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Opening Prayer, Confession of Faith & Worship
 
Big Idea:
What does it mean to serve God with faithfulness?  In a world that challenges faithful living at every turn, how can believers cultivate and grow in faithfulness to God and to His Kingdom purpose in earth?

 Summary:
This weekend we had a guest speaker, Paul Scanlon ministering in our services.  Without having his preaching notes from which to prepare these LifeGroup study notes, we are going take this opportunity to focus on the grand and crucial theme of “faithfulness” for our LifeGroup study this week. 

Most Christians are familiar with the passage from Psalm 37:4 “God will give you the desire of your heart.”  Fewer Christians have applied the first part of that verse (which is the condition of the promise), which says “Delight yourself in the LORD, and…”  Even fewer believers are aware of the verse that precedes this great promise, which says: “Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.”  —Psalm 37:3 (NAS).  In our groups this week, let’s seek the Lord and encourage each other around the life giving theme of how to “cultivate faithfulness” in the hostile environment of this fallen world in which we are living out our faith. 

We live in a world that is at war against our pursuit of living in faithfulness to God’s life sustaining design for creation.  From Genesis to Revelation we see the battle raging.  It began in the Garden of Eden, where the serpent lured Adam and Eve away from faithfully serving God’s purpose, and the conflict runs even to the end of history.  The scriptures reveal a time yet to be, in the final book of the Bible, where Revelation 16:9 describes fallen Man’s final act as “cursing the name of God…” and  “…refusing to repent and glorify Him.” 

The big question for us this week is: “How can we ‘dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness’ toward God in the midst of the godless environment in which we live?” 

Discussion Questions: (read the scriptures & discuss)

Read Proverbs 3:3-4 —Embrace love and faithfulness as if your life depended on it.
1. Discuss ways in which we can “bind” ourselves to faithfulness.  2.  How does being connected in the local church help us to accomplish this life giving proverb. 

Read Matthew 25:14-30
Every believer desires to one day hear the words of verse 21…
“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”
1.  Discuss the parable in the context of what it means to serve God with faithfulness.  2.  How can we invest our talents in our relationships with family, friends, and others who God puts in our path?   3. How can we “faithfully” invest our talents through the church?

Read Revelation 19:11-12
Talk about the battle to live faithful lives in the context of this image we see of Christ in Revelation.  Remember 1 John 4:4 in your discussion: “greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.”

Taking Action:  During the week, meditate on Proverbs 3:3 and ask the Holy Spirit to give you fresh revelation about ways you can cultivate faithfulness in your life as you dwell upon this earth.

Ministry Time

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Opening Prayer, Confession of Faith & Worship
 

Big Idea:
There is a “great adventure” that God has called every person to engage.  The Bible is full of examples of men and women who have climbed out of their “spiritual La-Z-Boys” in order to realize the call, purpose and leading of God upon their lives.  In our groups this week, let us do what the writer of Hebrews encouraged…

24let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Heb. 10:24-25
Summary:
We live in a world of distractions.  Diversions to take our attention off of the reason we were born, and born again.  Jesus never lost sight of his life’s purpose.  Even when he was 12 years old, his parents found him in the temple learning, engaging, and pursuing his purpose, which was always in perfect harmony with his Father’s purpose.  The “spiritual La-Z-Boy,” which Pastor Terry encouraged us to vacate in his Father’s Day message, is not only referring to what is experienced with a remote control in one hand and a bag of potato chips in the other.  The message to the City of Grace family this weekend was to get up and step out into the full and unique potential that God has deposited into every life he has brought into being.  Take time in your group to read through the scriptures below and discuss how we can “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” and to help each other reach our potential in Christ, both as individuals and as a body of believers.

Discussion Questions: (read the scriptures & discuss)

Ephesians 5:14-17
Discuss the reality of time as a gift and resource to be invested

14″Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”  (NAS)

Luke 21:34-36
Read these sobering words of Jesus and discuss some of the ways Christians can get “weighted down” in these current days in which we live.

Matthew 25:14-30
Read this parable that Jesus taught and discuss it in light of the “La-Z-Boy” message of this past weekend. 

Taking Action: Over the next week, prayerfully consider what is one thing you can do to step out into your potential more proactively. 
Ministry Time

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Things I ♥  

(Part 3: I Love My Church)  

 

Opening Prayer, Confession of Faith & Worship 

  

BIG IDEA: 

Jesus is living out his kingdom mission in our day through the empowering and indwelling 

Spirit of God that is living in and through the Church universal, the Bride of Christ.   

