FALL 2018 PERSONAL STUDY GUIDE WELCOME HOME HOW TO PRAY
Contents Welcome Home: Connecting and Engaging People in Your Church SUGGESTED FOR THE WEEK OF Introduction... 10.. September 2 Session 1 Reality Check................................................................................................ 13 September 9 Session 2 Open Arms... 21 September 16 Session 3 Gracious Hospitality... 29 September 23 Session 4 Intentional Love... 37 September 30 Session 5 Authentic Joy.............................................................................................. 45 October 7 Session 6 Going Out... 53 Article: When God's Love Is Tangible.... 61 How to Pray.. Introduction... 64 October 14 Session 1 The Object of Our Prayer... 67 October 21 Session 2 A Prayer of Praise..................................................................................... 75 October 28 Session 3 A Prayer of Surrender... 83 November 4 Session 4 Praying for Ourselves... 91 November 11 Session 5 Praying for Others... 99 November 18 Session 6 A Prayer of Confession... 107 November 25 Session 7 A Prayer of Thanksgiving................................................................ 115 Article: Who Is My Neighbor?... 123 Endnotes... 128 Coming in Winter.... 129 Bible Studies for Life's Discipleship Plan.... 130 BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 3
FALL 2018 PERSONAL STUDY GUIDE WELCOME HOME HOW TO PRAY Don t miss this! Social Media The App Connect with a community of Bible Studies for Life users. Post responses to questions, share teaching ideas, and link to great blog content. www.facebook.com/biblestudiesforlife Get instant updates about new articles, giveaways, and more. @BibleMeetsLife Bible Studies for Life is also available as an ebook. The ebook is opened and read with the Bible Studies for Life App, a free app from the ios App Store or the Google Play store. Commentary Dig deeper into Scripture with the Bible Studies for Life: Advanced Bible Study. It features indepth Bible exposition on the passages studied in this book. One Conversation One Conversation helps parents connect with their preschoolers and kids by talking about what they re learning in their different Bible study groups. One Conversation makes it easy for parents to engage their children in spiritual conversation. One Conversation is available at blog.lifeway.com/biblestudiesforlife/oneconversation. Bible Studies for Life: Young Adult Personal Study Guide Volume 6, Number 1 Fall 2018 Eric Geiger Senior Vice President, LifeWay Resources Lynn Pryor Team Leader Ken Braddy Manager, Adult Ongoing Bible Studies Michael Kelley Director, Groups Ministry Send questions/comments to: Content Editor by email to Lynn.Pryor@lifeway.com or mail to Content Editor, Bible Studies for Life: Young Adults, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234; or make comments on the web at lifeway.com. Printed in the United States of America Bible Studies for Life: Young Adult Personal Study Guide (ISSN: 2331-0383 Item: 005074998) is published quarterly by LifeWay Christian Resources, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234, Thom S. Rainer, President. 2018 LifeWay Christian Resources. For ordering or inquiries, visit lifeway.com, or write LifeWay Resources Customer Service, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0113. For bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address, email orderentry@ lifeway.com, fax 615.251.5933, or write to the above address. We believe that the Bible has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter and that all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. To review LifeWay s doctrinal guideline, please visit LifeWay.com/DoctrinalGuideline. CSB All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. NIV Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www. zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. ESV Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The suggestions for pronouncing Bible names are from That s Easy for You to Say: Your Quick Guide to Pronouncing Bible Names by W. Murray Severance, 1997 by Broadman & Holman Publishers. Used by permission. Bible Studies for Life: Young Adults often lists websites that may be helpful to our readers. Our staff verifies each site s usefulness and appropriateness prior to publication. However, website content changes quickly so we encourage you to approach all websites with caution. Make sure sites are still appropriate before sharing them with students, friends, and family. 4
A Word from Our Team The Bible Studies for Life Team Aging parents. Cancer. Dementia. Children s marriages. The births of children and grandchildren. These are just some of the life issues that our Bible Studies for Life team has faced recently. With the Lord s help, we do our best to handle life s circumstances both favorable and difficult in ways that honor Christ. I can only imagine some of the things that you and others in your group have faced recently. I am thankful that we all have Bible study groups that love us, support us, pray for us, and encourage us as we journey through life together. I'm excited that you're joining us for the study Welcome Home: Connecting and Engaging People in your Church. This six-session Bible study complements the book, Becoming a Welcoming Church, by Dr. Thom S. Rainer. We will learn biblical principles for welcoming people into the church who are seeking Christ and seeking a home among other believers. Wouldn t it be wonderful to say, Welcome home! as you help them belong to your church family? May the Lord bless you and your group members as you help others to find a church home right there, where you are. Ken Braddy Manager @kenbraddy www.kenbraddy.com BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 5
My group's prayer requests 6
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Welcome Home: Connecting and Engaging People in Your Church 10 welcome home
