristics of the crowds that followed Jesus. Talk about the ways your following Jesus has at times looked too much like the crowd.
Talk together about how your life has been changed (or could be changed) by life-on-life discipleship — how being known in your failure has led you (could lead you) to heart change. What helps/hinders that from happening more?
What have you learned about the way Jesus leads his disciples that makes you want to follow Him?
What did you learn about the pattern of the disciples that you can identify with? In other words how are you like or not like the original 12 disciples?
What does discipleship look like in your life?
How do you respond to the call to disciple and be discipled. What is Jesus wanting you to do now? What are the next steps you can take this week to start moving in obedience?
Review the 8 Resurrection Realities. Which ones do you need reminded about most? How you can remind each other of those truths.
Talk about the areas of alarm and unbelief that come as a result of forgetting Resurrection. Pray for each other in those areas that you will experience resurrection power.
Faith Talks
Talk together about times/ways Jesus “rode into your life.” What helped you recognize Him? What hindered you from “receiving” Him?
Talk about some of the bigger mountains/obstacles you are presently experiencing that challenge your faith.
The contrast between Jesus and everyone else in today’s teaching makes the point that all of us fail and deny Jesus. How aware are you that you fail and deny Jesus?
Jesus’ example of finding strength by being watchful included leaning into community. Spend time together as a community of faith, talking about and praying together about some of your patterns of failing to follow Jesus.
1. How do the central elements of the Bread and the Cup in communion explain how Jesus restores our relationship with God the Father?
2. In this story, the disciples fail Jesus. Their spirits may have been willing but their flesh was weak. Did you know that disciples fail? The question is not will you fail as a disciple but rather how do you respond when you have failed God and others? Do you ignore it,rationalize it, deny it, or work to fix it?
3. Based on this story what do you think Jesus would say to you when you fail?
4. In the garden, what does Jesus do when he is confronted with his spirit being willing but his flesh being weak?
5. What is one way that you desire to be more like Jesus and less like the sleepy disciples?
What are the situations/circumstances where you tend to fall asleep spiritually or go “off duty”? (consider times when life is going well as well as when life is not going well.)
What are practices that you do or have heard of that might be helpful to you being more alert/watchful? Are any of these practices ones you might want to embrace for your household? Talk about putting them into practice
Having a Jesus-centered view of the end times is essential to every disciples. Why do you think it’s so easy to miss the central focus of Jesus when it comes to end times? Has you ever gotten caught up in all the speculation of the end times? How did you come to back to staying focused on Jesus?
What do you feel God has entrusted you to do while you wait for His arrival? How do you come to realize what He gave you to do? Share that with 2 others this week.
Faith Talks:
When you think of your future, what concerns do you have? Do those concerns reveal anything about what you are hoping in?
Read Mark 13:1-13, then talk about any truth in this text that gives you new hope for your future.
Jesus talks about loving God with all your heart soul mind and strength. He goes on to use the example of the window giving everything she has in the offering. If Jesus where watching the way you spend your money what would that tell him what you really love?
Often times it's hard to know how to start tithing. Talk as a household about your tithing patterns. What holds you back, or what motivates you to give? Share stories about Gods provision as you've been faithful in giving.
For Jesus, love is most important. Talk together about the evidence in your life, over the time you have been walking with Jesus, that you have grown in whole-hearted love towards God and others.
Jesus warns us to watch out for the natural tendency to be like the Scribes who live to impress others, who love to be praised by others. Talk together about the ways Jesus is setting you free of being like a Scribe.
