Losers / Finders - Sunday 5th April '09

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• Read Matthew 10.38 and Luke 9.23. When we started to become followers of Jesus did we know what we were letting ourselves in for?
• Read Luke 14.25-35. Have we expected only blessing without estimating the cost of commitment?

SURRENDER

• Are there any things God might be wanting us to give up in order to draw closer to him and his purposes for our lives? These could be material things, attitudes, habits and areas not fully surrendered. If there are these things, the Holy Spirit may keep prompting us over a period of time.

SERVICE

• Are there any things that might prevent us committing ourselves to whole-hearted service and ministry as followers of Jesus? If we are aware that there, what do we intend to do about them?

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Sunday 1st March, 2009

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (30 minutes)
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The Overlooked Commandment

• How easy do you find it to answer the question, ‘Does God love me?’

• If it is easy to answer that question positively, why?

• If it is hard to answer that question positively, why?

• In both cases, do you feel that way because of who God is, or who you are?

• On a scale of 1 to 10, how strongly do you feel the need to earn God's love? 1 is the strongest need, and 10 is feeling like you have no need to earn his love at all, because you accept it as true.

• How tolerant are you of yourself, not in the sense of being lazy and slack in your Christian walk, but in the sense of being accepting of who you are, warts and all?

• List ten benefits you believe could come from loving yourself.

• List ten ways you could ‘love thyself’ (52 inch plasma TV aside!)

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Sunday 22nd February, 2009

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (30 minutes)
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Thank God it’s Monday!

When you wake up on Monday morning do you think “Monday? - Roll on Friday!” or “Thank God it’s Monday!”? What could help you see things differently from now on?

What’s the difference for a Christian between “living to work” and “working to live”?

Do your colleagues at work know you are a Christian – would they be surprised? If they were conducting your staff appraisal how do you think they would rate you? Would you be pleased or embarrassed?

Read Colossians 3:22-25. When is it ok to disobey your boss? How should you deal with a boss who persecutes you and gives you all the dross jobs to do just for being a Christian? How should you deal with a boss who abuses your faith and gives you all the dross jobs because he/she knows that as a Christian you won’t complain?

What areas of work (obedience, attitude, wholeheartedness) stop you from being a better role model for Christ and what can you do to improve things?

Read Luke 19:1-10. What lessons from Zacchaeus can you learn – what might you do at work over the coming weeks that could have a similar impact?

Where does God want you to be? If you are happy and successful are you prepared to move on to somewhere new if God calls you? If you are struggling at work and looking for other opportunities are you prepared to stay where you are for Christ?

Who at work could you be praying for?

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Sunday 15th February, 2009

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (34 minutes)
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Faith is spelt R. I. S. K. // How to be a failure for God

FEAR

• What makes you afraid? Are there things in your life right now that scare you? Can you imagine that God is present somewhere, however hidden, in the midst of that situation? If you can, what do you think he might be doing?

• How do you respond when you’re scared? How do you think you should you respond?

• Are there situations that consistently make you afraid (for example, confrontation, being around people who are suffering, talking to certain types of people)? Why do you feel afraid? Does it affect the way you act? Do you try to avoid these situations? Should you?

OPPORTUNITY

• The same story is found in Mark 6:45-52. Mark makes special effort to show that something special is going on – to see it, pay attention to the last sentence of verse 48 and compare it with Moses’ experience in Exodus 33:18-23.

• Why do you think Peter recognised this as an opportunity and the other disciples didn’t? Whatever answer you come up with, do you have that quality?

• Do you find it easy or difficult to think that God might be doing something when things actually look and feel awful? How might thinking this way help you get through the hard times?

FAILURE

• If you feel that God is asking you to take a risk, but you’re afraid, what’s the worst thing that could happen? Try taking some risks and see if it’s as bad as you feared!

REPEATED PRACTICAL TASK: DO SOMETHING GOOD THIS WEEK (or even everyday this week!) The rules of this experiment are:

1. First pray that God will lead you. Then, when you have a chance to do something good, have faith that God set it up.
2. The good act must be something you wouldn’t normally do.
3. It has to be spontaneous, not planned. For best results, step out of your comfort zone and do something for a stranger.
4. It mustn’t be for the purpose of sharing your faith. It should just be about doing good. If you do get an opportunity to talk about Jesus, that’s just a bonus!
5. Share what happens using the 'comments' link below

Sunday 8th February, 2009

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (23 minutes)
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Here & Now: If God is present… where are you?

DISTRACTED FROM THE PRESENT

• What sort of thing commonly draws you out of the present moment? Are you a worrier or a dreamer, or a bit of both? What areas of your life do you worry or dream about? If you identified with one of the distractions from the present below try doing the appropriate exercise:

• Past Pain – Read and reflect on Peter’s question and Jesus’ answer, in Matthew 18:21-35. Now think about Peter’s story, as told in Matthew 26:31-35 & 69-75 and John 21:15-19.

• Past Success – Try starting a notebook to record everything God does in your life, even small things. Refer to it whenever you are struggling with your present circumstances. Think about Paul’s experiences in Acts 19:11-12 and 2 Corinthians 4:8-11. Do you think two such opposite episodes were confusing to him?

• Future Worry – Read Philippians 4:4-9. Try putting it into practice and think about excellent things instead of worries. Read and meditate on Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:25-34. What action could you take to help you stop doubting God’s goodness?

• Future Dreams – Is your present actively helping you move towards your vision? What sort of things could you do? Read how Paul’s vision shaped his present in 1 Corinthians 9:19-27.

LIVING IN THE PRESENT MOMENT

• Make a list of some things that are in your life right now that you are thankful for (a mental list is ok, but writing it down is better.) Do you find it hard to pick things that are in the present? Do you find it easier to think of past things that you are thankful for, or things that you are looking forward to?

