Harvest s Believers Lifestyle Essentials The ABC lifestyle encourages us to grow in loving God more fully in a unified way. The hope is that we all will get back to the basics as a church and growing in unity as we study God s word together by studying the same verses. LOVING GOD DURING ALONE TIME is to retreat to a quiet place, in an attitude of surrender and trust, for an unhurried time of communion with God through His Word, prayer and other spiritual disciplines. Biblical Basis: Josh 1:8, 1 Tim 4:7, Ps 91:1, Matt 6:5-6. LOVING GOD WITH BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN SMALL GROUPS is to gather together, in an environment of love and trust, with a small group of believers who are growing in intimacy with God through the ABC s, in order to spur one another on to love God more fully through sharing, accountability, and prayer. Biblical Basis: Prov 27:17, Heb 10:24, 1 Thes 5:11. LOVING GOD IN CORPRATE WORSHIP is to gather together as a church family on a weekly basis to worship God and delight in His presence; in song we express our love for Him and through the preaching of the Word we hear His voice. Biblical Basis: Ps 22:22, Heb 10:25, Rom 12:4-5. The Practice of Loving God during Alone Time There are four key components in the practice of Loving God during Alone Time that we encourage each person to do on a daily basis: PRAY. Settle into God s presence by expressing to Him where you are right now. Ask Him to draw near to you as you draw near to Him. The following is a suggestion: Father, my desire is to draw near to You and commune with You during this time. Create in my heart and mind a quietness and rest as I place my burdens and concerns, and confess my sins Protect this time from interruption and distractions. Allow this to be more that a discipline, but an encourage with You where I delight in Your presences as You delight in me. Give me ears to hear Your voice as I read Your Word. Teach me, rebuke me, correct or train me so that I will be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16) Holy Spirit fill me with Yourself, refresh my soul and nourish my spirit. My heart s desire is to enjoy loving intimacy with You now and throughout my day. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. READ THE SCRIPTURE PASSAGE MEDITATIVELY. Sink into the sermon-based scripture for a number of days, until you have plumbed the depths of it. Use the cross references. Once you have plumbed its depths, move on to another bible passage (i.e. the complementary passage, or one of your own choosing) and sink into that for the remainder of the week. Study the passage of scripture to gain an understanding of the context of the passage and the key point(s) of the truth taught in the passage. Listen to God s personal word to you through His written Word; attend to and linger over a word/phrase/verse that catches your attention. Ask God to show you how this word/phrase/verse connects with your life right now. Record what God is saying to you. RESPOND TO GOD IN PRAYER. Allow your God-led ponderings be a catalyst to prayer, talking to Him about what He has revealed to you. Take time to intercede for your own accountability partners or small group members. CONTINUE TO MEDITATE ON THIS WORD/PHRASE THROUGHOUT THE DAY. Allow God to further form, shape and apply these words in your life as you go into your day. James 1:23-24 WORK ON THE MEMORY VERSE. It is important to equip yourself with God s word. Biblical basis: Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. If you want to be successful in life Joshua 1:8 makes it clear that success in life come through memorizing and meditating on God s Word.
Ephesians 1:1-6 ESV Greeting 1 Paul, a an apostle of Christ Jesus b by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and c are faithful [1] in Christ Jesus: 2 d Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Spiritual Blessings in Christ 3 e Blessed be f the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing g in the heavenly places, 4 h even as he i chose us in him j before the foundation of the world, that we should be k holy and blameless before him. In love 5 l he predestined us [2] for m adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, n according to the purpose of his will, 6 o to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in p the Beloved. Ephesians 1:1-6 NLT Greetings from Paul 1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. 2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Spiritual Blessings 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. Footnotes: [1] 1:1 Some manuscripts saints who are also faithful (omitting in Ephesus) [2] 1:5 Or before him in love, having predestined us Cross-references: a. 2 Corinthians 1:1 i. James 2:5, Deuteronomy 7:6, 26:18 b. 1 Corinthians 1:1 j. 2 Timothy 1:9, Matthew 13:35 c. Colossians 1:2 k. Ephesians 5:27, Colossians 1:22, 1 Thess. 4:7 d. Romans 1:7 l. Ephesians 1:11, Romans 8:29, 30 e. 2 Corinthians 1:3, 1 Peter 1:3 m. Romans 8:15 f. Romans 15:6 n. Ephesians 1:9, Luke 2:14, Hebrews 2:4 g. Ephesians 1:20, 2:6, 3:10, 6:12 o. Ephesians 1:11, 14 h. Ephesians 2:10, 2 Thess. 2:13, 1 Peter 1:2
Alone Time: Journaling As God speaks to you through His Word write down what is impacting you, what He is saying to you personally and/or your response back to Him. Scripture Memorization: Ephesians 1:3 (ESV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, Prayer Focus: Please pray for our Elders and Pastors.