Believers are to communicate welcome. The most powerful communication tools at our disposal are often not our words. Experts in communication say that much of our communication is presented in a non-verbal way. The teenager who says, Yes, sir, yet rolls her eyes. The teacher who says he values interaction, but lectures in a monotone voice without ever pausing for questions. The job candidate who claims confidence in her ability to do the job, but fidgets in her seat, with the only break being nervous laughter. While these people are all saying something, what they are communicating is quite different from what they are saying. What are we communicating to those who come to our church or Bible study group for the very first time? What are we really saying? While we might be verbalizing words of welcome, we might also be giving off a message that says just the opposite. In this study, we will examine what we are really saying. We will look deeply into the posture and attitude that exemplifies the right kind of invitation. We will look at what we need to do so that when we encounter those who are beginning to come around to the truth of God and His church, they don t just hear, but also feel the same welcome God has given us in Christ. "You are welcome. We're glad you're here. M ichael Kelley Michael Kelley is a husband, dad, author, and speaker. He serves as the director of Groups Ministry at LifeWay Christian Resources, and in all those arenas is trying to help people have a holistic view of what it means to be formed in Jesus. Michael is also the author of Boring: Finding an Extraordinary God in an Ordinary Life and Growing Down. This study complements the book by Thom S. Rainer: Becoming a Welcoming Church. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 11
Welcome Home: Connecting and Engaging People in Your Church Session 1 Reality Check Titus 3:3-11 Session 2 Open Arms James 2:1-10 Session 3 Gracious Hospitality 1 Peter 4:7-11 Session 4 Intentional Love Luke 10:25-37 Session 5 Authentic Joy 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Session 6 Going Out Acts 16:6-15 12 welcome home
1 Reality Check What makes a house feel like home to you? QUESTION 1 BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 13
THE POINT Our lives should serve as a welcome mat into the church. THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE If you re like me, you could practically get home with your eyes closed. You've made the trip so many times, you know it by heart: the bumps in the road, the places to turn, and even the way the sun shines through the trees. Imagine one day you take this same road. You come to your house, but when you get inside, everything is different. The pictures on the wall have been replaced. The furniture is arranged in a different manner. Even the odor is unrecognizable. The address is correct, the house is there, yet everything is off. Some people feel the same way when they enter the church building. They have heard that Jesus is a friend of sinners and God loves the world. They ve been led to believe the people in church are friendly. Yet, when they enter the building, they find something entirely inconsistent with those facts. We might think that we are welcoming, yet the reality can be entirely different. To ensure we are welcoming people, let's return to the beginning. We welcome others because of the gospel. 14 SESSION 1
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? Titus 3:3-8a (CSB) 3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another. 4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 6 He poured out his Spirit on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life. 8 This saying is trustworthy. Titus was on his own. He had traveled with Paul, had seen the power of the gospel change people's lives, and had carried a letter from Paul to the church at Corinth. He had been a trusted companion of the greatest missionary the world has ever known, but now he was by himself. Titus was left on Crete to carry out the beginning of the church there. Surely, in a place foreign to the gospel and Judaism Titus would have had many questions: What does it mean to be a pastor? How do I set up the work of ministry? What should I do first? Paul had addressed practical questions like these in his letter to Titus. But along with answers to practical ministry questions, Paul reminded Titus of something already familiar to him: the gospel. With the pressing questions of how to do the work of the church in Crete, why would Paul pause to remind Titus of something he already knew? We see three reasons in this passage: 1. The gospel keeps us from looking down on others (v. 3). Paul reminded Titus that he and all believers were once just like the people Titus was seeking to reach. We all were once lost, hopeless, and living to fulfill our next desire. But in His kindness, God did not leave us to our own devices or our own destruction. He intervened in history, then into our lives. When we What elements of the gospel are present in these verses? QUESTION 2 BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 15
THE POINT Our lives should serve as a welcome mat into the church. remember that we are no better than those we are seeking to welcome, then we will look on others with compassion rather than judgment. 2. The gospel reminds us what is possible (vv. 4-5). All Christians have an awakening to the truth of Christ. Paul called it regeneration (v. 5), when we become new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are born again, with a new heart, new tastes, and new desires. We never know who might be walking into the doors of a church. Is it a future pastor? a godly husband or wife in the making? an executive or employee who will influence the workplace for the gospel? We don t know. But anything is possible because of the gospel. 