Grace Group Study
A Note to Grace Group Hosts This video-based study is designed to be used with a small group of friends at home, at work, or in some other setting. If you're not already in a small group, start one of your own! How? How to Start a Grace Group You don't have to be a teacher. You don't need any formal training. You don't even need any experience in a small group. Just keep these four things in mind, and you'll succeed as a small group HOST: Have a heart for people. Open your home to a group of friends who want to study with you. Serve them a snack. Turn on the video, either using the web or a provided DVD. If you can do these four things, you can host a Grace Group of your own. All of the material and instructions you need are provided in this study guide. Just enjoy the journey! Please don't feel pressured to discuss every question in every session. There is no need to hurry your way through the material. If your group only has time to talk about what they're learning in the weekend messages, that's fine. What's most important is that your group members have the time to let God work in their lives. So feel free to select the questions that seem right for your group. If you decide to host a group, or if you would like to plug into an existing group, please email us at joinus@gracehillschurch.com and we'll be glad to help you! Top Ten Ideas for Group Hosts Congratulations! As the host of your small group, you have responded to the call to help shepherd Jesus flock. Few other tasks in the family of God surpass the contribution you will be making.
1. Remember you are not alone. God knows everything about you, and He knew you would be asked to facilitate your group. Even thoughyou may not feel ready, this is common for all good hosts. God promises, I will never leave you; I will never abandon you (Hebrews 13:5 TEV). Whether you are facilitating for one evening, several weeks, or a lifetime, you will be blessed as you serve. 2. Others are there to help you. Pray right now for God to help you build a healthy team. If you can enlist a co-host to help you with the group, you will find your experience much richer. This is your chance to involve as many people as you can in building a healthy group. All you have to do is ask people to help. You ll be surprised at the response. 3. Be friendly and be yourself. God wants to use your unique gifts and tempement. Be sure to greet people at the door with a big smile. This can set the mood for the whole gathering. Remember, they are taking as big a step to show up! Don t try to do things exactly like another host; do them in a way that fits you. Admit when you don t have an answer and apologize when you make a mistake. Your group will love you for it and you ll sleep better at night. 4. Prepare for your meeting ahead of time. Review the sessions. Write done your responses to each question. Pay special attention to exercises that ask group members to do something other than engage in discussion. These exercises will help your group live what the Bible teaches, not just talk about it. Be sure you understand how an exercise works. 5. Pray for your group members by name. Before you begin you session, take a few moments and pray for each member by name. You may want to review the prayer list at least once a week. Ask God to use your time together to touch the heart of every person in your group. Expect God to lead you to whomever he wants you to encourage or challenge in a special way. If you listen, God will surely lead. 6. When you ask a question, be patient. Someone will eventually respond. Sometimes people need a moment or two of silence to think about the question. If silence doesn t bother you, it won t bother anyone else. After someone responds, affirm the response with a simple thanks or great answer. Then ask, How about somebody else? or Would someone who hasn t shared like to add anything? Be sensitive to new people or reluctant members who aren t ready to say, pray, or do anything. If you give them a safe setting, they will blossom over time. If someone in your group is a wall flower who sits silently through every session, consider talking to them privately and encouraging them to participate. Let them know how important they are to you that they are loved and appreciated, and that the group would value their input.
7. Provide transitions between questions. Ask if anyone would like to read the paragraph or Bible passage. Don t call on anyone, but ask for a volunteer, and then be patient until someone begins. Be sure to thank the person who reads aloud. 8. Break into smaller groups occasionally. With a greater opportunity to talk in a small circle, people will connect more with the study, apply more quickly what they re learning, and ultimately get more out of their small group experience. A small circle also encourages a quiet person to participate and tends to minimize the effects of a more vocal or dominate member. Small circles are also helpful during prayer time. People who are unaccustomed to praying aloud will feel more comfortable trying it with just two or three others. Also, prayer requests won t take as much time, so circles will have more time to actually pray. When you gather back with the whole group, you can have one person from each circle briefly update everyone on the prayer requests from their subgroups. The other great aspect of sub-grouping is that it fosters leadership development. As you ask people in the group to facilitate discussion or to lead a prayer circle, it gives them a small leadership step that can build their confidence. 9. Rotate facilitators occasionally. You may be perfectly capable of hosting each time, but you will help others grow in their faith and gifts if you give them opportunities to host the group. 10. One final challenge. Before your first opportuinty to lead, look up each of the passages listed below. Read each one as a devotional exercise to help prepare your heart. Matthew 9:36-38, John 10:14-15, 1 Peter 5:2-4, Philippians 2:1-5, Hebrews 10:23-25, 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8, 11-12
Understanding Your Study Guide Every study is broken down into five parts designed to lead you through an entire group meeting, start-to-finish. Here's a brief explanation about the parts of each group meeting. CATCHING UP Begin every group with small talk. It breaks the ice and helps newcomers feel welcome. Don't put newcomers on the spot, but do be friendly and welcoming. DIVING IN This is the Bible study portion of the meeting. You will want to read some of it out loud. It is brief and designed to lead your group into a discussion of the questions along the way. SERVING TOGETHER We encourage every group to find a time, every month or two, to serve together in some capacity. This might mean serving a local charitable organization, someone in need that the group is aware of, or even other members of the group. STAYING ON MISSION The big win of every group is birthing a new group. Every week, ask if anyone knows someone who needs to be invited to the group. And also discuss along the way the possibility of current members of the group to leave and host or help begin another group. PRAISE AND PRAYER Every group meeting closes with worship in the form of giving God praise for good things and praying for requests made by group members. One of the most powerful questions you can ask as you go around the group is "how is your family doing right now?"
