Philippians - Snapshots

Acts 15:26-16:40

Faith Talk

  • Paul, like all of us, was a man in process. Talk about ways Paul's journey from selfishness to love impacts you or gives you hope for your journey. 
  • In Acts 16 we saw three different people experience truth of the Gospel in three different ways: 1)reasoned dialogue; 2)power encounter; 3)exposure to remarkably different life. Talk about the people in your life who don't know Jesus yet. What might they need before they "get" the Gospel?

Advent Conspiracy - Worship Fully Spend Less

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Luke 2:8-12

Faith Talk:

  • As a household, talk together about your memories of last Christmas ... what are the special memories? Can you remember all the presents you gave? received?
  • For the adults, put a price tag on those Christmas memories. How much of a connection is there between the amount of money spent and the significance of Christmas? (How much did you spend for things you can no longer remember? How much did you spend for what now are special memories? Was your money well spent?)

Advent Conspiracy Spend Less & Give More Ideas

Taste of Mission

James 2:22 & 26

Consider these Faith Talk questions:

  1. Who is it that you are drawn to minister to?
  2. How were you hooked? What experiences woke you up to the need?
  3. What could be your process of that becoming more life-style — continuous? Share your ideas with someone.

Engaging Community Courageously

1 Corinthians 11:17-29

Faith Talks:

  1. What is it about God or the Kingdom of God that motivates you to engage in community and fight for healthy community? 
  2. Share your Grace Story: tell a story of when you have fought for a relationship, there was conflict and you made the choice to resolve it?
  3. Discuss the tool on conflict resolution as a household. What is easy and what is difficult for you about resolving conflict?

Volunteering My Time Generously

Acts 1:12-26

Faith Talks:

  • What is it about God or the Kingdom of God that motivates you to volunteer your time?
  • Share your Grace Story: what have you learned about yourself and/or God through volunteering on a ministry team or project?
  • Plan as a household when you will come together to discuss what you have learned through the spiritual gifts tool (included in bulletin).

Investing My Tithe Consistently (Part 2)

1 Chronicles 29:10-18

Faith Talk:

  • God owns it all; I just manage what belongs to another. Talk through what you would mistakenly say is “yours.” What’s on that list that isn’t available for the Owner?
  • God doesn’t ask me to give to Him because He wants to wreck what I have, but because He sees I tend to wreck it. Talk about the difference you have seen in your life when you willingly give to God what belongs to Him ... and when you don’t.

Telling My Grace Story

1 Corinthians 2:1-4, 13-14

Faith Talk

  • As a household, tell your grace story. What has Jesus done and from what has that set you free? Be as specific as you can. Pray together, thanking God for His grace in your life.
  • Look at the Guide to “Telling My Grace Story.” List some of your friends to whom you think God may want you to tell your grace story? Pray for them together.

Connecting With Jesus Daily

John 15:1-6

Faith Talks

  • Talk about your “quiet time” experience — what are some of the significant experiences you’ve had as you were alone, seeking God.
  • Talk as well about some of the obstacles you face in having a “quiet time”. What ideas do you have of what might help you all overcome those obstacles or support each other in your desire to have a “quiet time.”

LFA: All About The Revelation of God's Word

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Matthew 4:4

Faith Talk:

  • Today’s teaching pointed to the truth that our life is fed and sustained by receiving God’s Word. Spend some time reading the following verses: John 6:68; Matthew 4:4; John 15:3-7. How do those verses emphasize the importance of God’s Word?
  • As a household, look over Sunday’s handout listing the variety of ways we can hear God’s Word. Talk together about the one you will choose to practice over the next weeks. 

LFA: All About Households

Mark 5 & 7

Faith Talk

  • How would you have felt if you were the person Jesus healed and were told you could not go with Jesus, but you had to return to your household to tell your people what God had done in your life? Excited? Disturbed? Confident? Scared?
  • Perhaps the simplest way we can tell our “Gospel story” is: 1) You saw what I was. 2) You see what I am. 3) Jesus made the difference. 4) Are you you interested? Talk about some specific ways you have seen Jesus change those of your household.

The Gospel & The Next Generation - It’s War ... So Pray

Ephesians 6:10-18 

Faith Talk:

  • The gift of prayer is more incredibly wonderful than we realize. Talk together about a time you saw God do something amazing because of prayer.

  • Talk together with those of your household about your experience of prayer. How much or how little do you enjoy praying together? What answers have you seen God give to your prayers? What’s the best time of day and setting to pray together?