3. The gospel points us to the future (vv. 6-7). We are destined for eternal life with Jesus. Welcoming others may require us to be uncomfortable or inconvenienced. When eternity is in the balance, these things are shown to be what they truly are: short-sighted objections. If Titus wanted to create a sustained and empowered work for God, he needed to remember why before he started doing it. The same is true for us. If any ministry we seek to do is not grounded in the gospel, it will run out of steam. To welcome others into the church, we must remember that at one point, we were on the outside looking in. If God had not rolled out to us the welcome mat with the life of His own Son, Jesus, that s exactly where we might have stayed. Titus 3:8b (CSB) 8b I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed God might be careful to devote themselves to good works. These are good and profitable for everyone. True, faithful, joy-filled, and sustained ministry to others flows out of the gospel of Jesus. That s because what God has done in us through Jesus always works itself out in good works. This was Paul s point to Titus. Because of the gospel of Jesus, Titus should respond with ministry to others. Sometimes we do not understand this because we think of the gospel in the way we begin a relationship with God in Christ. While this is true, it s not all the truth. Think of it like a race. What is an example of good works you've experienced? QUESTION 3 16 SESSION 1
In a race, especially a sprint on a track, the starting blocks are very important. The runners brace against those blocks in order to push off into the race. It s vital for them to brace themselves securely because the runners out of the blocks the quickest often determine the finishing order. Paul often wrote that the Christian life can be compared to running a race (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Galatians 2:2; 5:7; Philippians 2:16; 3:12-14; 2 Timothy 4:7). We aren t to meander through time on earth; instead, we are to push forward, to strain ahead for the prize. It s a race to win. We often think of the gospel message Jesus lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death, and rose victoriously from the grave as the way we place our feet against the blocks. We see the gospel as the means that enables us to enter the race. In a real race, when running begins, you leave the starting blocks behind. But the gospel of Christ doesn t produce merely our race's starting blocks; it s the whole track. We aren t meant to push off on the gospel, then move into the real business of living; we continually find our feet falling on the truth of the gospel. We are to be driven in daily life by the cross and the resurrection. We don t move past the gospel; we continually live in the gospel so that it permeates everything we do. The gospel fuels all we do, including how we welcome others. We may feel secure in our friendships and not want to reach out to others. It may feel uncomfortable relating to people who look, act, and believe differently. It s then when we must remind ourselves of the gospel's truth. We have to reconnect with the truth that God welcomed us. We, too, were strangers and needed the welcome mat rolled out. God has been faithful to welcome us in. And at some point, other believers welcomed us in. By remembering this experience and the truth behind it, we will find new energy to welcome others joyfully into the church and God's kingdom. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 17
THE POINT Our lives should serve as a welcome mat into the church. Titus 3:9-11 (CSB) 9 But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, because they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning. 11 For you know that such a person has gone astray and is sinning; he is self-condemned. While Christian ministry is all about the gospel, issues will always vie for our attention. Paul told Titus to avoid issues that might distract him from the greater call of the gospel. Having spent time in Crete, Paul knew the issues that might distract Titus personal preference and self-centeredness. But the issues were not limited to Crete. By focusing on issues of preference and self-centeredness, we reveal certain misunderstandings we have about the church: Our role in the church. When we argue, we show that we really believe the church exists to meet our personal needs and expectations. The church is foremost the body of Christ. Our role is to give ourselves so that the gospel might be spread to the ends of the earth. How can we appropriately respond to debates, quarrels, and disputes among believers? QUESTION 4 The composition of the church. One of the most convincing things about Christianity in the early church was how the church was made up of different kinds of people. The fact that people worshipped despite their preferences shows the unifying power of the gospel. The nature of the church. The church is much more than a building for singing, preaching, teaching, and giving money. It is God s means that His multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens (Ephesians 3:10). When we gather, it s as if God places the gathering of His people on display before all the powers in heaven as a showplace of His infinite wisdom. 18 SESSION 1
What can we learn from Titus 3:3-11 to be a more welcoming group? QUESTION 5 God welcomed us. We, too, were strangers and needed the welcome mat rolled out. MICHAEL KELLEY FANNING A FLAME On these topics, do you tend to throw water or gasoline? Mark an X under your choice. Water Gasoline Political debates Disagreements among family members Discussions on social media Theological disagreements BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 19
THE POINT Our lives should serve as a welcome mat into the church. LIVE IT OUT Conduct a reality check and make your life a welcome mat into the gospel of Christ and His church. Remind yourself. Identify a way you can remind yourself of the gospel this week. List. Create a list of things that, in your opinion, would be the ideal way to do church. Identify which of those items are integral to the mission and ministry of the church, and which ones are based on your personal preferences. Befriend. Make an intentional effort to befriend someone who is unlike yourself. Consider what you can do to make that person feel welcome in the body of Christ. One's life should be a welcome mat into the fellowship of believers. Do you have a different concept of welcome now? Welcome because of the gospel! My thoughts 20 SESSION 1