Sunday, November 24, 2019

Week 13- LEADER HUDDLE



We go live in 7 days!!!

Starting next Sunday, we will start promoting the groups for Season 1 of 2020.  Online sign-ups will be open online, so shoot me an email with the following info.

Date:
Time:
Location:
Leadership (leader, co-leader, admin, host):
Any Additional Info or details: dinner, childcare, local ministry partner, type/demographic of group

Esther Week 6- TIMING

RECAP:
In the close of Esther 4, Esther and her crew were fasting and praying for 3 days.  Esther needed to know God's plan for her future, and her next steps would need to be taken with boldness, courage, and clarity.  Esther 5-7 shows us how God's plan and purpose always comes in God's timing.

ICEBREAKER:
1- Most people hate to wait, but some circumstances and settings are more frustrating than others.  What areas of life do you have zero patience in?  (waiting in a line, the DMV, traffic on the interstate, waiting on a table at a restaurant when you're hungry, having only 1 lane open at Walmart while the other 38 lanes are closed).

2- A popular saying is, "Good things come to those who wait."  Do you have a story of a big payoff that resulted from your diligent waiting and patience?


TRANSITION:
Many people are missing out on what God has for their life, NOT because they don't love God, NOT because they don't trust God, not because they don't believe that God has a plan, and NOT because they think their plan in better than God's plan.  Many people miss out because they aren't willing to wait on God and trust in His timing.


STUDY NOTES:
READ Esther 5:1-4

3- Esther fasted and prayed for 3 days.  What is something that you have been praying for and asking God for, and haven't received an answer yet?

Notice that Esther invited the King and Haman to a dinner "that she had already prepared" (vs 4).  While she was waiting, Esther was working.

Are you waiting on God, or is God waiting on you?  God may be waiting on the words of your mouth and prayers of your heart to turn into the action of your hands.

4- As you pray and ask God for wisdom, guidance, provision, etc, what does it look like to work while you wait?  What does faithfulness and obedience look like in a season of asking and waiting?


READ Esther 6:1-3

Years prior, Mordecai had saved the life of the King by thwarting an assassination attempt on the King's life.  Yet, Mordecai was never rewarded for doing the right thing.

5- Are you consistently doing the right thing, walking in obedience to God, remaining faithful, putting others in front of yourself, but not seeing the pay-off in your life?

6- When was the last time you did something nice for someone or served someone, and they failed to even thank you for it?


READ Esther 7:1-17

7- Describe a season in your life when God seemed silent, distance, or uninvolved in your situation.

8- NOT SEEING is not the same as NOT WORKING.  Did you find out later that God was working behind the scenes, and even though He seemed silent He was actually working things out in the background?


READ Esther 7:8-10
God had a plan all along, but He needed people that were willing to trust in His timing in order for that plan to come to fruition.

9- How do you know that you can trust God, even when you can't see His Hand moving?


NEXT STEPS and APPLICATION:
10- Faith leads to action, even in a time of waiting.  Some people think they are waiting on God, when in actuality God is waiting on them to move forward in faith.

11- The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit. Remember that God's plan always involves a process that is on His timeline.


ADDITIONAL STUDY:
12- Proverbs 21:1- "A King's heart is like channeled water in the Lord's Hand.  He directs it wherever He chooses."

-How does this text help us understand the role of presidents, Kings, and rulers in the world today?  Scripture tells us to pray for our leaders, pray for the prosperity of our cities, and pray for people in positions of authority over us.


13- Galatians 6:9- "Let us not become weary at doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

-Paul acknowledges a few things in this text:
a- We have a tendency to get tired of constantly taking the high road, doing the right thing, and living a selfless life.
b- God has a proper time associated with His plans, which may be different than our best time, our most convenient time, or the most obvious time in our minds
c- We WILL reap a harvest for our obedience and faithfulness.
d- There is a possibility that we will forfeit that harvest and reward if we give up too soon.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Week 12- LEADER HUDDLE


Esther Week 5- CALLING

RECAP:
Everyone loves a rags-to-riches story, and that's one of the reasons why the story of Esther is so intriguing. But a rags to riches story always has a purpose, a moment where we see why the main character was made a part of the incredible story.  This weeks text is that moment for Esther.  Everything in her life was preparing her for this moment of radical obedience.  Esther is about to discover her purpose in God's story.


ICEBREAKER:
1. If you could snap your fingers and immediately solve one problem in the world, what would it be? (e.g. my marriage, poverty, world hunger, family issues, sex trafficking, etc.)

2. What would your response be if someone were to ask you, "what is the purpose of life?"

3. Read Psalm 139:16. What's your response to a HUGE truth like that? Does it make you view your days, your hours, your moments in life any differently?


TRANSITION:
Most people will admit the desire to live a life that matters, a life of impact, significance, and purpose.  Esther definitely did that. So what do we need to look for and do in order to live a life for Christ like that? The story of Esther outlines three ways for us to do just that: Look for purpose, calling, and don’t be afraid to take risks! 


