Encountering God

Jesus is Lord of Justice

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Faith Talks:

  1. What is Jesus asking you to trust Him with?

  2. How is He inviting you to love your enemy?

  3. Are you listening to Jesus on how to respond to current injustices?

  4. Are you open to the way Jesus will do justice?

Habakkuk: Quietly Waiting or Kicking and Screaming

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Faith Talks:

1. What did God offer to Habakkuk about himself that led the prophet to the conclusion that he would quietly wait?

2. What are the circumstances of your life where God is leading you to quietly wait for him to work?

3. What are you learning about who God is or what he has done that will help you to wait on him?

Habakkuk: Shortcuts to Death

Faith Steps:

  1. Take time to identify your idols by completing this sentence (as many times as it takes to get them all).  LIFE ONLY HAS MEANING/I ONLY HAVE WORTH IF…

  2. Practice preaching the Gospel to your soul.  Look up Bible truths on what Christ has promised.  Seek to walk in those promises by faith. 

Habakkuk: Complaining to God About the Problem of Evil Part 1

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Faith Talks:

1. What is Habakkuk’s complaint?

2. Why does God give us the example of a complaining prophet?

3. What does pastor Greg mean by problem of evil?

4. What experience do you have with wrestling with the problem of evil?

5. What hope or answers have you found helpful in your journey of faith through the problem of evil?

Advent: The Arrival of Joy

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Faith Talks:

  1. At the first advent, when Jesus arrived the result was that the shepherds experienced joy. Why? What was it about the arrival of Jesus that produced Joy for the shepherds?

    2. Why is Joy important in your relationship with God?

    3. How is it going with Joy in your life? To what degree is Joy part of your relationship with God?

    4.What can you do to cultivate Joy in your life?

Advent: The Faith of a Forgotten Carpenter

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Faith Talks:

  1. After hearing the depth behind this Christmas story, how is your faith increasing?  What piece of your faith do you most long to see? (2 Corinthians 5:7)

  2. Talk about what you learned about this story today, that you didn’t know before, that could help enrich your (or someone else’s) faith.

  3. Make an “even though / God” list, and answer it with Scripture.  Example: Even though I feel persecuted, God will not abandon me.  (2 CoR 4:9)

Hope is Here, His Name is Jesus

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Faith Talks:

  1. What kind of darkness are you experiencing in your life? And, how is that impacting you?

  2. Jesus is here; which one of the following realities about him are you willing to receive in your heart?

    - Jesus will live in the fullness of the Spirit

    - His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord

    - He will administer justice

    - He is always dressed up in righteousness and faithfulness

    - He will establish complete shalom

    - Jesus will fill the whole earth with the knowledge of the Lord

  3. Who could you share the hope Jesus is giving you with?

Vision: Strategic Partnerships

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Faith Talks:

  1. What role did strategic partnership play in Paul's missionary journeys?

  2. What role will strategic partnerships play in the future of local and global missions at Living Faith?

  3. What are our obstacles to healthy partnerships?

  4. Is there anything that God is calling you to regarding local or global strategic partnerships?

Vision: Life on Life Discipleship

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Faith Talks:

  1. On Discipling Others:

    a. On a scale of 1 to 10, how competent/confident/responsible do you feel in discipling others? How does your past experience in discipleship affect that?

    b. What beliefs/thoughts/feelings about yourself hinder you from discipling others?  

  2. On Being Discipled: 

    a. What obstacles are stopping me from engaging in life on life discipleship? List them. What step can you take to overcome those obstacles? 

    b. Make a list of a few people who you would consider to be like Barnabas, (a good person, full faith and the Holy Spirit). Through prayer, ask God which of these people you could approach to start pursuing life on life discipleship.

Vision: House of Prayer

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Faith Talks:

  1. When it comes to prayer, what story am I telling myself?

  2. What truth or lie am I believing?

  3. What is God using in my life to invite me into His larger story?

  4. What would praying, or praying differently, look like?

  5. Consider praying with others for a season.

Vision 3 - Gospel Conversations

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Faith Talks:

  1. Describe the Gospel conversation between Peter and Cornelius.

  2. How did the passage show that the Holy Spirit was the one leading?

  3. Can you identify times in your life when the Holy Spirit was leading you toward an opportunity for a Gospel conversation? What did you do? How did you feel? What was the result?

  4. What obstacles do you face or what hinders you from being more free in Gospel conversations?

  5. How can you use OPEN TABLE to help you grow in your ability to have Gospel conversations?

Vision 2 - Biblical Literacy

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Faith Talks:

  1. What role did the Word of God and Scripture play in the growth of the early church in the book of Acts?

  2. What did Pastor Greg mean by the phrase Biblical Literacy?

  3. How hBiblical literacy impacts our growth because it shapes our world view and increases our faith. How does biblical literacy do that?

