July 7, 2019 - Summer Series Building Blocks, Believing Jesus, Six Questions

July 7, 2019 The smaller groups in our church community are inside our homes where we go deeper, build friendships, and walk out the Christian life with each other. HOME CHURCH GUIDE + “Breaking the Ice” question (group facilitator) + CHECK-INS: Introduce, check-in + CARE: Needs in the group + COMPASSION: What is the group planning? Are you inviting your neighbours to join in? + GROUP ANNOUNCEMENTS Church-wide, group-only + DIG IN: Discuss questions as a group + END AND HOMEWORK: Final questions, prayer huddles for personal requests. Consider breaking into small groups (huddles) of 2-4, by gender, if large enough. General “guest sunday” DISCUSSION questions: + Who does the world around you say Jesus is? How would you answer a friend who asked the question “Who is Jesus?” + Describe and discuss how the apostle John helped both Greeks and Jews to a personal understanding of God through Jesus Christ. How does what you learned here about Jesus help make a bridge to people in the world around you? + How do you see the concept of overlapping “Kingdoms” at work in the world? What happens if the church does not see itself as first part of God’s kingdom, but only as an institution in the world’s kingdoms? + When have you seen spiritual death, in others or in yourself? In what ways does cutting yourself off from God and others lead to emotional, relational, or spiritual death? The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 1. WHO IS JESUS? (Becker outline) 1. Jesus came from _________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Historians documented the reality of Jesus. From sources outside the Bible, you can learn that: 3. Jesus lived in _________________________________________________________________________________ + What questions or comments do you have about accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Are you ready to do that? 4. Jesus is our _________________________________________________________________________________ + What did you think earlier about salvation? How has this study changed some of your understanding? Do you think of salvation/deliverance more as something here and now,or in the future, after death? What difference does it make? 5. Jesus is alive. Prayer Requests: 6. Early Christians accepted Jesus as their Lord. Sources: Series is an adaptation of “Begin Anew: Christian Discipleship Seminars”; Feasting on the Word; Commentaries; Other sources as noted. 2. WHAT DOES JESUS REVEAL ABOUT GOD? 1. Jesus reveals _________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Jesus reveals _________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Jesus reveals _________________________________________________________________________________ 4. WHAT KEEPS YOU FROM A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD? 1. 2. 3. 4. 3. WHAT DID JESUS COME TO DO? 1. Jesus came _________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Jesus came _________________________________________________________________________________ 5. WHAT BRINGS YOU CLOSER TO GOD? 3. The three kingdoms Satan’s kingdom Civil government God’s kingdom 4. In today’s world, people relate to Jesus in three ways. •Non-Christians •Non-Active Christians •Active Christians 6. FROM WHAT DOES GOD SAVE YOU? When you receive God’s forgiveness for separating yourself from him and when you pledge your loyalty to Jesus as your Lord, you begin a process of transformation. Sometimes this process takes time as you little by little surrender as much as you can to as much of Jesus as you understand.