September 28: Groups Guide

About This Guide

The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.

Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.

pdf download

Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.

Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.

more Resources

Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.

Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.

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Love

Teaching Text: 2 Peter 1:3-11

FHis divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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Themes

Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:

• Built Up in love

• Equipped to Live the Promises of God

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Formation 

Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:

• So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 

  Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. 

  – Ephesians 4: 11–16

• The Kingdom of God is most accurately represented when all the saints are equipped and participating in the mission of God to love show his love to our world. 

• The word EQUIP was used to refer to… 

  • THE SETTING OF A BROKEN BONE - things are are broken in our lives being healed.

  • THE TEACHING OF A SOLDIER TO FIGHT - to be made ready of for struggle of life and the way of love in Christ by the Spirit 

  • THE SUPPLY OF WHAT IS NEEDED FOR ALONG JOURNEY - that we would have what is need for the long journey of life 

  • THE RESTORATION OF SOMETHING TO ITS ORIGINAL CONDITION - maybe its been worn out, beaten down, damaged, and it gets restored to like new…

• TODAY - 2 Peter 1:3-11

• And SO this passage is an old and seasoned saint taking our hand and walking us through how it works…

  • Don’t forget you have everything you need

  • Don’t forget where to find it: in union with Christ and in the promises

  • And Don’t Forget that it’s through the promises of God we grow in such a profound way that we become participants in divine nature.

  • We actually have a share God’s life.

  • We actually have a share in what is true about God’s character growing up in us.

• His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 

  2 Peter 1:3–4

• In a world that plays up scarcity, can we really believe that we have what we need?

  • What areas of life do you feel like you are experiencing scarcity? Not enough? 

• God is not lacking - remember in Psalm 23 when David is giving us this classic picture of walking with God through life. 

  • “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.”

• The promises of God are doorways for us to participate in God's very nature

• The first temptation and every one thereafter: 

  • Maybe God is keeping something Good from you. 

• The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 

  – John 10 :10

• Now if we’re making our way through our lives without drawing on the power of these promises to get us participating in the God’s nature, in God’s way and character in the world, then we are leaving this tremendous resource of abundant life untouched and unused.

• How? 

• MAKE EVERY EFFORT

  • How does this line up with God’s free gift of grace? 

• We come in on Christ’s accomplishment.

• But Peter says MAKE EVERY EFFORT to add to your faith and then he gives this list.

• I love what Dallas Willard says..

  • God is not opposed to effort, He is opposed to earning

    – Dallas Willard

• AFTER YOU BELIEVE…

  • Virtue is what happens when someone has made a thousand small choices requiring effort and concentration to do something which is good and right, but which doesn't come naturally. And then, on the thousand and first time, when it really matters, they find that they do what's required automatically. Virtue is what happens when wise and courageous choices become second nature.

    – NT Wright

• Its not ramping up our willpower, its turning our will over and over again to God with the help of the Holy Spirit so that we grow in the life of God.

• At the end of this journey of maturity that Peter highlights is LOVE.

  • That we share in the active, anti-selfish, sacrificial, enduring, world changing love of God.

  • There is a GOOD NEIGHBORS FAIR TODAY. Each both is a way to practice love…

  • GOD HAS NOT LEFT US WITHOUT WHAT WE NEED.

Practice

Offer prayers together of:  

• Gratitude for the promised of God 

• Gratitude for the provision of God 

• Gratitude for for the person(s) of God

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June 15: Groups Guide

About This Guide

The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.

Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.

pdf download

Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.

Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.

more Resources

Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.

Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.

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Love

Teaching Text: Ephesians 5:8-20

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the lightbecomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Themes

Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:

• Pentecost

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Formation 

Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:

• The phrasing of this passage we read today can run past your ears and you might change it without noticing because it is not exactly what you expect. 

  • When it can easily make it say something different from what it actually says because its close to what you would expect it it say but it then its not.

• The passage does not say, “You were living in darkness, now you are living in light.”

• For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 

  – Ephesians 5:8

• We think it’s going to say you were living in darkness, but it says you were darkness. 

• We think it’s going to say you are now living in the light, but it says you are light. 

• Live as children of light.

• This letter that was first directed to a city church in a bustling crossroads, cross cultural, pluralistic city was also passed around to other cities.

• It was written to people who were trying to understand and to live the staggering change that Jesus was bringing into people's lives.

• Pattern of the letter

  • Here is who you are. Now here is how you live.

  • You were once this. You are now this.
    

• The chapter begins:

  • Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 

    – Ephesians 5:1–2

• You were darkness, You are light.

