Sunday, Oct 25
Hebrews 10:19-25 19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Scripture
Eph 2: 8-10 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Dialogue
When have you found yourself in a role or situation where you thought, "I'm not the person for this"…? What if God's preparation for what comes next includes things we don't recognize as preparation at the time?
Scripture
Acts 2:42-44 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
Dialogue
If we stripped away the building, the music, the sermon, and all the organized programming, what would have to remain for us to still call it church? Is church defined more by what happens when people gather or by what happens when they scatter? Why?
Scripture
Mark 2: 15-17 15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Dialogue
Why is it natural for us to evaluate people based on where they are rather than the direction they're moving? Why is it sometimes difficult to build relationships with people who don't look, think, believe, or behave like us?
Scripture
2 Corinthians 4:7-10 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
Dialogue
How do you make sense of an experience where you genuinely believed God was leading you somewhere, only to watch the whole thing fall apart? Does an unsuccessful outcome necessarily mean we misunderstood God's direction?
Scripture
Hebrews 11:8-10 8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Dialogue
When have you experienced something that made absolutely no sense at the time, but years later you began to understand its significance? How can we be faithful to God's direction without knowing where it will ultimately lead?
Scripture
1 Peter 4:10-11 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Dialogue
What might change in your life if you stopped worrying about being ready for everything God might ask of you and simply focused on being available for the next thing? What have you been putting off because you don't feel qualified or ready? What is it that keeps us from being available to God?
Take it deeper
Question 1
1. Identity - I'm Not That Guy!
Question 2
-How much of our identity is shaped by what we're good at versus what we believe we're capable of?
Question 3
-Has someone ever seen something in you that you couldn't see in yourself?
Question 4
-Can the way we define ourselves actually limit what God might do through us?
Question 5
-What's the difference between recognizing our strengths and allowing those strengths to define our limitations?
Question 6
-Is God is more interested in our qualifications or our willingness? Why?
Question 7
2. What Actually Makes a Church?
Question 8
-What's the difference between attending a church and being the church?
Question 9
-What do we sometimes mistake for evidence of a healthy church?
Question 10
-What do you think the early Christians understood about church that we've sometimes lost?
Question 11
-Is it possible to be following God faithfully and still end up somewhere you never intended to go?
Question 12
3. Discomfort, Belonging, & Direction
Question 13
-Can you think of a time when someone welcomed you before you had everything figured out?
Question 14
-How do we create a community where people feel safe being honest about their struggles?
Question 15
-When does discomfort become an opportunity for growth, and when might it signal that something needs to change?
Question 16
-Are we sometimes more interested in people becoming like us than in helping them move toward Jesus?
Question 17
-How often do our assumptions about what makes someone qualified prevent us from seeing what God is doing through them?
Question 18
4. When God's Apparent Direction Leads Nowhere
Question 19
-How do we distinguish between a closed door and a reason to persevere?
Question 20
-Have you ever discovered much later that an apparent detour prepared you for something unexpected?
Question 21
-Can something be a failure in the way we originally intended it, but still be a success in what God accomplishes through it?
Question 22
-What happens to our faith when God's apparent direction doesn't produce the results we expected?
Question 23
5. God's Work in Retrospect
Question 24
-Do we sometimes impose a neat storyline on experiences that were actually messy and confusing?
Question 25
-Can we trust that God is working without claiming to know exactly what he's doing?
Question 26
-Is it possible to recognize God's faithfulness even when we never understand why something happened?
Question 27
-What's the difference between trusting God's character and trusting our interpretation of his plans?
Question 28
6. Staying One Day Ahead - Availability
Question 29
-What's the difference between being prepared and being available?
Question 30
-What might being available to God and available to people look like this week?
Question 31
-How do we recognize opportunities to serve God without feeling like we have to say yes to everything?
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