• Practical task: DO SOMETHING GOOD THIS WEEK (or even everyday this week!) The rules of this experiment are:

1. First pray that God will lead you. Then, when you have a chance to do something good, have faith that God set it up.
2. The good act must be something you wouldn’t normally do.
3. It has to be spontaneous, not planned. For best results, step out of your comfort zone and do something for a stranger.
4. It mustn’t be for the purpose of sharing your faith. It should just be about doing good. If you do get an opportunity to talk about Jesus, that’s just a bonus!
5. Share what happens: by using the comments button below.

Sunday 25th January, 2009

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (30 minutes)
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DISAPPOINTED, DISILLUSIONED AND DISCOURAGED!

• Read Mark 6:30-44 (you could pick almost any passage – I’ve chosen this one almost at random). Put yourself into the position of the disciples and then someone in the crowd. Can you see the place where they are suddenly in he gap between what they hoped or expected to happen and it actually happening? Think how they would have felt? Can you draw parallels with your own life?

• Have you ever felt let down by God? Have you had prayers remain unanswered, or things go very differently from what you expected or hoped? How did you cope? How do you feel about these things now? Are they still painful? Do they have an influence on your behaviour or beliefs now? Pray and ask what God would have you do to begin your healing.

• Read Romans 8:18-38. Read it again out loud. Try writing it out in your own words, as if you were conveying the ideas to a friend who doesn’t understand all the Christian terms. Feel free to use lists, bullet points and your own metaphors – whatever it takes to help the meaning really sink in!

• Do you think you believe it? Does it feel like it’s just a quick and easy answer that doesn’t really meet the pain of your situation? How do you think you can you get through this and discover the encouragement God intends it to be in our lives?
  

• Read Romans 5:1-5. Does it seem ridiculous to “rejoice in our sufferings”? Paul says suffering changes us into better people. How do you think your suffering might help you to be more like Jesus?

• Read Hebrews 11:32 to 12:3 and 2 Corinthians 4:7-18. Do you find this encouraging?

• Read Revelation 21:1-7. How does this make you feel? You could also read John 14:1-3 for the same idea put a different way.

Sunday 18th January, 2009

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (40 minutes)
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FRUIT NOT FACTORY!

• What does abiding/remaining in Christ mean to you? How can you practise abiding in your own life? Read the passages: Psalm 80-8-9; Isaiah 5:1-7 and Jeremiah 2:21 where the analogy of the vine/vinegrower is also used. Does this bring more significance to Jesus being the true vine?

• If you read Matthew 7:15-20 and Galatians 5:22-23 – how do you interpret bearing fruit? What would it look like to bear fruit and how can we judge if we are? Consider those areas where you most want to grow. Talk to God about how he can help you to become more Christlike in these areas of your character.

• As we become more Christlike, we are revealing the character of God. Find some key passages in the Gospel of John where Jesus talks about revealing the character of his Father – John 5 and 14-17 are a great start. If you want to do more study, try using www.studylight.org to find relevant passages

• Is your Christian life about trying to please God through good works or can you believe that God loves you and that his priority is an abiding relationship with you? How does the need to perform and please God and/or people affect your life and your relationship with him?

• What does joy mean to you? Think about times when you have experienced joy in your relationship with God or by serving him through ministry. Do you rely on who you are in God or what you do for people to bring you joy?

• How much does your good works and ministry to others come out of feelings of responsibility rather than love? Do you sometimes compare your own character and giftings with other people in church? How can you develop a closer relationship with God so that his love grows in your heart and gives you the “ability to respond” in love?

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Sunday 11th January, 2009

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (24 minutes)
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LIVING FOR A VISION!

• They say religion answers the question “Why are we here?” Try personalising the question – why are you here? What do you think is the point of your life? How does your faith make a difference in answering this very hard question?

• Try one (or both) of the exercises below. Let your imagination, ambition and even your ego run wild. This is an exercise in aspirations so don’t hold back!
  

• Write your own obituary! Imagine it’s many, many years in the future, you’ve died and a newspaper is reporting your death. What would you love them to write about you and your life?

• Imagine some people are talking about you when you’re not there. What would you like them to be saying?

• Look at what you wrote for the previous exercise. If you have done this properly you have been writing out a description of the person you would like to be. What do you notice about it? Does it seem possible to be that person? What kind of things have you written? Are they mostly about your character – the type of person you’d like to be – or are they about achievements – the things you’d like to do? What does this tell you about yourself? Should you try to balance the two types of elements out?

• How do you feel about the idea of changing? Would you like to change? Do you feel the need to change? Or do you feel as though you’re more or less where you’d like to be? Why do you feel like this and is it a good thing to feel?

• Try to write out a vision for your life. Maybe do it as a brainstorm rather than prose, as this avoids prioritising and means nothing is written in stone. It’s good to check back and make changes and additions from time to time.

• How does having a vision make you feel about what you’d like to do with your life? Read Luke 4:14-21 and John 10:7-18 for Jesus’ vision for his life. Read Genesis 1:28-2:25 for God’s vision for people.

• Do you feel overwhelmed by your vision? If you don’t you probably haven’t been brave enough. Read Exodus 3:1 – 4:17 for the account when God gives Moses a vision for his life. How could you apply the verses in Exodus 4:10-12 to your own fears? Meditate on this whenever you’re feeling intimidated by the path ahead.

• Read Hebrews 11 to see how vision gives us the power to persevere. Read Hebrews 12:1-3 and consider what our vision should be focused on. Is this the central part of your vision? If not, how could you make it the central ingredient?

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