Game Changers GROUP STUDY, PART 1 Following Jesus and Changing the Game CATCHING UP Welcome any new members. Go around the group and answer the question, how has your week been going? And what did you take away from the last lesson, and how has it made a difference in your life this week? DIVING IN Before reading the passage for this study, start by asking the question, how was Jesus a game changer? Allow some time for discussion of this question. Celebrate this big truth: You can't really follow Jesus and not be a game changer in the lives of people around you. And the best way to be a game changer is to truly follow Jesus. Then read together... Luke 4:14-30 (NIV) 14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this
Joseph's son?" they asked. 23 Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'" 24 "I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed--only Naaman the Syrian." 28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way. There are 2 realities to walk away from this passage with: 1. Jesus was the ultimate game changer. 2. Becoming a game changer myself means following Jesus' example. And what was Jesus' example? What can we learn about becoming a game changer from watching Jesus? At least these three things... 1. Game changers embrace God's calling to change the game. This passage from Luke's gospel records the beginning point of Jesus' ministry on earth. He read this particular passage from the scroll of Isaiah because it ultimately announced Him. He was in essence saying, "Today's the day for me to start doing what God called me here to do." In what ways are all believers called to change the game around them? We don't have to wait for a special, miraculous calling in the form of an audible voice. Our calling is built into our identity as God's children. Why do we assume that only a few people are "called" to be game changers? It is absolutely essential, if we're gong to become game changers, to rely on the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer. How does He help us change the game around us?
2. Game changers are willing to do difficult things. It was no easy task to which God was inviting Jesus. He would be touching the sick and ministering to the poor throughout his life. And in His ministry, He gives us a pattern to follow in how we minister to people around us. Discuss how each area would have been challenging for Jesus, and what that area of ministry looks like for believers in today's context. Preaching the gospel (the good news about Jesus). Offering freedom to those trapped and enslaved by sin. Helping people to see again, sometimes referring to physical healing but always referring to becoming aware of spiritual truth. Releasing oppressed people defending and fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves. 3. Game changers find their affirmation from God alone When Jesus announced that He was God's chosen Messiah and would be launching His public ministry, the people of His hometown were so angry that they tried to push Him off a cliff to His death. Perhaps they felt convicted. Maybe they were defending their tradition of punishing would-be Messiah's and just couldn't buy His story. Whatever their reason, they weren't the first people to reject God's messengers. How do God's people face persecution today in our culture? Why is it so important to find our affirmation from God alone? Why is it so hard to settle for His affirmation alone? SERVING TOGETHER Talk about how your group might be able to serve together, within the church, within your group, or within the community over the next few weeks.
STAYING ON MISSION It's very important for every group to remember our big mission of inviting people, including people, and involving people in the group. Who do you know that needs an invite? It's also a big WIN anytime someone is sent out from a group to host or help start another group. Is there anyone in your group praying about hosting or helping another group? PRAISE AND PRAYER What prayer requests are there within the group? What is there to praise God and be thankful for? Are there any stories of how God has been at work in someone's life? One person can lead in prayer or multiple people can lead, but no one should feel pressured to do so.
Game Changers GROUP STUDY, PART 2 Praying to Change the Game CATCHING UP Welcome any new members. Go around the group and answer the question, how has your week been going? And what did you take away from the last lesson, and how has it made a difference in your life this week? DIVING IN When we think about being "game changers" we typically think of taking action or speaking out about some issue. And often that is what we should be doing. But the Bible talks about another way of being a game changer called prayer. Don't think of prayer as a mere mystical exercise or a religious duty to be performed. Instead, realize that prayer is dynamic, active, and powerful. God has chosen that prayer is a means of inviting Him to respond, and respond He does! James 5:13-18 (NIV) 13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. James tells us that prayer is "powerful and effective," meaning that prayer brings about actual change in circumstances here on earth. In particular...
