Leadership Packet. This week s Leadership Packet includes. Leader s Notes Leadership Article Small Group Announcements Bay Day Flier

Transcription

1 Leadership Packet Week of May 18, 2014 This week s Leadership Packet includes Leader s Notes Leadership Article Small Group Announcements Bay Day Flier

2 5. The Sadducees knew and believed in the Torah, and yet their understanding of those books was faulty. When have you seen this type of inaccuracy played out in life? When have you watched as someone incorrectly used the Bible, even though they knew the Bible quite well? Maybe you have a memory of when you did this. Sometimes we are extremely well meaning in our faith, yet we are misguided. It s humbling to look back and realize that no person has all the knowledge and understanding. This is why the Church (community) is so important. We all have a part to play. Life After Death Mark 12:18-27 May 18, 2014 Dr. David Jeremiah Sermon Notes I. The Sadducee s Question About Life After Death - Mark 12:18-23, Acts 23:8 A. The Principle - Mark 12:19, Deuteronomy 25:5-6 B. The Puzzle - Mark 12:20-23, Mark 8:31, Mark 9:30-31, Mark 10:34 II. The Savior s Answer About Life after Death - Mark 12:24-27 Bringing it Home 1. When you think about God s loving involvement in your life (now, or after death), would you say you are more 1) skeptical, 2) fearful or 3) doubtful that He will take care of you? What is driving you toward this type of unbelief? What is holding you there? Perhaps self-pity, pride, and/or arrogance are driving you away from God. There are all sorts of options to stay away from truth. There are all sorts of opportunities to look at lies and call them truth. A. The Reason for Ignorance About Life After Death - Mark 12:24 B. The Reorientation of Life After Death - Mark 12:25, I Corinthians 15:40-44 C. The Reality of Life After Death - Mark 12:26-27, Exodus 3:1-6, Mark 16:6, John 11:25-26, Romans 4:16-17, I Corinthians 6:14 Conclusion: 2. Pastor Jeremiah said, To believe in a personal God who lives in the continuing present should change the way we act as well as the way we believe. Through this sermon, how has your understanding of who God is changed? How has your perspective on this this life - and the next life - changed? How will this change your actions? When we interact with God, we are changed. This week s sermon was a powerful interaction with what God has planned for us after death. And, what we learned sheds a lot of light on how we should live now, before death. God wants us to have life at its best now, and in the hereafter. What did this sermon (and questions) give you that prompt you to live differently? Small Group Questions Getting Started 1. Loss is a part of life. Think back to the most recent funeral you ve attended. Whose funeral was it? What was your relationship to that person? This week s sermon deals with a lot of technical, theological information. And, it deals with the complexities of death and life after death. If you find yourself struggling to make sense of all that is dealt with (in the sermon, or the questions), don t worry. There are times when we need to work through some challenging material to grow in our understanding of God. This week is one of those times. We have complete faith that God will work through you, and your group, as you wrestle with His Word. Copyright 2014 by Shadow Mountain Ministries 2100 Greenfield Drive, El Cajon, CA

3 2. What do you find yourself thinking about when you attend a funeral? What kinds of conversations take place? How do you feel when you go to a funeral? Everyone goes to a funeral, sooner or later. Death truly is a part of this life. Funerals serve a valuable purpose. When we go to a funeral, inevitably, we see our own mortality. It s good to contemplate death. It s good to explore our finite existence on this earth. And (as we shall see), it s good to look beyond this life and ponder life after death. Digging Deeper 1. The Bible teaches that there is life after death. But, outside of the Bible, there are many other teachings and opinions about what happens to someone after they die. Describe one that you ve heard. How does it compare with what the Bible teaches? Reincarnation is one of the big ideas out there. Nothingness is another idea; you just cease to exist. It s good to get a look at, and wrestle with some of the conflicting teachings on death that are out there. The clearer we are on what teachings are out there, the better we can take them to the word of God to compare. 3. Many people fear death or doubt that there is life after death. Both of these feelings can be rooted in an ignorance of God s word. When we don t understand God s word, it is a dangerous way to live. Read the following verses and discuss the dangers of having an inaccurate understanding of God s word. John 20:3-9 They did not understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead. What Jesus had taught them was throughout the Old Testament. Yet, they didn t understand. Acts 13:26, 27 They did not know that they were actually fulfilling the scriptures. Even the people who were against the scriptures unknowingly fulfilled the scriptures. Wow, God had said there would be people like that, and those people couldn t see what they were doing was fulfilling His Word. II Corinthians 3:12-15 Even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. How many times has a veil covered your heart? Mine? How about before we became a Christian? What about after? 4. We also heard that, the Torah bears [resurrection] evidence (The Torah is the first five books of the Old Testament.) Read the following verses and discuss how we can see the teaching of resurrection through them. What does this say of the Sadducees misunderstanding of God s word? Genesis 2:7 - Creation, in which God created every-thing ex nihilo and then specifically breathed life into the lifeless body of Adam (proto-resurrection). 2. We heard It is no more remarkable that we should live again, than it is that we should live at all. When you think about your own life, would you say you are certain of life after death or skeptical? Do you firmly believe that you will live on, or are you uncertain? Why? As we look at our own lives, we need to get really clear on what we believe. There is a difference between what we know (information that we ve been taught) and what we believe (truths and convictions that we live out in our everyday lives). This question begins a thought process that asks, What do you believe? What do you really believe? Genesis 5: "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." This is the language of rapture and not death. The implication is that God took him from life to life. Genesis 22:3-5 When Abraham took Isaac up the mount to sacrifice him, he ordered his servant to "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you. This implies belief in the resuscitating, if not resurrection, power of God. Exodus 3:1-6 - When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, Jacob had been dead for 200 years, Isaac had been dead for 225 years, and Abraham had been dead for 330 years. The point was that they were not dead at all. They were very much alive. Indeed, they were still alive when Jesus demolished the Sadducees' argument.

