0880 Benefits of Leading a Small Group

Church did not have buildings in the beginning and we are not guaranteed of being able to meet like we do today in the future. (Hate speech, and hate crime) Melzatone under 2 million - 80 million

Circles > rows. Masses did not change the world, disciples did!

Leading a home group expresses your love for Jesus

So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” John 21:15 Example of Wedding Gifts & Saturday Washing Car!

What you did for the least ones you did it for me (Matthew 25)

Leading a home group helps to fulfill the great commission

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:19-20

You can’t disciple a corpse.

Disciples are not born, they are made.

Home groups don’t produce disciples, disciples produce disciples.

Jesus was a son of God and the Savior of the world but he still needed Mary and Joseph

Mary gave Jesus birth, named Jesus and protected Him from Herod.

Example: Brian and Nazar!!!

Leading a home group is a way to spiritual maturity

I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. 1 John 2:12-13

Spirit growth in stages:

Child - needs care

Youth - self-care

Father - cares for someone else

Leading a home group unlocks miracles in your life.

And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. Ester 2:7

Mordecai adopted Ester, named her, guided her, challenged her

Mordecai saved kings life, saved his nation

What is not rewarded is not forgotten

When Dr Michael Shannon saved Chris Trokey's life when he was born premature more than 30 years ago, he could never have known that the favor would one day be returned. But in 2011, Dr Shannon was trapped in his burning SUV after it was T-boned by a semi-truck, when Trokey, now an Orange County Fire Authority paramedic, worked to pull him out alive.

Serving can help you live longer. Research has shown that these kinds of activities can improve health in ways that can length your lifespan—volunteers show an improved ability to manage stress and stave off disease as well as reduced rates of depression and an increased sense of life satisfaction—when they were performed on a regular basis. This might be because volunteering alleviates loneliness and enhances our social lives—factors that can significantly affect our long-term health. Serving is contagious. One study found that people are more likely to perform feats of generosity after observing another do the same. This effect can ripple throughout the community, inspiring dozens of individuals to make a difference. Serving others makes us happy. One team of sociologists tracked 2000 people over a five-year period and found that Americans who described themselves as “very happy” volunteered at least 5.8 hours per month.

Serving attracts miracles. According to one study, people who suffered from chronic pain tried working as peer volunteers. As a result, they experienced a reduction in their own symptoms. One piece of research showed that older individuals who volunteered for at least 200 hours a year decreased their risk of hypertension by a whopping 40 percent. According to sociologists, teenagers who volunteer have better grades and self-image. Studies show that volunteering enhances an individual’s overall sense of purpose and identity.

Leading a small group stores heavenly treasures

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10

Greek word for judgment seat is bema is a tribunal for rewards. In the large Olympic arenas, there was an elevated seat on which the judge of the contest sat. After the contests were over, the successful competitors would assemble before the bema to receive their rewards or crowns. The bema was not a judicial bench where someone was condemned; it was a reward seat.