1. Prayer can bring about physical change and healing. Physical healing is absolutely possible when God chooses to work in this way. James mentions anointing the sick with oil, which is a completely acceptable way to symbolize the Holy Spirit's presence, but certainly isn't required as a means of healing. Whenever physical healing occurs, it isn't because of a human "healer" but because God, the Great Physician, has chosen to work. Why do we struggle to believe that God can heal physically or bring about changes in our physical environments? Can you testify to having seen God heal, either through medicine or a miracle? Who do you know that needs prayer for physical healing right now? (Your group might even stop and pray for them in the middle of the study.) 2. Prayer can bring about spiritual change and healing. When James speaks of illness here, he uses a word that is often translated weakness. While it's apparent he was writing about physical illness, he also mentions that people who are healed will be forgiven of their sins, suggesting that he was referring not only to physical illness, but spiritual illness as well, for which there is also healing available. God forgives our sins immediately when we confess them to Him, but "healing" often comes about as we confess our sins to other people. Why do you think this is so? Why do Christians struggle with the concept of confessing their sins to someone else? Do you know of someone who needs prayer to come to salvation or to have some other form of spiritual healing? (Again, your group might stop and pray for them right now.) 3. Prayer can bring about national and corporate change and healing. James refers back to Elijah as an example of a man who prayed for his nation to experience God's chastisement and then His deliverance. They experienced both as God answered
Elijah's prayer. It's important to realize that God will often bring about change in a family, in a church, and in a nation in response to the prayers of His people. How does our nation need prayer today? How does our church need prayer? Are there families or other groups of people that need our prayers? (Again, your group might stop to pray now for these needs.) To say that "prayer changes things" is more than a cliche or a nice bumper sticker. It's a biblical truth. But it isn't the act of praying that accomplishes change it's the God that answers prayer that changes the game. And He invites us to be game changers in the process of praying! SERVING TOGETHER Talk about how your group might be able to serve together, within the church, within your group, or within the community over the next few weeks. STAYING ON MISSION It's very important for every group to remember our big mission of inviting people, including people, and involving people in the group. Who do you know that needs an invite? It's also a big WIN anytime someone is sent out from a group to host or help start another group. Is there anyone in your group praying about hosting or helping another group? PRAISE AND PRAYER What prayer requests are there within the group? What is there to praise God and be thankful for? Are there any stories of how God has been at work in someone's life? One person can lead in prayer or multiple people can lead, but no one should feel pressured to do so.
Game Changers GROUP STUDY, PART 3 Changing the Game by Sharing Jesus CATCHING UP Welcome any new members. Go around the group and answer the question, how has your week been going? And what did you take away from the last lesson, and how has it made a difference in your life this week? DIVING IN There is absolutely no greater way to change the game for someone else than to share Jesus with them. When someone trusts Christ as the Leader and Forgiver of their life, their entire eternal destiny as well as the quality of their present life on earth changes completely. But it's not always easy to know when and how to share the good news about Jesus. The Bible, thankfully, tells a powerful story of a man named Phillip who shared Jesus in a way that teaches us some important lessons. Acts 8:26-40 (NIV) 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. 31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth." 34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself
or someone else?" 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" 37 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Phillip was an example of obedience to the command for us to share our faith. And out of his example, we can draw at least six practical, powerful encouragements for how we can do the same. 1. Live in a state of following. Phillip left Samaria, where a great work was happening, to go to the desert when God asked him to do so. Most of us might have questioned the wisdom of this decision, but God used this encounter with the Ethiopian treasurer to bring the gospel to the nation of Ethiopia. We sometimes fail to connect the idea of living faithfully in God's will to discovering opportunities to share our faith. How does living in obedience position us to be used by God in powerful ways? 2. Look for opportunities along the way. It was "on the way" that Phillip was brought into contact with the Ethiopian leader. He wasn't looking for this encounter, but as he was traveling, God pre-arranged the meeting. How do opportunities arise "as we live" such as when we go through our workday, meet our neighbors, and live and shop in our communities? 3. Listen for the leading of God. One of the greatest obstacles we face in sharing our faith is the fear that we won't know what to say. But where God guides, God provides even when it comes to the words we need. But, we must be listening for His guidance to really catch it.
Can you remember a time when God gave you the words to say to someone about God's love for them? 4. Love people enough to share Jesus with them. People often need information, and that's easy to give. Sometimes people need inspiration, and so we say encouraging things. That's good too. But everyone needs transformation, which happens as they come to know Jesus. And He has chosen US to be the messengers to tell others about Him. Is there someone you want to share Jesus with? Can the group pray for them? 5. Lead people forward in their faith. Phillip didn't stop with sharing the message of Jesus. He then helped the Ethiopian leader know what the next step in his journey should be, and he went with him through that step. How can we help people to discover their next step? And how can we walk with them through that step? How can we help people be baptized, attend a class, join a group, etc.? SERVING TOGETHER Talk about how your group might be able to serve together, within the church, within your group, or within the community over the next few weeks. STAYING ON MISSION It's very important for every group to remember our big mission of inviting people, including people, and involving people in the group. Who do you know that needs an invite? It's also a big WIN anytime someone is sent out from a group to host or help start another group. Is there anyone in your group praying about hosting or helping another group?
PRAISE AND PRAYER What prayer requests are there within the group? What is there to praise God and be thankful for? Are there any stories of how God has been at work in someone's life? One person can lead in prayer or multiple people can lead, but no one should feel pressured to do so.
What Now? Congratulations on completing this Grace Group study. What should you do next? Ideally, you'll continue meeting as a group and start working together through the next study, or through previous studies we've produced, available freely at gracehillschurch.com/groups. Also, your group may decide it is best to split up and form new groups. Whatever you decide, please let us know how we can help you become the best leader you can be!