Revision Night 1

Intro

Doing something a little different tonight

We had our vision night a couple months ago where we gave you the vision for the school your

“Love God, love others.”

This comes Matthew 22:37-40

Matthew 22:37–40 ESV

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Everything we do for the entire year as a ministry is centered around that statement — Love God, love others.

We want to challenge you to love God, and love others.

Tonight I want to help revision us by talking about how we can love God

Know God through His word

If we want to love God like we are called to then we must know God

When you first meet someone new the first thing you strive to do is not find out their deepest secrets, or tell them yours

Instead you strive to get to know them

The same is true of God

We must get to know God

Prompt 1

This leads to the first topic of discussion for tonight

To know God you have to read the Bible

To know God you have to read the Bible

We cannot know about God without diving into his Word

At your tables discuss: What do your current Bible reading habits look like? What is your biggest obstacle with Bible reading?

Prompt 2

I want to take it a step deeper

When you are getting to know someone you don’t just ask them absolutely random questions

You don’t ask about their mothers maiden name, if they love puppies, the meaning of life, if they have siblings

Instead you ask them questions to get to know them in a manner that makes sense

You may want to know all of these questions, but you need to start with a base

The same is true about God and his word

Strategic Bible reading helps you know God deeper

It’s not just about reading the Bible — it’s about reading it in a manner that helps you know God deeper

You can open the Bible and read and never actually know God deeper

So at you tables I want you to discuss this idea

Discuss: How do you know where to start reading? What can you do to make your reading more effective?

Know God through prayer

Not only is reading the Bible an important part of knowing God, but so is praying

Praying is talking to God and connecting with Him

Prompt 3

When we talk about prayer there is something we must remember

Prayer is a habit that takes time to develop

Prayer is a habit

It isn’t easy, it takes time

It’s never our first thought to stop and pray

It’s a habit

So discuss at your table: How often do you pray right now? What do your prayers look like and sound like?

Prompt 4

Prayer is a habit that takes us being consistent

But we are also told to pray at all times, Paul tells us to prayer without ceasing

We can pray to God anywhere we are, no matter what we are doing

Prayer can be flexible, but it needs to be meaningful

Prayer is flexible you can do it anywhere

You can speak to God anywhere and at any time

But it has to be meaningful — not just throwing up words

At your tables discuss: How can you weave habits of prayer into your everyday life? What areas of your life really need some focus and prayer?

Know God through community

We can know God deeper through His Word

We can know God deeper through prayer

But another place we can know God and love God is through community

Prompt 5

Community is important

There is the old saying — “you are who your friends are”

“One bad apple spoils the bunch”

The people you hang around matter

They impact you

We must have good Christian community

Community helps keep us on the right track

Good community helps keep us on the right track

Good community helps us stay closer to God, know Him more, and love Him more

Discuss at your table: How are you currently leaning into Christian community? What areas of your life need improvement towards having a better community around you?

Prompt 6

Good Christian community keeps us on the right track

It keeps us growing closer to Jesus

But it does another thing

Community can support you when you need it

Good community can support you when you need it

When things in life are bad

We are called as Christians to bear one another's burdens

Like Job when he lost everything, his friends came and sat with him and wept with him

We need people that can be with us in the hard times

Discuss at your table: Are you currently trusting in the Christ centered communities you are involved in keep you strong and pointed towards God? Why or why not?

Conclusion

Tonight has been a little bit different

Our goal as a student ministry is to help us live out Matthew 22:37-40

Matthew 22:37–40 ESV

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

To love God we must know God

To know God we must

Read His Word

Pray

Have good community