Alone Time: Optional Complementary Passage Romans 8:12-17 English Standard Version (ESV) Heirs with Christ 12 So then, brothers, [a] we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons [b] of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father! 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Footnotes: a. Romans 8:12 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 29 b. Romans 8:14 See discussion on sons in the Preface Romans 8:26-30 English Standard Version (ESV) 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because [a] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, [b] for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Footnotes: a. Romans 8:27 Or that b. Romans 8:28 Some manuscripts God works all things together for good, or God works in all things for the good
Alone Time: Journal What God Is showing me through this passage? How is God s Word convicting me? How is God s Spirit leading me to respond? What did I learn today? How am I different as I go about my day?
Corporate Worship: Sermon Notes How will what I heard impact my life this week?
Believers in Small Groups: Responsive Accountability Pre-work before Small Group Personal Reflection (5 minutes) Prayerfully consider your practice of Alone Time over the previous week, as well as how God spoke to you as you lived the ABC lifestyle. Is God inviting you to Focus on your practice of Alone Time Take a step of obedience? Repent from a sin? Trust and rest in a truth? Or do something else? This coming week God is inviting me to / My response to God s invitation is to How I did with last week s accountability item
During Small Group Group Accountability & Prayer (30-45 minutes) Group Member s Accountability Items and Other Items to Pray For:
Harvest Homes Supplemental: Dear Parents, This week, we continue in the big story of the Bible by learning about the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. King Ahab was an evil king. In fact, Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him (1 Kings 16:33). The things that Ahab did made God angry. God wanted His people to be faithful to Him, but King Ahab led them away from God. God chose Elijah to get Ahab s attention. In 1 Kings 17, Elijah told Ahab that a drought was coming. God prevented rain in the land for three years. For Ahab, a man who worshiped Baal the false Canaanite god of rain and fertility the drought sent a strong message about the one true God. When God was ready to send rain on the earth, Elijah appeared to Ahab and instructed him to gather the Israelites and the prophets of the false gods at Mount Carmel. Elijah challenged the people to choose: Follow God or follow Baal. They couldn t do both. Elijah set up a challenge to prove who is the one true God. He faced off against the prophets of Baal. Each group prepared a bull on an altar and called on its deity to send fire from heaven. The prophets of Baal called and cried and cut themselves, but Baal did not answer. Elijah poured water on and around his altar. He called to God, and God sent fire from heaven. Everything was burned up. The prophets could not deny that the God of Elijah is the one true God, and God sent a great rain to end the drought. The people who worshiped the false god Baal danced and cried and cut their bodies to show that they loved Baal. But the one true God is not like the false gods. Instead, He showed His love for us by sending His Son, Jesus. Jesus bled and died to rescue us from sin when we trust in Him. Help your kids understand that God is an initiating God. We love God because He first loved us, which He proved by providing Jesus. Only God the one true God has power to help His people and to save them. And He saves them through His Son, Jesus, whose name means the Lord saves. Check this session s Activity Page and Big Picture Card as well as the Gospel Project for Kids Family App for ways to interact with the Bible content this week. FAMILY STARTING POINTS Babies and Toddlers There is one true God. Elijah showed the people God s power. God hears His people when we pray. Jesus is powerful because He is God s Son. Preschool How many gods are there? There is one true God. God defeated the prophets of Baal. Kids How many gods are there? There is one true God who alone deserves worship. The one true God defeated the prophets of Baal. UNIT KEY PASSAGE Hebrews 1:1-2