For Others LIFE GROUP QUESTIONS

Transcription

1 For Others LIFE GROUP QUESTIONS PREVIEW Making Room For Others - Go The Extra Mile Making Room For Others - Understanding & Empathy Making Room For Others - More About Jesus, Inviting Others GATHERING TIME (10-15 min) PRAYER (3-5 min) ICEBREAKER (10 min) Describe your reaction to the statement - "You choose your friends, but God chooses your neighbors." SUMMARY (5 min) Greg continued the Make Room sermon series with today's message, For Others (all nations). Jesus extends an invitation to us to make room, to connect with God beyond head knowledge or busyness. Greg stated, "I'm convinced that joy and refreshing are found on the pathway with Jesus, where He is loving and choosing people we might not pick. He loves them and He wants so much for His love to be realized in our life and heart, so that when we see and encounter them, we begin to feel what they feel and take that to Jesus and invite Him to come, even if it means 'making a hole in the roof'. Making room for others." Sometimes God "hits the pause button" or creates circumstances in our lives that cause us to think, then He reminds us our lives aren't just about ourselves...it's about others. "God, in His infinite wisdom, may care more about the person working next to you (probably a lot more than you do) than about your security and 'moving up the ladder.' So, let's put first things first. Following Jesus is about making room for others."

2 When our lives become more about Jesus, everything else fades in comparison. "The sun (Son) is rising, the harvest is here." Three ways to invite others: (1) invite others to take communion together (sharing life with God); (2) invite others to sit with you during worship (sharing community); (3) invite others to church on Sundays (sharing Jesus). Regarding our personal response to making room for others - where are you on a scale of 1 ("I'm totally open, it's all about God's heart and making room for other people") to 10 ("No thanks, it's all about me, I don't have the bandwidth for others")? Greg's prayer, "Jesus, we thank You for Your presence this morning. We invite You to come and do whatever You want to do in these moments in our responses." DISCUSSION (20-30 min) 1) As a follower of Jesus, how do you "go the extra mile" for Him in making room for others? What obstacles do you face in this regard and how can He help you overcome them? 2) How does making your life more about Jesus affect your understanding of and empathy for others? How does (will) this influence your relationship decisions in His name? 3) What's your greatest fear(s) about inviting others to share Jesus with you in a faith community? What would a breakthrough in this area look like? FULL NOTES (5 min) Greg recounted the story where Jesus healed the paralytic in Capernaum, whose friends created a hole in a house roof and lowered him on a mat in order for him to be seen by Jesus among the crowd (Mark 2:1-12). Jesus recognized the faith of these men and used the opportunity to both heal and declare His authority to forgive sins. Others who witnessed the healed paralytic were amazed and thanked God for this miracle. Sometimes Jesus uses the resistances of life to see if we'll persevere ("go the extra mile") in seeking Him, for others as well as ourselves. Greg emphasized the value for us today to imagine what it was like for 1st Century Christians (historical context); to better appreciate the challenges they faced, the sacrifices they made (including for each other) and the importance of a strong faith community to truly follow Jesus. Without a deep understanding and

3 some measure of empathy for the believers of that time, "then we're just kind of treating God just like he's a vending machine for our prayer requests. It cheapens our relationship with Jesus." God sent Jesus to be the Temple in person, as the head of the body of believers; the cornerstone of the new Temple, so we may be built together to be a dwelling of God and a temple of the Holy Spirit. New Testament scholar N. T. Wright - "Jesus is clearly, the Temple-in-person, the place where Israel's God has come to dwell in fulfillment of His ancient promise." Though Paul's churches are made up of Jews and non-jews, Paul's special calling is to be God's emissary to the nations beyond Israel, known as the Gentiles. "His grace makes me who I am, a minister of the Anointed One, Jesus, called to serve the nations" (Romans 15:16). Greg reminded folks to share their artwork and poetry related to this series to makeroom@shvchurch.org. He's sharing examples of submissions each week. MINISTRY TIME/PRAYER (10-15 min) Share your prayer requests and reports of God s work in your lives with one another. Ask the Holy Spirit to assure your heart that whenever you walk through a valley the Lord will lead you and bring you peace. PRAYERFUL BIBLE READING (15-20 min) Use the Prayerful Bible Reading 1-page sheet to guide all of you through reading this week s scripture. SCRIPTURE Mark 2 Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man 1When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. 2Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God s word to them, 3four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4They couldn t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. 5Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, My child, your sins are forgiven. 6But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, 7 What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins! 8Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, Why do you question this in your hearts? 9Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man Your sins are forgiven, or Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk? 10So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins. Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 11 Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!

4 12And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, We ve never seen anything like this before! Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew) 13Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector s booth. Follow me and be my disciple, Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him. 15Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus followers.) 16But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, Why does he eat with such scum? 17When Jesus heard this, he told them, Healthy people don t need a doctor sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners. A Discussion about Fasting 18Once when John s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, Why don t your disciples fast like John s disciples and the Pharisees do? 19Jesus replied, Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can t fast while the groom is with them. 20But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 21 Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins. A Discussion about the Sabbath 23One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. 24But the Pharisees said to Jesus, Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath? 25Jesus said to them, Haven t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 26He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions. 27Then Jesus said to them, The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!

5 Prayerful Bible Reading Preparation: SETTLING Take a few moments just to settle yourself, to become quiet, relaxed but alert, and aware of God s presence. You might picture Jesus there with you if that is helpful. Don t worry about anything special happening, just remain open to God s Spirit. Ask Him to make this more than you ever could. You may have all kinds of thoughts arise (things on your to- do list, gnawing issues or things that are difficult in your life, etc.), which is normal. Rather than fighting them, it can be helpful to just notice these thoughts as they come and gently release each one to Jesus. READING Slowly read the passage. Place yourself in the scene. Listen with the senses What do you see? hear? smell? touch? feel? Can you place yourself in the scene as a bystander, a disciple, or another character in the story? How do you see Jesus in relation to yourself? REFLECTION Reread the passage a second time. What is capturing your attention? What word or phrase is standing out to you, stirring or inspiring you, unnerving or disturbing you? Are there images, feelings, or memories arising within you in response to this word or phrase? RESPONSE Reread the passage a third time. Ask Jesus what He might be inviting you to, then just be quiet for a few moments. Does something come to mind? This may be Jesus inviting you to a new awareness, or an action. Take some time to respond to Jesus. Talk to Him about what you are thinking and feeling, about how all this connects to your life right now, your relationships and work with others. REST Quiet yourself, and settle into the whole of the experience you ve had with God. Rest in His presence and allow yourself to simply be with God. You might want to journal the highlights of your experience, writing down the word or phrase, the feelings and responses that were stirred in you, what you felt Jesus was inviting you to. It can be especially helpful to write down the word or phrase from the text that stands out to you each day, so you can look back at the end of the week and notice any themes or patterns.