• Your life once made it harder to discern reality, to grasp what is really there.

• You weren’t just living in a dark place, you were contributing to it.

• You may have had no nefarious intentions and you weren’t setting out to harm, but the self disconnected from God is confusion. 

• Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. 

  – Ephesians 5:6–7

• “‘God’s wrath’, in fact, isn’t just a punishment waiting for people at the end of the present age. It isn’t an arbitrary thing whereby God makes up some rules to stop people enjoying themselves and then threatens to get angry with them if they go ahead anyway. God’s wrath is built in to creation itself. There are certain ways of behaving which are so out of line with the way God made the world, and humans in particular, that they bring their own nemesis.”

  – NT Wright

• He is saying there are spiritual laws that are just as real and consequential as physical laws.

• To live apart from God is like trying to ignore gravity. 

• It’s like pretending you don’t need water to live.

• It’s like having no regard for how you feed yourself.

• You may have moments or days where you get away with it, but the trouble is built in.

• It carries its own consequence.

• Sin is a flight from reality. 

• Light is visible and makes things visible - live in a way that accords with the truest truth of reality

• For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 

  – Ephesians 5:8–9

• There is a way of life that produces anxiety, loneliness, disconnection, frantic search with no light, anxiety, even death.

• And there is a way of life that accords with God’s love and light. It’s not a trouble free life, but it does produce certain fruit … (the three mentioned here are … )

  • Goodness - character growth 

  • Righteousness - actions of justice and shalom 

  • Truth - a lived expression of actual reality

• But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: 

         “Wake up, sleeper, 

         rise from the dead, 

         and Christ will shine on you.” 

– Ephesians 5:12–14

• HOW?

  • “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. “

    – Ephesians 5:15–20

  • Recognize the gift of every day (and every moment)

• Be filled with the Spirit (and not the substitutes and short cuts) 

• Soak your life in gratitude and worship.

• In a world of scarcity overflow.

• In a world of fear, live connected to your courage 

• In a world where selfishness is expected, shock with kindness 

• In a world of alone, be together

• In a world of lies that shroud in darkness, be light.

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June 8: Groups Guide

About This Guide

The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.

Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.

pdf download

Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.

Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.

more Resources

Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.

Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.

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Love

Teaching Text: Acts 2: 1-24

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

“‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead,freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

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Themes

Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:

• Pentecost

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Formation 

Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:

• What is life?

  • An unchosen gift where we find ourselves experiencing existence and possibility in a relational world. 

    • Unchosen - your life is something you received, not something you began

    • Existence - your awareness of being alive comes with certain natural and spiritual laws outside of your control.

    • Possibility - inside of your existence you have many meaningful choices to make 

    • Relational - Human life cannot begin or survive alone. It can barely be sustained alone at any time. Life thrives most in relationship.

    • World - The physical/natural world is full of immense beauty and danger and so is the world made by human cultures.

• A Relational framework:

  • God - Self - Others - World 

• Impacts: Identity, Relationships, Physicality, Emotions, Community, Culture, Resources, Work, Power

• What if God wants to be known?

• What if God wants to heal and restore all that was lost in our disconnection?

• What if God wants the renewal of all things?

• How?

  • The gradual and love soaked disclosure of a God who is FATHER, SON, HOLY SPIRIT

    • Father - YHWH

      • Working in covenant for repair and renewal 

      • Hints at other members of Trinity 

      • God defines reality 

    • Son - Promised Messiah + Kingdom Bringer

      • Lamb who takes away the sin of the world

      • “I have called you friends”

      • Life, Death, Resurrection

    • Holy Spirit - makes people alive spiritually by uniting them to Jesus

      • Our experience of friendship with God 

      • Filling and leading a redeemed life 

• “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly”

  – Acts 2: 1-2

  • This day has been coming for centuries.

• The unifying translator - our primary problem is relational brokeness at the places of most importance

• Making sense of the impossible

• The Spirit who brought order our of chaos in creation does so again 

• Are these people drunk? What is happening?

• The Spirit helps locate them in the story of the ancient promises. This is happening NOW!

• The Spirit lifts up Jesus.

• The Spirit translates God’s rescue to our hearts.

• Cut to the Heart - gets to the very center and nature of reality and our lives

• Repent and be baptized - reorient your entire lie around this new reality and be immersed into relationship with God 

• Be clean and be filled

• This is your invitation

• Be cut to the heart - the center of things

• Come ready to surrender to love

• Be clean and be filled

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