 

SUMMARY:   

The incarnate Jesus came to earth as our High Priest (see Hebrews 4:14-16) and as 

such, understands our human frailty. Jesus is no longer walking the earth bodily as a 

man, but He did not leave the world alone… He told his disciples “it is better that He goes 

away,” because he would then send the Spirit (see John 16:6-7).  Jesus is still fully 

present in the earth through the Spirit which is living in, upon and through His 

Bride, the Church universal.  The Bride’s mission is the same as that of Christ’s: “to 

lead all who are willing, to follow Jesus to the throne of grace where they can receive 

mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  This week, let’s celebrate and appreciate 

the miracle of the Church, which we have been born into as children of God, and the 

blessing and mission of our own church family here at City of Grace. Use the seven 

points below as a catalyst for discussion, thanksgiving and prayers for what God has 

done and is doing in and through our church family. 

 

7 REASONS I LOVE MY CHURCH 

1) I Love My Church….because Jesus loves my church.  (see Eph. 5:25-26) 

Question to ask ourselves:  As members of the Bride of Christ, how can we love 

the church as Jesus did, and seek to build her up and present her as beautiful to 

her bridegroom?  Take a moment now in your group to discuss this and then 

pray lovingly, and with great faith, over your church, City of Grace. 

 

2) I Love My Church….because it is the hope of the world.  (see Colossians 1:26-28)  

“Jesus knew that spiritual transformation was the only hope for broken people, 

and he birthed the church to bring about this transformation.” —Pastor Terry. 

Let’s Celebrate these good things… 631 people received Christ in City of Grace 

services last year.  232 people were baptized.  God is impacting lives, cities and 

nations through our church. Take a moment now to thank God for all the lives he 

has transformed through the ministry of City of Grace, and pray especially for all 

the new believers and those baptized.  

 

3) I Love My Church…because it is a reflection of heaven on earth. (Eph. 3:10) 

Take a moment now to pray the Lord’s Prayer together as intercession over our 

church. (see Matt. 6:9-13) 

 

4) I Love My Church…because it is where I encounter the grace of God.  

In your group, discuss how you or someone you know have experienced the 

grace of God through the ministry of City of Grace.   

 

5) I Love My Church…because it has a cause worth living and dying for.   

Read Luke 9:23-24 and discuss it in the context of the “cause” above. 

 

6) I Love My Church…because it has a rich, rewarding history.  

With Hebrews 11 as a backdrop, discuss the rich heritage we have at our church. 

 

7) I Love My Church…because it has a bright, compelling future. 

Look through the supplemental document (back page of print out) and give 

thanks, praise and   prayers over what God is doing in and through City of 

Grace.    

 

Ministry Time  

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Things I ♥
(Part 3: I Love My City)

Opening Prayer, Confession of Faith & Worship
 
Big Idea:
“God loves the city because it represents the greatest concentration of what He values most… people” —Pastor Terry. 
When we look at our city, do we see it for it’s problems, taxes, or quality of shopping malls, or do we see it for the opportunities it presents the church to love people and reveal Christ?

 Summary:
In 1900, only 5 percent of the world’s population lived in urban areas.  Today about 75 percent of the world’s population lives in cities, according to United Nations estimates.  Demographers characterize this movement as “the greatest mass migration in human history.”  Is it merely coincidence or divine providence for these days in which we live?  Being that nothing happens by chance with God, it is reasonable for the believer to consider that God has a purpose in mind with this migration of the masses?  We live in an unprecedented era where God seems to be bringing the people he created out of the “hills” so to speak and into highly concentrated human communities.  Could it be that God is making it easier for the Church reach people, and to fulfill the Great Commission, by congregating the people of the world into cities?  Jesus’ answer to the question of when he would return was tied to evangelism… “This gospel shall be preached to all ‘ethnos’ (people groups)… and then the end shall come” (Matt. 24:14).  God seems to be gathering the “ethnos” into cities.

As Christians, we often view our cities from the angle of what we see as evil about them, instead of seeing them as places of opportunity for God to use us for his purposes.  In order to impact our city and it’s people for Christ, we do well to see through the eyes of scripture, recognizing that God has placed each of us specifically here for a reason.  Look at how the Apostle Paul describes this in Acts. 

26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  Acts 17:26-27
We are living in the exact place that God has called us to be a light, both as individuals, and collectively as a “City” of Grace.  To be a witness AND, as Pastor Terry spoke about this weekend, to be a blessing… 

“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
–Jeremiah 29:7

Discussion Questions: (read the scriptures & discuss)

Proverbs 11:11
What are some of the ways that we as individuals can be a blessing to our city? 
How can we as a LifeGroup be a blessing to our city.  

Revelation 21:1-4 & Matthew 6:10
Read these two passages together and discuss what Jesus might be saying to us about how we view the city(ies) in which we live.

Taking Action: Develop a written plan, based upon the questions under Proverbs 11:11 above, as to what you will do between now and the end of summer to be a blessing to your city, both individually and as a Group (REACHING OTHERS)
Ministry Time