What is your favorite activity to do in the Fall?

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1 Prison Rules Shawn Johnson LG WEEKLY START To get things started, go around the circle and answer the following question: What is your favorite activity to do in the Fall? SHARE And God said, Let there be light and there was light. Genesis 1:3 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And then God spoke! Now, there are thousands of books filled with exhaustive research and biblical analysis from prestigious scholars about the creation of the world. There are many biblical views on how it all came to be. We love to debate about whether the author is referring to literal days or indefinite periods of time. And those are all interesting questions, but the problem is none of us were there to see it. What we believe with certainty is that God spoke, and it came to be. Genesis tells us that God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. What God creates is good! It is no wonder that throughout scripture, those who follow Jesus are likened to light in the midst of darkness. When the people of Jesus are around, they should reflect the light of Jesus. Most of us grew up being afraid of the dark, but now it s time the darkness is afraid of us.

2 As a disciple of Jesus, we have Jesus with us. We have God s Spirit working in and through our lives. Because of that, we don t have to fear the dark; we are not alone. G R O W Read John 1:1-14 John begins his Gospel with a profound, theological explanation of who Jesus is. We could spend months dissecting this passage, but for this week s group, let s start by discussing some basic questions. Why do you think John refers to Jesus as the Word? According to the passage, Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5). What do you think that means? What is the significance of this in our ordinary, everyday lives? There is another significant theme in this passage. John writes, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). This is really big deal. Jesus, the Son of God came and dwelt among us. The deep, theological word we use for this is Incarnation. But more importantly than knowing these big, theological words is understanding what this tells us about who God is and who He has made us to be. It demonstrates that the Creator of the Universe cares so much about the humans He created that He was willing to become one of us! We are called to be light, but we are not called to do it on our own. The Word became flesh to teach us and empower us to be light in the world; to be the tangible expression of Jesus to all those we come in contact with in our daily lives. Too often, we try to manufacture the light on our own strength. We fool ourselves into thinking that if we just work hard enough, we will figure out a way to be a light. The result breeds only frustration and exhaustion. However, according to this passage, that s not the hope and desire of God. The hope is to have a relationship with Jesus (the light) and let everything we do be an overflow of what He is doing in us, for His glory and our good! What are your thoughts about the incarnation? What do you think God was trying to teach us by taking the form of a human?

3 Do you ever find yourself trying to be a light on your own strength? M OVE Read John 10:1-15 John s Gospel is full of amazing stories about the things Jesus did during his time on earth. As Shawn reminded us this weekend, the life of Jesus reminds us of two beautiful truths; with Jesus, we get life to the fullest, starting today (John 10:10) and in heaven forever! Trying to be a light in the world can be difficult at times, so we need to be reminded of both of these promises often. Jesus came to give us life to the fullest and heaven forever. Which of those two statements is easier for you to accept? Which one do you get more excited about? Why? This weekend, we heard an incredible story about a man named Ian. God never stopped fighting for Ian and was there still fighting for him when he was at rock bottom. Stories like his, remind us that God is still on the move, actively fighting for us (Exodus 14:14). It s easy to give up on people and not want to get in the messy parts of their story, especially if they have wronged us, hurt us, or just keep falling into the same old pattern over and over again. But the beautiful truth revealed in Ian s story is that God never stops fighting for us. It s easy to fall into the trap of thinking someone may be too far gone to save, but it just isn t true. We don t need to look too far beyond our own stories and see how God has continuously fought for us. Have you given up hope that God will ever be able to reach someone in your life? Read James 4:2 James makes it abundantly clear, you do not have because you do not ask. Scripture invites us to ask God for the desires of our hearts! No one is too far gone, so let s be the church full of people who pray and seek God! Let s ask God to do an amazing work in the life of that person we are prone to walk away from and loose hope on. Let s fight for our friends and family this week! Let s believe that God is still actively fighting for them!

4 Take a few minutes and identify one person you are prone to give up on. Set up an action plan for how you are going to pray for them this week. Depending on the situation, maybe even consider reaching out to encourage them. P R A Y As a group, spend some time praying for the people God has placed on your heart. TO GO John 17:20-21 My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Writer Ryan Wekenman Editor Michele Williams

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