Dangerous Church rGroups!
The Dangerous Church rGroup guides are designed to be discussion based. It isn't lecture form. Instead of sitting in rows with all eyes on the leader in the front, rGroups are designed to be in circles, with each person interacting and sharing around the truths of God's Word. These questions each week are designed to get the conversation started.
If a person in your group did not get the opportunity to come to a REVO worship experience, the sermon podcasts are posted online by Monday at noon. The small group guides are always posted on the rGroups blog tab on the REVObackstage website on Sunday at 11:00am.
Encourage your group to listen to the podcast in order to better participate in your rGroup. However, attending REVO and listening to the sermon is NOT a necessity to attend an rGroup. The passages should be read again at the beginning of the group and the questions are formatted in a way that anyone can answer and reflect on them, even if they did not have the opportunity to hear the sermon.
Passage: Acts 1
-What are some different words to describe a person that adheres to the Christian faith? Follower of Jesus, Christian, evangelical, believer, etc. How often do you think "apostle?" It means "sent out ones." When you think of your Christian faith, do you think of yourself as a person that is "sent out?" How does your Christian life live up to that description of what a follower of Jesus looks like?
-What is the significance of telling the disciples to wait? It was so that they wouldn't start their ministry without the Holy Spirit. Where does a reliance on the Holy Spirit come into play in your life? Is the presence of God the first thing you wait on, having the mentality that without Him you aren't even going to try to do anything on your own? Or do you do everything you can and only call on God when you get stuck or frustrated or can't do it on your own anymore?
-Has God ever told you to wait? How hard was that? Did you ever rush into something and found out later it was the wrong move?
-Jesus's very last words were the to communicate to the Church what it's mission is. Let's break the locations down:
1. Jerusalem- what is your Jerusalem? Your current location, your job, your school, your direct sphere of influence. How can you be a witness to your Jerusalem?
2. Judea- what is your Judea? Acquaintances, new friends, co-workers, even complete strangers like cashiers, waiters, and retail workers where you shop. How can you be a witness to your Judea?
3. Samaria- what is your Samaria? These are people that are not like you. Not your social status, economic group, race, or class. There are people that don't have anything in common with you. These people are on the outskirts of society, like needy people, impoverished people. How can you be a witness to your Samaria?
4. To the end of the earth. Just in case there is an obscure group of people that you think, "I wonder if God includes them in his mindset of people that need him." The answer is yes. There are no areas or people that are left out.
Answer this question together: Are you called into the ministry? All believers have a general call. You may not be called to be a full-time minister serving in a vocational setting, but you are called to tell people about Jesus. Period. As a follower of Jesus, have you ever sat back and realized that Jesus has called you to be a "minister."
The Spirit of God was inside of Jesus when he was on earth. That is what gave him the power and authority to do what he did. All the miracles, healings, preaching, teaching, and incredible aspects of Jesus were attributed to the very spirit of God being inside of him. Now, that same spirit is inside of you. How does that make you feel? Empowered, confident, obligatory, unstoppable, dangerous.
The Church in the book of Acts lived by a certain pattern found so many times in the book. The pattern was 1. pray, 2. God showed up, and 3. Things start to happen. How can you make that applicable in your life today. Is that a pattern you can identify in your own life? What are examples of times you did this and it worked?
At the end of each group time, spend some time going over the memory verse for that week, and also help them define not only what it means to be a dangerous church, but also how we can apply it to our lives. I don't want this new series to simply be a study of a dangerous church. I want this series to help us BE a dangerous church.
Give some accountability to each other with your Scripture memory. Each week ask team members to recite the verse. Make it a big deal and put a priority and importance on the Word of God. Hopefully by the end of the series your group will have verses memorized out of each chapter that tell the story of the first 11 chapters of Acts and how God used this early church plant.
What does it mean to be dangerous?
-Listing to and relying on the Holy Spirit
-Praying with direct access to God
-Reading/Memorizing/Honoring the Word of God
-To be focused on the mission
Acts 1:8- But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
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