4 Baby Steps BY DALE BACON WEEK OF MAY 18, 2014 anoint Elisha to succeed you I Kings 19:16 Last week, we received an from Dick Edic, one of our small group leaders. The read, I have an idea for helping you recruit more small group leaders Immediately, he had my attention. Dick was sharing an idea he had already tried out with his own small group. I asked each [person] to read their favorite verse or passage to the group, and share what it meant to them and why. Then they were to ask one or two discussion questions relevant to the selected verse or passage. His idea had two powerful components: 1) a simple exercise and 2) a personal one. I read on. I was very pleased and surprised that everyone in our group volunteered to share a verse with discussion questions. Not only was this idea something the group was willing to try, they even volunteered to participate. This idea is worth trying. Why? Because it s most likely something you haven t tried with your group yet. It s fresh and new. John Dehnert has said, The best thing to do is something you haven t done before. How might this help your group members move toward exploring leadership for themselves? Dick had a great answer, it gives them a taste of what it is like to facilitate a group, but without the fear of taking on the whole effort during a given session. It is a baby step to let them experience a leadership moment. And that s what leadership is; baby steps and leadership moments. Think about all of your own baby steps. Where were you before your first leadership baby step? Where were you after 5, 50 or 100 steps? Every leader, at some point, has a moment where they look back over their accumulated leadership steps and say, Hey, I guess I AM a leader. What might this look like in your group? How might you incorporate this idea into the last few small group meetings left in this season? Lead well.

5 Week of May 18, 2014 Announcements for your Small Group: Small Group Bay Day We hope you ll join us this summer for our annual Small Group Bay Day for all small group members and their families. We ll be gathering at Mission Bay on Saturday, August 2, from 10 am - 3 pm. More details on the enclosed flier. Women s Ministry Summer Study Join the Women s Ministry for their on your own Summer Study: Becoming a Woman of Simplicity, by Cynthia Heald. You may gather a group in your home, at the park, at the beach, or do it solo. Study begins June 16; register in the patio on the weekends, May 24 through June 15. Have questions? Contact Darlene Barber at Men s Care Ministry The Care Ministry is about men serving God by helping the elderly, disabled, widowed, and single moms of SMCC. They address minor electrical, plumbing, automotive, carpentry, or mechanical problems. Are you a handy man or a contractor with a heart for ministry, there are many who need your help. If you re interested in serving in this way or have questions, contact Larry Bolin at or Jim Jillson at Calling Crafty Ladies! The Women s Ministry invites you to their Creative Cards Class on Monday, August 4, 7:00-9:00 pm, where you ll learn how to make homemade cards. Cost of the class is $10 for supplies and you ll walk away with 4 cards. To register, contact Debbi Eggleston at or kpeggleston@cox.net. Announcements for Leaders & Hosts: Going on break this summer? Wow! There are only 4 more weeks until the official Small Group summer break. To get ready for this time, can you let us know if you ll be breaking or staying open this summer? We ll want to have a list of open groups for those who express interest in joining a group over the summer. amy.dennisonshadowmountain.org or Save the Dates: Thursday, August 21 - Small Group Kick-off Dessert September 13/14 & 20/21 - Small Group Sign-up Campaign