WEEK 9 Living the story Resources required: Copy of Video Clip 6 Two large sheets of paper and pens Resource 15 Being a grown-up church Homework Sheet 9 NOTE: next week is the last and will take the form of an Agape Meal. You will need to decide this week how you are going to do the food and drinks. You may wish to consider joining together with another Home Group for this last week. Examples of daily reading notes (e.g. Every Day with Jesus, Daily Bread, William Barclay Daily Devotional, etc) Background Notes there are some additional background notes to which you may wish to refer in preparing for this session. Introduction This week we are looking at being part of the community of Christ. The church is made up of people not a building and just as the Children of Israel were set apart so we in the church have been set apart to be witnesses to God s love in the world. This means we have to learn to live as part of a community which people outside the community will be watching closely if they like what they see they will want to be a part of it if they don t like what they see they ll run a mile. Icebreaker All part of the same body! You are all one body - each person creates a simple action with their body with an accompanied sound. It could be something to do with your interests (a sport, etc) or with worship (singing favourite hymn) or with serving in the church (e.g. the sound of the coffee machine or washing up). One person starts by standing and making their sound and doing their action. Then each group member physically connects to the first person with one hand (on a shoulder or holding a spare hand) until the entire group is moving and making noise. Once seated are there any observations about the icebreaker? About being one body? Homework Review Do this around the table. On one large sheet of paper list the observations about the early Christian community and on the other the characteristics of the present day Christian community. Based on people s reading of Acts Chapters 1 and 2: List at least 10 observations about the early Christian community. How does these compare with the traits of the Christian community today? Going further How does this challenge our traditional view of church?
Ask people to give a definition of church based on the discussion you have just had. How does it compare with the following definition? Church is people gathering around Jesus - eating and drinking and talking about him! This is based on the classic passage that everyone quotes is Acts 2:42: They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Question: how can we learn now what the apostles taught then? The apostles wrote the New Testament that explained the Old Testament as being fulfilled by Jesus. So we must carefully read the Bible. Question: what are some of the ways that we be a fellowship? To be an authentic community means to serve and set an example to both believers and non-believers - we need to be communities that attract others to Jesus. Question: is there a limit to breaking bread? Jesus did a significant amount of his teaching at the dinner table. The accounts of the risen Christ always mention food! (Including Revelation 3:20.) Breaking bread means sharing food together. Not just what we call Holy Communion. Question: what does it mean to pray collectively? Praising and thanking God. Interceding for one other and other people and places. And confessing our sins and seeking forgiveness and renewal. Another important verse is 1 Corinthians 14:26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. Worship and discipleship is a shared experience in which everyone has the privilege of contributing; discovering their spiritual gifts and learning to use them maturely so that everyone is encouraged to grow in faith and to make Jesus known. What is hindering us from being more like the early Christian community? How can we become a more effective witnessing community? Look at Resource 15 Being a grown-up church. Ask each person to identify one practical thing they can do or work towards in order to strengthen the witness of the Christian Community to which they belong.
MORE ABOUT SMALL GROUPS There is much talk today about church planting. The phase originates from 1 Corinthians 3. And there is a lot of merit to starting a new church to reach people with the gospel and there are many reasons for this. But church planting somehow is the wrong end of the stick. What does 1 Corinthians 3:6 actually say? I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. It is not a church that it is planted, but the gospel (see also Matthew 13:1-29). When the gospel is planted a church grows producing the fruit of righteousness and faithfulness as people s hearts and minds are changed as they begin to know Jesus as both Lord and Saviour. Jesus never told us to build churches. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus said: All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am will you always, to the very end of the age. And in Matthew 16:18, Jesus said: And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. The idea is that people are added to these groups. When they begin to become too big, a few people peel-off and begin to meet as a new group - this usually includes the new believers and will meet in their home! And who knows, a person may eventually feel that they what to join with the larger congregation on a Sunday morning... Question: Are there any risks associated with meeting as a small group and if so, what are they? Groups can be insular, with the members growing in such a way that they feel superior to other believers. Younger believers being controlled by older members. Spiritual excesses. Question: How can these risks be mitigated? By being outward looking, by keeping our focus on Jesus, by being inwardly disciplined? Look at 1 Corinthians 14:24,25. The highest form of praise occurs when a person realises that the God of the Bible is real.
