Week two focuses on what is next for our students. We want to help them process what their gifts are, the needs that they see, and what they feel called to do.
Our Senior Pastor threw out the idea this past fall about doing a series on mapping out your life. Week one focuses on the rearview mirror and helping students understand where they have come from and what exactly God was “up to” in their past!
This is the clincher. This is the rule that gives meaning to the previous two in the series. Staying in love with God infuses our refusal to do harm and our commitment to doing good with meaning. Our motivations are not our own. We are, after all, in love.
Do Good. Even more straightforward than do no harm (that we talked about earlier), doing good, is what missions is all about, amiright? Doing good is the action step following the first practice of doing
Doing no harm is harder than it seems. It encompasses many of the practices we tend to take for granted. Most of the time, doing no harm, means closing your mouth, quieting your thoughts, and actively looking for opportunities to listen. All of which are tremendously hard work!
We did this small group after a message on loyalty (message points are included as well). Is loyalty given or earned? How do you decide? Who are you loyal to? How do you find loyal friends?
We live in a culture that is held hostage by doing. We constantly hear messages that tell us we have to do more to be good enough, strong enough, beautiful enough, smart enough, to be accepted. The Holy Spirit works in us not just so we can “do good” but so that we can “bear fruit.”
Jesus calls us not just to follow his teachings, but to identify with him in his life, death, and resurrection. The call to follow Jesus is a call to die – to self, to the world, to sin – that we might experience new life in Christ. This is the basis of our salvation – Surrender.
God calls us not just to a new belief, but a new life. Therefore, faith is not intellectual assent; it is all-encompassing truth in Christ. It is putting our life in God’s hands, trusting Him to lead and guide us in every part of us.
This weekend series is about retreating – getting away to focus on the one true God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), so that we can allow God to ADVANCE our faith, the Gospel, and the Kingdom in and through our lives together.
A day by day walk with Jesus is an invitation, not an obligation that should challenge us. This three week series dives into these ideas, as well as offers practical ideas for a daily walk with Jesus.
We are often faced with adversity and challenged because of our beliefs. The issues of “Does God Exist” often come up in discussions of creation vs evolution, morality, good vs evil, and relativism. It is vital for us to understand what we believe and why we hold the belief in God.
