Free Marriage/Relationship Event (Online)

Hey crew-

Mark Driscoll wrote a book on Marriage a few years back, and I thought it was a great resource.  He and some other pastors/leaders are putting on a free marriage conference online, and I bet some people in your rGroup may want to tune in!

The link to sign up for the free LiveStream is below.  You can send it out, enjoy it yourself, or watch it with your small group (10 or less!!)

Enjoy-

https://xomarriage.com/events/hope-for-homes

Vantage Point- The Son

Icebreaker: If you could be a part of one fictitious family, which one would it be and why?  (i.e. The Addams family, The Brady Bunch, Skywalkers, Seinfeld… etc.) 

1-  How familiar are you with the Prodigal Son story? Try to summarize it as a group if you can.

READ Luke 15:11-16

2- Each week in this series we are focusing on a different character in the story. This week we are focusing on the younger son. Do you know someone (maybe even yourself) who has been a modern-day Prodigal Son/Daughter? How so?

3- The son’s needs (specifically his hunger) drove him back to his father. Today we are in a season as humans, where our own needs are more apparent than usual. How have you seen this time drive you (or others) back to God?

READ Luke 15:17-20

4- Where is the point of your biggest need in life right now? How can you seek God to be the provider of that need, rather than worldly solutions?

5- Because we are so familiar with this story, it is easy to not be in awe at the father’s response to seeing his son. Think about your own sins, and how the father in this story is meant to symbolize God’s response to us turning towards Him in repentance. Now, how does the father’s response resonate differently with you?

6- Verse 17 says that the son’s return started with him “coming to his senses.” Have you had a moment like this with God; where you came to your senses and returned to Him? Share with the group as a way to encourage others with a story of repentance! 

READ Luke 15:21-24

7- Do you struggle with the idea that your worth/identity is not tied up in what you do? If not, have you ever fallen into that trap of believing your worth to God is tied up in what you do in the past? If so, how did God bring you out of that? 

8- In verses 18-19 and 21 the son plans to revoke his sonship say that he will become a servant in his father’s household. The father responds by calling him his son. Knowing this is a metaphorical picture of our relationship with God, how does this encourage you and embolden your view of yourself?

READ Luke 15:10

9- Jesus says heaven rejoices over a sinner repenting. How can we strive to make a bigger deal of holiness, repentance, and confession in our own lives and the lives of people we know? 

10- A second takeway from this verse (v.10) that precedes the Prodigal story is that repentance leads to rejoicing in heaven, but is oftentimes awkwardly approached if ever talked about here on earth. Why do you think that is? How can we work to change that stigma at REVO? 

11- Thinking back to question 2 where we discussed different “prodigals” we may know of, how can you pray for them, or reach out to them with the Gospel in mind this week? 

Distancing Without Disconnecting

Human are social beings, so what happens when we are forced to distance ourselves from each other?  I think we see a hole start to develop emotionally, mentally, relationally, and spiritually!

So here are some tips for you to distance yourself without disconnecting from your group members.

1- Instead of text and email, call or video chat.
Texting and email is fast and easy, but it's also non-personal.  Since we're already isolated, let's avoid becoming visually and phonically disconnected.  Call people if you want to communicate, so you can hear each other's voices.  Do a FaceTime call or Google Chat with your group just to check up on them and see their faces.  Doing that will do a world of good to help fill our desire for social interaction.

2- Do the same things you've always done, just do them in a different way.
Are you used to seeing each other once per week?  Then schedule a call!  Used to checking in with people on Monday to see how their weekend went?  Do it!  Used to eating lunch in the break room with others?  Text them a picture of your lunch and tell them you can't wait to start your daily tradition with each other again.

3- Used to growing spiritually together?  Then start a Bible reading plan on the YouVersion Bible app and share notes with your group.  Start a private Facebook page for your group so that people can post things for encouragement and to challenge each other.

So what are you doing to stay connected through the isolation?

HTDO- Discipleship

Icebreaker: What is one normal “adult” responsibility that you wish would’ve been taught in school, because you someone else had to teach you how to do it well? 