IN SUMMARY over the past few weeks we have discussed some of the skills and attitudes which are essential to being witnesses for Christ in obedience to His commandment. Knowing that we are part of the biggest and best story ever told Relying on the power of the Holy Spirit within us Loving people by listening to what they are saying Being aware of differences in temperaments Offering to pray for or with people Praying for healing as a method of evangelism Being able to tell your story and how this relates to the good news of Jesus Being able to tell the good news about Jesus Creating situations where people can meet other believers in a non-threatening way Getting involved in existing community projects Learn to become a disciple-making disciple by o Reading the Bible and meditating on it o Praying o Telling the gospel o Character development We have introduced all of these over the past two months. It s as simple as that! Keep focused on Jesus and the Holy Spirit will be present to make Jesus glory known. This may feel alien and overwhelming, but this is what the groups are for. And besides when you make contact with a person of peace the good news will spread. New believers will need to be baptised. When the time comes we can have a beach party and baptise them in the sea! DAILY BIBLE NOTES: Encourage people to use a daily devotional guide if they do not use one already. There are many printed ones available e.g. Every Day with Jesus (the Jan/Feb 2012 issue will make a very good follow-up to the things that have been looked at in the home groups over the last few weeks); Daily Bread,.. others you know of. (As the Home Group leader you could consider making a gift of a devotional booklet to each member of the group to get them started). Also - For those who use a computer regularly there are the daily Sanctuary First reading and prayer - these can be sent directly to a mobile phone as well. Prayer Invite people to say a short prayer thanking Jesus for the gift of his church and for those who passed the good news of the gospel on over the generations. Finish the session by saying the grace together. Homework revealed! Other the weeks there has been homework (for lack of a better term). The idea was not primarily to encourage you to learn more, but so that you would have something to share at the next session. Sharing is important to encourage others - especially those who don t know Jesus yet. If we are serious about being a disciple of Jesus, then we need to spend time with him every day - this means reading the Bible and praying. It also means being a witness for him when the opportunity arises. All of these will produce what we can share when we meet together.
Week 9 Background notes When we looked at the Bible in the first Essential Gospel Toolkit session called Knowing the story, we discovered that we are part of the on-going story of salvation. We said the Bo ness was mentioned in the Bible in Acts 1:8b: and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Bo ness being the ends of the earth. And that each of us as also mentioned in the Bible in 2 Timothy 2:2: And the things that you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. We being the others. We are nearly at the end of the Essential Gospel Toolkit programme, but this is only the beginning as we must climb from being others to become reliable men (and women) and pretend that Bo ness (well at least parts of it) are no longer at the ends of the earth but in Samaria. (You may be in Samaria, but your neighbours could be at the ends of the earth.) We, like those before us, have both the privilege and the responsibility of telling others the Good News that God loves us and despite our rebellion against him, God has made it possible for us to know him by trusting that Jesus has been punished in our place and that he is also able to bring us into the presence of God the Father, without being destroyed by his holiness. When a person comes to realise that Jesus is real (or least the possibility of this), then they begin a journey of discovery to know the gospel for themselves. This is difficult to do alone, it is much easier to begin the journey with someone who has already started - and this is us! The path of discipleship is both one of knowing Jesus more and learning to respond to our new life in him. For most people attending a church service on a Sunday was the major means by which this was achieved and usually only a minority of people also met in a small group in a home through-out the week. But there is a significant proportion of the population who have only had some previous experience of inherited church (technical term for traditional church) or who have only ever attended weddings and funerals (even infant baptisms are becoming less frequent) in a service led by a minister, priest or pastor. This presents us with a major problem - most of the people in these two groups have no intention of attending a church service. We could go even further and say that the idea of inherited church is a significant contributory factor to some people rejecting Jesus.
Resource 15 Being a grown-up church The challenge is for all of us to reflect the generous and outflowing love of God as His church. Here is a diagram which shows what that might look like as a church matures in Christlike qualities. Are there areas on which you personally need to work? Are there areas to which the church collectively needs to give attention? Source of diagram: Being God s People. Robin Greenwood & Sue Heart. SPCK. 2011.