Month: November 2019

Introductory thought: The love of God broadens our understanding of eternity.

Question 1:   Pastor Josh listed things that either are kept by us or have the function of keeping.  For example, he likes to keep his yard looking nice; this requires mowing, weeding, etc.  And his freezer keeps meat protected from spoiling.  Name one thing you keep and share what maintenance is required in keeping it.

Question 2:   Pastor Josh emphatically urged us that how we conduct ourselves when we face opposition matters.  He then shared how our conduct reveals:

1. how real eternity is to us,
2. the extent Jesus has captured our hearts,
3. how we live in wholeness,
4. the depth of our prayers,
5. the love of God that is in us, or the lack thereof, and
6. our view of the rest of the world.

Considering these six observations, what do your responses to opposition reveal about you?

Question 3:  Pastor Josh defined mercy as kindness or goodwill to the miserable and afflicted, joined with the desire to help them.  James 2:15-17 (NIV) says, “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” 

            Ques 3A: What opportunity to help someone in need have you missed? Pray and ask God to present a way for you to do something about this.

            Ques 3B: Consider the “miserable and afflicted” in your community. What opportunities lie before you to extend kindness or goodness to them?

Wrap-Up Thought:  Let us find ourselves more and more in the love of God and keep walking out our lives in it!

Question 1:  This week’s passage is Jude 1:20-21.  Read it aloud in your group or by yourself as appropriate.

Question 2:  Pastor Josh briefly traced the topic of the Holy Spirit from creation through Acts 2 (Pentecost).  What do you see/remember as significant themes or passages around the Holy Spirit in the Bible?

Question 3:  Power/empowerment seem to be mentioned a lot around the promise of the Holy Spirit for believers.  Why is power/empowerment by the Spirit important for a believer in Jesus?

Question 4:  Pastor Josh said when it comes to praying in the Spirit, we should be focused on a “presence pursuit” more than a “tongues pursuit.”  How would you tell the difference between those two? 

Question 5:  There are three levels to praying in the Spirit:  

• a) Spirit-mindedness, which is being led by the Spirit in a general sense as we pray  
• b)  “Groaning” in the Spirit, where the Spirit translates our deep groans (feelings without or beyond words) into prayer to God  
• c) Spirit enabled language gifts, where the Spirit enables us to pray in a language that we have not heard.  

• Question 5a: Discuss or recall a time when you experienced great benefit praying in one of these ways.
• Question 5b: Which of these would you like to start / do more of and how will you do that?
• Question 5c: What questions do you still have about praying in the Spirit?  Discuss.  

Question 6:  How can we use praying in the Spirit as we face opposition?

Introductory thought:  God’s Word activates the possibility of faith; it is not derived by our own doing.

Question 1:   In Deuteronomy 32:50-52, God told Moses that although he would view the Promised Land from a distance, he would not go there because he and his brother, Aaron, had broken faith with Him.  Pastor Josh commented, “Your broken and messed up faith is keeping you from … peace, confidence, etc.”  Recall an experience in your life when your faith was broken and messed up.  If comfortable, share how God restored your faith.

Question 2:  In 2 Chronicles 20:20, Jehoshaphat encouraged the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, “Have faith in the Lord your God, and you will be upheld… and you will be successful.”  In the verses following, we see profound results; God’s presence confounded three enemy armies!  What is a situation for which you need God to profoundly intervene?  In other words, in what area of your life do you need victory?

Question 3:  Isaiah 26:2 says, “Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps the faith.”  In the New Testament, Jude encourages readers to “build yourselves up in your most holy faith… and to keep yourselves in the love of God.”  What are ways you can build yourself up in faith?  What are ways to keep your faith?

Question 4:   Pastor Josh said that Jesus never walked the middle ground when it comes to faith.  He cited New Testament Scripture in which Jesus said, “Oh you of little faith,” and “I have not found such great faith.”  Pastor Josh talked about the extremes of skeptical faith and celebrant faith.  Where do you see yourself on the continuum of being skeptical in your faith and being one who celebrates in faith?

Question 5:  Pastor Josh explained that we all have physical experiences that reveal spiritual battles.  We must have a right response to whatever situation may be.  We must learn to handle conflicts appropriately, otherwise we’ll miss the reason we’re planted where we are planted.  Consider a challenge you are facing.  The temptation is to respond in a physical way.  What is an appropriate spiritual response you can apply to your challenge?

Question 6:  Pastor Josh said that it is our responsibility to build ourselves up (aka feed ourselves) by getting into the Word, by praying in the Spirit, and by treating people with mercy.  On the Grow card, we are challenged to “live by faith.”  Pastor Josh said the litmus test to see how we’re living by faith is based on our responses to these questions: Do you respond to the physical in a physical way or spiritual way?  Would you rather muscle up or be merciful?

Wrap-Up Thought:  Don’t settle for broken and/or little faith, but keep the faith and continually build yourself up in your faith.