Is It Worth It?
Rows and Circles – Part 2
August 24-25, 2019
Dr. Jeffrey Allen Love
- We Learn In Rows, We Grow In Circles.
Questions:
What role does Jesus play in your daily life?
What did Jesus mean when He made reference to the word “Christian”?
“Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted! Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.'” Matthew 28:16-19
- Follow Jesus by:
“‘Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me.'” John 14:21a
a. Listening to Him.
b. Thinking like Him.
c. Seeing like Him.
d. Acting like Him.
“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” James 1:22
- Start training, keep training
“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.” Acts 2:42
“They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity…” Acts 2:46
“And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: ‘Jesus is the Messiah.'” Acts 5:42
“‘Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'” Matthew 28:20
My Next Step: A key strategy for my spiritual formation as a Follower of Jesus is to actively participate in a Life Group this Semester.
Life Groups Study Questions
Taking the Talk to Another Level
For the Week of August 25, 2019
Rows and Circles, Week 2
Life Groups use these questions to dig deeper into what we talked about this weekend as we do life together in relationships. If you’re not in a Group please come to the Groups Info Table in the lobby, or go to alivechurch.com/groups.
Getting to Know You
- Welcome to the “circle” of a Life Group! Take a little time to get to know a bit about each other as we begin this new Groups semester.
- By showing up to this Group you took a bit of a risk. When else have you taken a risk? How did it work out?
- Talk about a time when you helped someone else take a step—or a risk—in their life. Why were you the one to help?
Quick Review
- Looking back at your Talk Notes, was there anything you heard in the service that stood out or maybe even confused you?
Discussion Starters from the Weekend Talk
In Pastor Jeff’s Talk, “Is It Worth It?”, he challenged us with a couple of questions: (1) What role does Jesus play in your daily life? And (2) What did Jesus mean when He made reference to the word “Christian”?
- What are your thoughts about those two questions? How do you answer them? How would you LIKE to answer them?
- Read Matthew 28:16-20 out loud together. (Pg. 760 in LTB*)
- When have you experienced growth in your life—in any area (not just spiritual)?
- How does it make you feel that some of the eleven disciples were still doubting Him when he gathered them together? (v. 16)
- Jeff challenged us to start with “Follow Jesus” and then to grow in “spiritual formation,” i.e. Keep Training.
- What are some ways you do—or have done—that?
- If you’ve been a Follower for a while, when have you grown the most?
Digging Deeper
John 14:15-21 (Pg. 823 LTB*)
- Jesus is hours away from execution, so he is giving final instructions to his inner circle—His disciples.
- How did Jesus provide help for His Followers, even after He was no longer physically present in the world?
- Why is obedience so important as an expression of love for Jesus?
James 1:19-25 (Pg. 930 LTB*)
- James lays down some pretty tough challenges in this passage. What part(s) of it particularly challenge you?
- Why are we “fooling ourselves” if we do not do what God’s Word says? (v. 22)
- How does this passage impact Jeff’s challenge for us to “Start Training and Keep Training”?
Taking It Home
- Our Next Step from the Talk is: “A key strategy for my spiritual formation as a Follower of Jesus is to actively participate in a Life Group this Semester.”
- How do you plan to experience growth in your spiritual formation this semester? What do you hope to learn or gain or experience?
Pray
- Pray for one another in your Group to intentionally live out the Next Step.
This Weekend:
We begin a NEW Series: Trek: An Adventure in Trust. It’s a “One Voice” series, which means we synchronize the key teaching points across the generations so the youth and kids are learning the same basics that are in the Weekend Talk. We’ll also have some fun giveaways, so here’s a tip: GET OUR APP! Just text “ALIVE AZ APP” to this number, 77977, and follow the instructions.
| *LTB = Life Transformation Bible, which is the New Living Translation of the Bible including many useful tools to help you better understand God’s Word, including our own Alive Church Life Transformation Discipleship Plan. They are available FREE in the church lobby. |