The Gospel & The Next Generation - Live On Mission

Ephesians 6:5-9

Faith Talk:

  • What obstacles hold you back from engaging in mission?  What would need to change in your heart to engage in mission more easily?  Talk about that as a household/family.
  • Who would you like to reach with the Gospel of Jesus?  What faith filled risks is your household (or Pastorate) taking to reach those people?  What’s one more step you can take toward living on mission?
  • If you wrote a movie/cartoon about your life, what would that movie be like?  Where would living on mission fit in the story?  

The Gospel & The Next Generation - What Unites Our Home?

Ephesians 4:1-7

Faith Talk:

  • If you were baptized after you became a follower of Jesus, talk about why you wanted to be baptized. Did your baptism change your life in any way?
  • Ephesians 4:4-6 calls God’s church and each family to pay attention to what passions unite us. Talk about what subject tends to occupy the attention of your household (education? Sports? Activities? Friends?). What might it look like for Jesus to be a more central part of your home?

The Gospel & The Next Generation - God Sightings

Ephesians 5: 15-20

Faith Talks

  • On a scale of 1 (we don’t at all) to 10 (all the time), how natural and consistent do you practice God Sightings in your home? Talk about a time you were encouraged because someone pointed out to you who God is and what God does.  
  • Whether we have biological offspring or not, we are each called to invest our lives in the next generation. Who are the people, younger than you, with whom you desire to practice God Sightings? Spend time praying for them and look for a time this week to speak of who God is and what God does. 

http://lfachurch.org/4foundations

The Gospel & The Next Generation - Integrity

Ephesians 4:17-32

Faith Talks

  • Review the 6 levels of change found in Ephesians 4:18-19. Think of a time when you were “hard” or “dark” regarding who God is or what God wanted in your life? Talk together about that experience. 
  • The description of God’s forgiveness in Ephesians 4:32 gives us the freedom to be honest about times we have not lived out the new life Jesus has given us. Who are people (family, friends, neighbors, co-workers) that have seen you acting out your “old self”? Consider going to those individuals and confessing your fault (The integrity of your faith will, most likely, increase, not decrease as a result).

http://lfachurch.org/4foundations

The Gospel & The Next Generation - Intro

Ephesians 2:19-22

Faith Talks:

The Gospel, in one way, is like a virus. To pass it on, you have to first be infected by it.  In the Everyday Gospel sermon series, we learned of the need to break the power of the past. As a way of passing the Gospel to the next generation, what is one pattern of your past you desire to see God change?

Whether we have biological offspring or not, we are each called to invest our lives in the next generation. Who are the people, younger than you, whom you desire to influence with the Gospel? Spend time praying for them.

http://lfachurch.org/4foundations

A Disciple's Identity

Faith Talk

  1. Caesar told us that because of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, disciples of Jesus are family, servants and missionaries. To which aspect of the identity of a disciple is God drawing your attention this morning and why?
  2. Take some time and dream about what it might look like for you to live out this identity in your neighborhood, or among your friends, coworkers and classmates? What might change? What could it look like? Are there any long term dreams that God is rekindling as you consider living in your identity as a family member, servant and missionary? Share your dreams.

Quit Manipulating Conflict 2

1 Samuel 24:1-22

Faith Talk

  1. Where do you typically respond when you are in conflict?  What do you hope will happen for you when you go to that place? (e.g. Security, Peace, Safety, etc.)
    • Attack: Shame, Guilt, Throw Spears
    • Avoid: Lie, Withdrawal, Dispose, ignore
  2. Which of the five steps toward peacemaking is hardest for you?  Why?  
    • Surrender Your Will 
    • Check Your Heart 
    • See Others from God’s Perspective
    • Become Vulnerable
    • Lay Down Judgment & Vengeance 

Quit Manipulating Conflict

1 Samuel 18:1-30

Faith Talk

  1. Name the different ways to manipulate conflict that were mentioned in today’s teaching. Can you think of other ways people tend to manipulate conflict?
  2. When you were growing up, what were some of the ways your family would manipulate conflict?
  3. What is one way you would want to see Jesus change the way you handle conflict? Spend time praying for each other. 

Enlarging Your Soul Through Grief & Loss 2

1 Samuel 1:9-28

Faith Talks

  1. Write down 3 examples from your life where you experienced loss.  How did you respond to the loss? 
  2. Of the 3 practices for enlarging your soul through grief and loss, which is the hardest for you and which do you think God wants you to grow in?

      a.     Pay attention to grief and loss

      b.    Seek God in the confusing in between.

      c.     Let the old birth the new

3. Are there any specific steps you need to take to get help in the practices for enlarging your soul through grief and loss?

      a.     Ask for prayer  (on connect card or on website)

      b.     Join Grief Share (see weekly schedule)

      c.     Talk to ministry leader or pastorate leader

Enlarging Your Soul Through Grief & Loss

1 Samuel 1:1-19

Faith Talk

  1. Write down 3 examples from your life where you experienced loss. This could be loss of someone you loved, loss of friendship, loss of innocence, death of a dream, loss of health, etc. How did you respond to the loss?
  2. Make sure you share at least one of those stories with a trusted friend in your household or pastorate.
  3. Share with your household/pastorate anything that God drew your attention to from the sermon. Be sure to include any areas that God is leading you from unbelief to belief in the areas of grief and loss.