STUDY:
Read Esther 4:11-14.  PURPOSE IS NEVER EASY

4. How often do you approach life looking for the path of least resistance? The thing that makes the most sense to you?  Benefits you the most?  Is easiest for you?

5- Have you had an experience in your life that you look back on as a defining moment? Share how a defining moment in the past has impacted your current life circumstances.


6- In your own experience, what are the most difficult parts of pursuing your purpose? 


PURPOSE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE 


7- READ Ephesians 2:10. God created us to do good works that He prepared for us. In what ways have you noticed God preparing good things for you to do?

8- How much of your life do you view as happenstance, luck, or coincidence? How do you interpret things like luck or coincidence in light of verses like Ephesians 2:10?

PURPOSE ALWAYS INVOLVES RISK

9- How is following Jesus risky? (it's selfless, it's sacrificial, it's thinking of yourself last, it's radical obedience even when you can't see the outcome clearly).

10- How do you determine the difference between a godly risk connected to your purpose, and doing something irresponsible just for the sake of living dangerously and taking risks?


NEXT STEPS:
11- Take some time this week to write out your purpose in life. If you aren't crystal clear on the purpose, then you can't make decisions that will help drive you towards that purpose.

12- Do an evaluation of your time, money, resources, job, and relationships. They should be pushing you towards the purpose God created and called you to be.

13- Identify a risk that God has been calling you to take, and turn that into obedience this week (could be boldness in evangelism, going to the next level in generosity, or stepping up to lead in an area that could impact others).


ADDITIONAL STUDY:
Read Mark 8:34-35
Mark 8:35 (NIV) "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake and for the gospel will save it."

14- What happens if you want to save your life?

15- What does this passage say the key is to save your life? 

If our desire is to save our life, then we will lose it. Even if our desire to save is our life is masqueraded by 'losing our life' for the sake of the Gospel, we will still lose it. Our desire Jesus says should be love Him and obey out of that love, not out of a desire to save our lives. He is our Savior, not us. 

16- How can we try to be obedient to Mark 8:34-35 for the sake of obedience, rather than making obedience about saving our own life?

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Week 11- LEADER HUDDLE



Same shirt as last week...SMH.

Speaking of shirts, be sure to wear one next Sunday night so we can take your pic!

Esther Week 4- COMMUNITY

RECAP: 
The people that we surround ourselves with can be one of the most important decisions we make. God places people in our path to either impact us or give us the opportunity to impact them; sometimes it’s both! In the book of Esther, we can see how the community of the main characters directly impacts how the story unfolds for better or for worse.



ICEBREAKER:
1- What is the most fun day trip/vacation you’ve ever taken with friends?

2- What are the top 3 characteristics that you look for in friends?  What does it take to be your friend?



Transition: The people we surround ourselves with can be the catalyst for our best days and the cause of our worst. Sometimes we choose our community- like who we spend free time with, and other times our community is chosen for us- like co-workers. 



STUDY:
3- What is an example from your past where you chose your own community? What about one where your community was chosen for you?


4- How do you think God used both of those situations (choosing yourself and chosen for you) to accomplish His purposes in your life? 


The book of Esther provides great insight into how our friends can influence all the aspects of our life (marriage, professional, finance, parenting, etc.). Let’s focus in on the spiritual part of our life and the friends we need to succeed.


The Encourager: This person will always be the person who brings out the very best in you.


5- Do you have someone in your life that brings out the best in you? Who is it and what is it they do to bring out the best in you? 


6- If you don’t have an encourager in your life, why not? Is there someone who could be that friend for you if you invested more relational equity in them? 


The Mentor: This person mentors us in various areas of our lives by modeling how to live. 


7- A mentor is a model for areas of our lives. Who have you selected to mentor your relationship with Jesus? (Leader Note: Jesus is a good answer, and certainly the best possible mentor, but try to get your group to think about people who we are more likely to be able to model our lives after. Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. We are merely 100% man. Doing the same things He did is our goal, but we know that is unattainable this side of heaven).


8- Why do you think having a mentor in your spiritual walk important?  Do you have those people in your life?


The Disturber: This person shakes up our status quo with difficult questions that force us to consider our motives and intentions.


9- Disturbers are often people who are different than us. Is your tendency to surround yourself with people who are different than you or similar to you? Why?  Do you have those people in your life?


10- What are some positives that can come from having a friend who challenges your spiritual status quo and asks difficult questions? Do you have those people in your life?


The Discerner: This person brings spiritual insight into your life that includes challenging you, calling you out, and speaking the truth in love. 


11- How has having a friend who can give spiritual insight been a blessing to your relationship with Jesus?  Do you have a spiritual discerner in your life?



NEXT STEPS:
12- If you don’t have one or more of these types of friends to deepen your relationship with Jesus, identify someone you know that could help fill that gap and start to build the relationship.


13- You be an encourager, mentor, disturber, or discerner to your friends. Look for ways to earn that credibility and help them move forward in that way.



ADDITIONAL STUDY:
Read Acts 2:42-47. Emphasize the effective evangelism we see at the end of verse 47. “The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” The Lord added daily. Not every now and then. He added daily. How cool would it be if we could say this about our daily walk with Jesus? This is the church community of the first Christians. At Revo, we strive for church community like this.

