Why Does Growth Matter?
Speaker: Pastor Pierre
Scripture References: Isaiah 43:18, Ephesians 1:22-23, Ephesians 3:10, John 6:44-46,Psalm 146:10, Proverbs 18:10
GROUP QUESTIONS
What resonated with you as you listened to the sermon and review?
The way God works today requires us to be malleable. . What does that mean to you?
The world has changed. How can we become more attentive to what is needed now in order to reach unbelievers?
Read Isaiah 43:18. Rebuilding may involve dismantling what is in place. What do you see as your next step in “forgetting those things that are behind and moving forward in your faith-walk?
Read Ephesians 1:22-23. How do you respond to what it says about the church being a vehicle for the presence of God where He speaks and acts through us as temples?
Explain how the presence of Christ, as expressed in our gatherings, brings others into the perforated circle.
To spur someone on means to encourage and motivate those who are lacking in ambition. How can you spur others on without becoming intrusive or a nag?
SUMMARY
As we continue to reflect and talk specifically about Vision, we look at the 3 CIRCLES that inform that VISION: It’s about being shaped in and by faith community where we GATHER, GROW AND CONTRIBUTE. Where we seek to contextualize LIVING MISSIONLY where God has planted us in the context He has put us.We can also refer to this as …
*GATHER-BE WITH JESUS
*GROW-BECOME LIKE JESUS
*CONTRIBUTE-DO WHAT JESUS DID
The GATHERING we call church, is not a building, but living stones. God always breaks into an ever- changing culture, and in doing so, He requires from His church, a malleable posture. The world has changed, so let us become attentive to what is needed now and how God is already at work. Isaiah 41:18 speaks to this principle: “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand new.” It does not mean how God worked in the past and how we joined that work was wrong. God is a moving God. Reflect on how He chose to use a pillar of cloud to advance the Children of Israel through the wilderness. Increasingly, our faith is moving from a cognitive belief, to one wherein we practice living out our faith in our ordinary everyday lives. The world cares less about what you believe, and more about what difference your belief makes in your life. Are you more loving, kind and compassionate? When you go through difficulties of life, can they witness a difference, a peace that passes understanding that attracts them to want to know the God you serve?
I Corinthians speaks to the interdependence of Christ’s body, the church., and the necessity of maintaining a supernatural CLOSENESS that God invites us into. .God desires that we know and be known, and God speaks where the family gathers, where our connection is experienced corporately. It’s a CLOSE church where we find intimacy, not a CLOSED CIRCLE church based on exclusion.
The DOTTED LINE CIRCLE is representative of followers of Jesus that is perforated to invite others into the space. THE HALF CIRCLE brings out the multi colors of who you are…the Salt of the Earth!… We need each other, and God wants to touch the world through us…Christ in you, the hope of glory!