NCA Weekend Update

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Due to the sensitive nature of this week's speaker we are unable to put up the sermon audio online. You can however locate a hardcopy on CD in the lobby, but please be thoughtful to not place any of it online. Thanks for understanding.  

Faith Talk:

  1. Steve talked to us about the power of Jesus' light in very dark places. Spend some time thanking God for the stories we heard, and pray for the Muslims that Jesus still wants to reach with the Gospel. 
  2. Talk about people in your life who have been powerfully changed by Jesus' light. Talk as well about people in your life who are in dark places and need Jesus. 

Passion Week - The Resurrection of Jesus, the Christ

Luke 24:1-53

Faith Talks

From Luke 24, we understand the only way to understand what God says and does is through understanding the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Talk together about the way God brought back to life things in your life that you had thought were dead.

Talk together about how the resurrection of Jesus gives you hope for your life. What things in your life currently appear lifeless? What hope does the resurrection give you for what Jesus may do in those areas of your life?

Passion Week - Bloody Death of a Helpless Victim

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Exodus 12:1-13, 21-24

Faith Talk

  • It’s been said that we can only celebrate the heights of God’s grace to the extent we are aware of the depth of  the punishment we deserve. Talk together about patterns of thought and behavior in your life that show you don’t deserve God’s grace.
  • Talk together of what Jesus suffered when He died.  When we realize He took the punishment we deserve, we begin to understand the extent to which God goes to give us grace. Talk together about the ways you have seen God’s grace actively at work in your lives.

The Everyday Gospel - 1st Service Q&A

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Looking Below the Surface

Signs of emotional immaturity in churches

  1. Ignoring the “ungodly” emotions of anger, sadness and fear
  2. Denying the past's impact on the present
  3. Doing for God instead of being with God
  4. Spiritualizing away conflict
  5. Covering over brokenness, weakness and failure 
  6. Living without limits

“When the pain of not looking surpasses the pain of looking, we will be willing to look under the surface of our lives”

--Pastor Nate

"It's impossible to be spiritually mature and remain emotionally immature. We need the Gospel of Jesus to transform every area of our Everyday Life"

--Pastor Nate

Breaking the Power of the Past

"If you believe by simply ignoring the past, your past won’t exist or it will all go away, you are living under a destructive illusion"
--Pete Scazzero

"We can never break the power of the past if our God is too small!"
--Pastor Nate

"I am not who my past tells me I am, I am who God says I am, and He says, “You are mine"
--Pastor Greg

Receiving the Gift of Limits

"When God says no — when he gives a limit, remember, God’s ways are extremely good and gracious. If that is true - and it always is, God’s “no” is a gift."
--Pastor Nate

"Our limits aren't keeping us from finding fulfillment, but rather our limits direct us to our God-given purpose.”
--Pastor Chris

“Figuring out our limits is best done in community!"
--Pastor Chris

"God doesn’t guard us from places where we have to make a choice. In fact, He often sets us up in the exact situation where we have to make a choice to say 'no.'"
--Pastor Nate

The Everyday Gospel - 2nd Service Q&A

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Faith Talk

We have covered three themes in this series so far (Looking Below the Surface, Breaking the Power of the Past, and Receiving the Gift of Limits).  Which of those three have impacted you most?  In what specific ways do you see it changing your everyday life/thoughts?

In what ways do you find it difficult to set healthy boundaries for yourself especially when you are surrounded by great need?

How skilled are you at looking beneath the surface of your life? Who do you know that could help you grow?

Receive the Gift of Limits 3 - Learning to Say "NO"

1 Samuel 24:1-22

Faith Talk

  • Reviewing King David’s story from 1 Samuel 24, talk about the different ways David could have justified himself in going beyond the limit God had given him. In what ways do we tend to justify ourselves in going beyond our limits?
  • Share an area of your life where you need to say “no” more frequently.

Receive the Gift of Limits 2

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Genesis 25, 27, & 31

Faith Talk

Which member of Jacob’s family (Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Esau) is most similar to you? What limits do you share? What other limits do you have on your life?

What is it you have set your affections on to give you “life and love”? What is stopping you from placing your affection on God? 