14- What are a few things that you notice in verses 42-46 that helped contribute to their effectiveness? 


15- Which of these things that were just named do you lack the most? How can you use the community around you to fix that lack? 
  • Leader Note: If you need to give a few suggestions to get the conversation going think of a couple of these examples:
    • “Devoted to the apostle’s teaching”: Maybe it’s hard for you to listen during sermons or care about reading God’s Word during the week. Ask someone to be your accountability partner in reading the Bible daily.
    • “Prayer”: It’s tough for me to remember to pray. Or maybe it’s tough to set aside time spent in good prayer. Learn from a mentor the importance of a prayer life.
    • “Every day they met together in the temple courts…”: Maybe it’s the act of getting out of bed to go to church. The most effective Christians in history were meeting everyday. Couldn’t we do once a week? Be encouraged by a friend who has found incredible blessing in the body of Christ. 

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Week 10- LEADER HUDDLE


PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE!!   Email me (Nathan) with your RSVP this week for the leader, co-leader, admin, and host of your group.

4 Lists to Evaluate:
A- What's RIGHT?
B- What's WRONG?
C- What's CONFUSING?
D- What's MISSING?

Categories to Evaluate:
1- Blog Content
2- Leader Huddle Videos
3- New Season layout (3 Seasons, 3 Off-seasons)
4- Closed Groups Structure
5- Leadership Structure (Leader, Co-leader, Admin, Host)
6- Off-Season Training/Evaluation Process
7- rGroup promotion (Digital, On stage, Next-Step Cards)
8- 4 Core Purposes (Community, Crowd, Context, Character)
9- rGroup Training (vision casting)
10- Online Sign-up and info on rGroups website page
11- Weekly communication with Nathan

Esther Week 3- CULTURE

RECAP: 
In the book of Esther, we see people of God responding in different ways to culture.  In an ever increasing secular culture, how should the church respond to things going on around them? Are there ways to take a stand that don’t include dying on every single hill? Mordecai sets a good example for us when it comes to responding to cultural norms that are trending away from holiness and godliness.


ICEBREAKER:
1- What are some of the "causes" that people are standing for today? (Don't forget about the funny or weird ones!)

2- Have you ever been put in a position where you had to choose between a command (maybe from a boss, employee, or culture) and your beliefs in God?  What was it and how did you handle it?


TRANSITION:
The decisions we make today have consequences. How we handle and address a secular culture either helps others see Jesus or prevents people from seeing Jesus.  There is so much at stake in our response, so let's learn how to live lives that accomplish the purpose that God has given us to help others find and follow Jesus.


STUDY:
3- In your response to culture, ask yourself these questions:
a- Am I trying to make a DIFFERENCE or just interested in making a POINT?  
b- In my response, do I just want to be RIGHT or is my response about making an IMPACT?
c- Do you want to be known for what you are AGAINST or the things you stand FOR?

4- If we asked your friends what you stood for, what do you think they would say?

5- Can you name a time when Jesus protested, boycotted, or took a stand against something?

6- READ Esther 3:8-11. 
Haman tries to persuade the King to make a decision based on 3 big themes: fear, being different, and self-interest.  How are these 3 things still in place today to motivate people to respond to the culture around them?

7- READ Esther 3:13-15
People worry when they have a heightened sense of vulnerability and a diminished sense of power. What makes you worry, confused, or nervous about the world around us?

8- We shared three categories to put cultural issues in: Preferences, beliefs, and convictions.  Can you give an example of each one of those in your life?

9- We shared four different responses to culture issues: I would die for this, I would take a stand for this (even if it means losing a relationship), I would talk about this (have a healthy debate), and It's not worth it.  Can you give an example from each category of how you've responded? (Except the first one, since you've avoided dying up until this point)


NEXT STEPS:
10- When something goes "viral" or seems like an outrage in culture, how should Christians respond?  How do you determine if you should post about it, talk about it, ignore it, take a stand, etc?

11- When faced with a secular culture, remember these 3 things:
a- Stop worrying about what you can't control
b- pray about what you're really concerned about
c- turn towards God
How similar is your approach and response to culture?


FURTHER STUDY:
Read Acts 13:45-52. 
12- Paul and Barnabas preached the Gospel and were well received by some, but also persecuted by others. How did they respond? What do you think their response means?

Shaking dust off of your feet in the first century is a symbolic gesture that means the same as the modern saying "I wash my hands of it." In other words, Paul and Barnabas have done what they were supposed to and now they are moving on, allowing God to deal with those who rejected them. 

13- Reread verses 45-46. How could the response of Paul and Barnabas be an example for us in the face of cultural criticism?

14- Read Matthew 10:5-15 as a group to be encouraged by the sufficiency and supremacy of Scripture.

Neither Paul nor Barnabas were disciples of Jesus when he gave these instructions in Matthew. How cool is it that they somehow knew exactly how to respond to rejection!? The Holy Spirit is awesome for instructing them in their moment of rejection and for including these details in the Bible. Praise God!