  4. How is your biblical literacy and where are some places that you can go to get help?

The Story of Us

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Faith Talks:

  1. What surprised you about the story of the church?

  2. What is meant by Jesus centered disciples and Kingdom minded churches?

  3. How has the story of the church become .your story? In what ways has your life been impacted by God’s ongoing story of Jesus centered disciple partnering with God in making Kingdom minded churches?

Encountering God in Sovereignty - The Butterfly Effect

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Faith Steps:

Step 1:  Surrender your life to Jesus.

Do you believe that Jesus was sent by God to die on a cross to forgive your sins?

Do you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and that He is still alive in heaven today?

Do you believe that Jesus is Lord, Savior, and King and will come again to set the world free from sin and death? 

Step #2: Write a 100 Year Life Vision:

Because of the gospel, what is it you most want to see changed in this world? 

What has to happen for it to really change?  List the changes.

Pray and pick one change to start on, and start on it this week. 

Encountering God in Reconciliation

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  1. How Do I Forgive?

  2. Remember Forgiveness requires that you trust the justice of God

  3. Remember Forgiveness requires you trust the Grace of God

  4. Remember Forgiveness is an act of obedience not a feeling

  5. Remember Forgiveness Leads to healthy boundaries

  6. Remember Forgiveness is not just a moment but a process

  7. Grieve Your Hurts and Losses

  8. Offer Forgiveness at the Level of Offense

  9. Cancel the Debt

Faith Talks:

  1. What do we learn about reconciliation and forgiveness from the life of Joseph?

  2. What is the difference between reconciliation and forgiveness?

  3. In what ways have you found freedom in forgiveness?

  4. What are the relationships that you have where God is asking you to take steps of forgiveness or reconciliation? What do you think is a good next step?

Encountering God Through His Providence

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Faith Talks:

  1. When we look at the long view of Joseph’s life, where do we see the providential work of God?

  2. When you look at the long view of your life, where can you see God’s providential work?

  3. What can you learn from the life and practices of Joseph that enabled him to maintain faithfulness while God was providentially working behind the scenes?

Encountering God: When It's Not Only About You

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Faith Talks:

  1. What is God saying to you about life being more than “just about you”?

  2. What are some of the ways that God provides the way to meet the challenges (famines) in your life?

  3. How could you better work with Him to make your life not just about your story but His story?

Encountering God in Inadequacy

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Faith Steps:

Step 1: Let’s recognize places we are inadequate.  Where do most often catch yourself saying         “I can’t do that”.  (e.g. Speaking up at work, Dealing with conflict, A particular task, Serving in a ministry, Sharing the story of Jesus, etc). Make a list of those things. 

Step 2: Pick one area from your list that you want to give room for God to provide what you lack. Take Joseph’s phrase and move in that area of inadequacy - “I Can’t do it, but God will give it…”   That one place of inadequacy might just be the place God wants to do something through your life.   

When that area comes up this week, do what Joesph did.  Recognize your inadequacy and lean on God to provide.  Pray about it, and use a similar phrase to Jospeh.  “I can’t do ______________, but God can/will ______________________.

Self-Talk of a Good Farmer

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Faith Talks:

  1. What conclusions have you made about God in light of your suffering?

  2. How have your own assessments become an excuse not to follow God obediently?

  3. What fears are you feeling guilty of?

  4. What better self-talk does the Cross gives you access to?

  5. What aspect of the Father are you most thankful for today—present, powerful or patient? Why? 

Encountering God in Disappointment

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Faith Talks:

  1. How do you tend to respond to disappointment?

  2. How did Joseph respond to the disappointment of his circumstances?

  3. Share with at least one person what you think the Father wants to teach you about walking through disappointment.

Encountering God: Feeling Temptation

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Faith Talks:

1. With safe people, talk about the things that temp you to sin.

2. What are the things that give you motivation to not follow the call of temptation? Write a list.

3. Do you find God to be the major motivating factor not to sin or is there another reason that is more motivating than God?

4. Spend time this week meditating on Proverbs 9:10, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

Encountering God in the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

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Faith Talks:

1. At the beginning of Genesis 37 Joseph received a great calling and great dreams for his life from God but what has happened to him by the end of chapter 37?

2. What obstacles and challenges did Jospeh face in Genesis 37?

3. Whether in your career or in a relationship, in what ways have you sensed that God has invited or called you to something only to find obstacles and challenges in your path? What was that like for you?

4. What helps you stay the course when facing those challenges and obstacles?