Receive the Gift of Limits

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Faith Talks

David had a great idea: Build God a Temple - that way God could have a house just like the gods of all the surrounding nations had houses. But God said “no” to David’s great idea. Talk together about one or two times God said “no” to a good idea you had.

It’s not that David’s idea was bad; God just had an idea that was better. The significant decisions of our life aren’t always between opposites: right and wrong, good and bad. Most of our decisions require discernment between what’s good and what’s better. Rather than giving his time to build a house for God, God wanted David to focus his energy on building his household for God. When God has told you “no” what were the “better” things God wanted you to focus on?

Breaking the Power of the Past 2

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1 Samuel 10:20-24

FAITH TALKS
In 1 Samuel 15:17,24 we get a glimpse into the heart of Saul. We are told that he was small in his own eyes and that he feared the opinion of people.  How did those two beliefs about himself impact his leadership? 

Talk together about possible “events” in your life that have been significant in shaping what you believe about yourself. 

In what ways does the gospel theme of adoption challenge or support those beliefs? 

How would your life be different if you lived believing that you are an adopted child of God?

Breaking the Power of the Past

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2 Samuel 11:1-27, 12:1-31

Faith Talk

Talk together about possible “generational sins” that have been passed down to you through your family history (character issues? patterns of dealing with conflict/pain? repeated sins? addictive behavior? view of money and “stuff”, etc.).

Talk about the ways you have seen Jesus change you so that increasingly you are less formed by your family history and more formed by your life with Jesus? 

Pray together about specific generational sins you would like Jesus to override in your life. 

Look Below The Surface 2

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2 Samuel 6:1-19

Faith Talks

On scale of 1 (Not very true) to 5 (very true), how would you rate yourself on the following:

  • It’s easy for me to identify what I am feeling inside. 1 2 3 4 5
  • I am willing to explore previously unknown or unacceptable parts of myself, allowing Christ to more fully transform me. 1 2 3 4 5
  • I enjoy being alone in quiet reflection with God and myself. 1 2 3 4 5
  • I can share freely about my emotions, joy, and pain. 1 2 3 4 5
  • I am able to experience and deal with anger in a way that leads to growth in others and myself. 1 2 3 4 5
  • I am honest with myself (and a few significant others) about the feelings, beliefs, doubts, pains, and hurts beneath the surface of my life. 1 2 3 4 5

(Adapted from Pete Scazzero, The Emotionally Healthy Church)

Total your score. What does your score say about your maturity in looking below the surface of your life?

Talk about what might be helping you or keeping you from going with God below the surface of your life.

Further For Study On This Theme

Look Below The Surface

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1 Samuel 15:1-35

Faith Talk:

On scale of 5 (to a very great extent) to 1 (not at all),  how would you rate yourself on the following:

  • I pay attention to and take responsibility for the emotions I feel.  
  • I talk with others about what my emotions point to below the surface of my life. 
  • My relationship with God is not just a list of what I “do" for God, but it is bringing healing to long-term unhealthy patterns in my relationships with others.  

Talk about what you learn from your scores. Pray together that God will help you see the Gospel transform every are of your everyday life. 

Guest Speaker - Bruce Main

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Faith Talk

  1. What about Bruce's story do you find compelling? How does his obedience to God in starting Urban Promise impact you? What are ways you want to follow God's voice?
  2. Talk about ways you, as a household or pastorate, can take the gifts and skills God has given you to care for the community around you. 
  3. What mission trips most interest you? Make sure you communicate your interest to the church office. 

Everyday Gospel - Introduction

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1 Samuel 18:6-17

Faith Talk:

On scale of 5 (to a very great extent) to 1 (not at all), how would you rate yourself on the following:

  • Those around me would say I am not hurried or rushed. 
  • I don’t avoid having difficult conversations.
  • I take time for myself to recharge and abide in Christ.
  • I don’t need approval from others to feel good about myself. 

Talk about what you learn from your scores. Pray together that God will help you see the Gospel transform every are of your everyday life. 

United Prayer

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1 Peter 4:8-11

Faith Talk

1. Review this week of prayer, talk together about some points of celebration...what has God done that you are particularly thankful for?

2. Review this week of prayer, talk together about some points of repentance...what has God shown you that changes you?

The 2014 LFA Faith Declaration 

We believe Jesus died for us, to forgive us and to use us to bless others. 

We believe Jesus died to make us the new people of God empowered by the Holy Spirit as an outpost of the Kingdom of God in this world. 

Therefore, 

  • We will pray “not my will, but yours be done.”   
  • We will minister to God in worship 
  • We will minister to each other through our gifts and talents as we live in community together. 
  • We will minister to the world by proclaiming and demonstrating the Gospel.