Monday, February 10, 2014 at 03:11PM A quick video that goes over some practical next steps to continue seeking God's kingdom in your daily life.
Here is a summary:
Monday, February 10, 2014 at 02:41PM In the last week of our Kingdom Groups, we're considering the humbling yet encouraging reality that God works through us to bring his kingdom into people's lives.
That might seem like a lot of pressure, but God hasn't called us to do this on our own. He gives us the gift of his Holy Spirit to teach, guide and encourage us. To be "Kingdom People" doesn't mean that we are self-reliant, it means that we rely on God's Spirit and lean on him each day. We hope the week five video, the "Kingdom Next Steps" video and the discussion questions below help you wrestle with what this looks like in your life.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Monday, February 3, 2014 at 02:34PM In week four, the big idea is this: God loves the people in our lives even more than we do.
The discussion questions below are designed to help you wrestle with God's timing. There isn't a formula for how we come to know and believe that God loves us completely because of Jesus. Sometimes it might feel like what we do doesn't make a difference, other times we might overestimate the importance of what we do. The reality is that what we do matters, and God works through us to bring his kingdom into the lives of people.
God's kingdom comes into our lives and the lives of others in his time - and that is a good thing! God, give us the grace and faith to trust your timing.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Would you describe yourself as someone who likes to know all the details or as someone who likes to be surprised?
2. What do you think of when you hear the words, “Thy Kingdom come?
3. Which of the following do you think is the biggest barrier to you truly listening to the people (and communities) in your life? (Question 3 is from: Ferguson, Dave. Discover Your Mission Now).
a. I’m too overwhelmed with my own stuff.
b. I’m afraid of what they might share.
c. I don’t know the right questions to ask.
d. It’s hard for me to care about what’s going on with others.
e. Other (please explain)
4. Are you ever frustrated with the timing of God? Why?
5. Why do you think that not everyone moves at the same pace?
6. Does it sometimes feel wasteful to be generous with the love of Jesus?
7. What do we do when people don’t respond right away?
Monday, January 27, 2014 at 01:16PM In week three, the big idea is this: It's good news when God comes into our lives.
If we believe God is perfect and holy, all-powerful and all-knowing, then it could be troubling to know he comes into our lives. A good analogy would be to think about how you feel when you're with someone who is much better at something than you are. You want to be happy for them, but their presence in your life also exposes your shortcomings and weaknesses. If finite human beings expose our inadequacies, how much more when the infinite God comes into our lives?
Yet when God does come in Jesus, his mission was not to condemn the world but to save the world (John 3:17). Jesus coming into our lives is good news because he comes not to ridicule us for sin, but to take away our sin. He comes to make our sin his sin, our guilt his guilt, and our shame his shame (2 Corinthians 5:21). Through faith in Jesus, God gives us the same welcome, love and blessing he gives his own Son (Matthew 3:16-17).
The goal of the video and discussion questions this week is to consider how God brings good news into our lives, and how we might bring good news into the lives of others.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Monday, January 20, 2014 at 09:55AM
In week two, the main point is that God's kingdom isn't first of all a set of propositions, but a story about a King who comes to rescue his people. Jesus is the climax of the kingdom story. After he died and rose from the dead, he explained to his disciples how the story of God's kingdom all fits together in him (Luke 24:27). The first thing for Jesus disciples wasn't to learn a set of rules to follow, but to see how the story of God's love for his people reached its pinnacle in Jesus - and they were a part of that story!
If God's kingdom is a story that is still being told today, and our stories are part of his story - that means God is at work in the story of our lives! It also means that God is at work in the stories of other people in our lives. The goal of the video and discussion questions this week is to encourage each of us to consider how God's big kingdom story intersects with our own stories.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS