Faith Talks:
What causes you to lose sight of God?
What are patterns in your life that need to be broken?
What causes you to lose sight of God?
What are patterns in your life that need to be broken?
Why do you think that second generation, the one after Joshua’s generation was so lost?
Discuss areas in your life where you can identify the reality of both the unconditional and a conditional aspect of God’s promises?
1. Which of the following themes are you interested learning about and why?
-God wants to be King
-unconditional and a conditional aspects of God’s promises
-cost to compromised leadership and unfaithfulness
-need a true savior
2. What does it teach you about God that he is willing to bring grace and judgement into such brokenness?
Are you creating space for the upward dimension of your life? (If yes talk about how you do that, if no talk about why not)
What ways do you currently invest in the inward dimension of your life? (Christian community) Are you satisfied with how connected you are? Explain.
Talk about spaces around you where you can start investing in the outward dimension of your life. This means being apart of the revitalizing and restorative work of the Gospel in the people around you.
In what ways have you seen or experienced sinful or fallen maleness and sinful femaleness?
In what ways have you participated in or felt a desire to live out your maleness or femaleness in sinful ways?
Write down an issue in your life that involves suffering or frustration. How can this situation increase your hope in the resurrection?
What truth about heaven and the resurrection did you find most interesting? Email that to one of the pastors.
In what way can you see your current life affected by your belief in heaven and resurrection? Share this with a trusted friend.
Talk about your level of certainty regarding heaven and resurrection. In what way can you see your current life affected by your belief in heaven and resurrection?
We all have questions about heaven and resurrection. Talk about your questions. Make a list and come prepared next weekend to see what questions get answered.
Based on today’s teaching what are two significant things that we miss when we do not employ our spiritual gifts?
Share a story of a time when God used you to bless another person as you followed Jesus using your spiritual gifts.
Prayerfully consider talking to another person, this week, about any obstacles you face when thinking about using or when using your spiritual gifts.
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.