READ John 21:15-17

YOU ARE GOD’S PLAN FOR CHURCHES BEING FILLED WITH MATURE, JESUS-OBEYING CHRISTIANS

1- Why do you think God would choose to allow us to be a part of His plan for equipping, training, and teaching younger believers?

2- Why is it important to “disciple” other Christians in the church?

EVERYBODY IS CALLED TO BE SOMEBODY’S SHEPHERD

READ Titus 2:3-8

3- Older women, teach younger women. Older men, teach younger men. How/when/where have you seen this done well? What made you notice it and think it was done well?

4- Do you see this type of Titus 2 discipleship taking place at REVO? Why or why not? Do you see this happening in your own life? Why or why not?

5- We are all called to be somebody’s shepherd. Who are you discipling currently? If you aren’t discipling someone right now, is there someone who comes to mind that you can approach? 

YOUR CALL TO BE A SHEPHERD IS BASED ON JESUS’ GRACE, NOT YOUR OWN WORTHINESS

6- How can you relate to Peter’s story of feeling like you’ve let Jesus down and are not worthy to follow Him? 

7- How is it encouraging to know that we ARE unworthy, and Jesus doesn’t need us to be worthy, because of His grace?

THE PRIMARY QUALIFICATION FOR DISCIPLESHIP IS LOVE FOR JESUS

8- As we talk about the call to disciple others, do you feel unqualified? If so, how is it encouraging to know that Jesus only cares if you love Him?

9- Maybe it’s not feeling unworthy or unqualified, but chances are there is some mental barrier that holds us back from obeying Jesus’ call to shepherd His people. If it’s not worth or qualifications, what is it for you? As a group, use this question to encourage one another in scriptural truths that dispel the lies. 

10- Let’s hold each other accountable as a group! Do you need to be fed or do you need to do the feeding? Or why not both? Identify a person or person(s) you need to approach with a next step. Then as a rGroup, try to hold each other accountable to make sure we obey our Savior!

Can we do groups...online?

Without knowing when the end of isolation is in sight, our team is brainstorming ways to do small groups without being in the same room together.

I know, I know, it's not ideal!  But having SOME connection with each other is better than nothing!

Here are a few links that I'm studying to think through staying connected through groups in a digital world.

What is an online small group, and how would it even work?!

https://www.jaykranda.com/blog/2016/11/26/9-questions-before-starting-online-small-groups

Could online groups be beneficial even if they weren't necessary?

https://www.smallgroups.com/articles/2011/why-i-love-online-small-groups.html

Free and Easy platforms to use to host a small group online

https://churchtechtoday.com/2016/03/11/3-ways-online-bible-study/

Could online small groups bring discipleship into the 21st Century?

https://study.church

Tips for Leading your small group (digitally or in person)

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/five-tips-for-leading-your-small-group/

Miss being together for worship on Sunday?

I REALLY missed being together on Sunday.  Video services are great, but there's just something about being in the room together.

For this week, our services will be online only again.  We are going to pre-record the services this week and post to Facebook and Youtube at 11am on Sunday.  Prerecording will eliminate the lagging and buffering that is associated with Livestream as Facebook and YouTube struggled this week in handling the demand from churches around the country.

Knowing that we can't gather corporately again this upcoming weekend, I wanted to share a creative way that you could worship with your group together that I heard from one of our rGroups.


You can host a REVO Worship Watch Party!


Grab some muffins and coffee from the grocery store, and invite your rGroup over to your host house and watch the service together.  We make all of the kids ministry materials available online, so you can even get the kids engaged with Jesus on their level.

If you have any ways of staying connected and engaged during this time of social isolation, then let me know so I can share them!

Anxiety and Panic

It’s interesting to see the wide range of emotions that people are experiencing.  It maybe business as usual for you, but others around you (including your group members) may not be doing so well.  Here are a few links that you can take a look at to help other (kids included) deal with what’s going on in the world.


https://theparentcue.org/managing-fear-and-anxiety-during-a-health-pandemic/?fbclid=IwAR0aF4QhhGtfh_DeBSSqtezw2XjXw3lBSWuVbY70natfdIk6NaycX6Y9-Ks

Feeling helpless? Here's what you can do to help

Honestly, I'm feeling a little helpless.

With many issues that we face, there are organizations in the city and nation that we can partner with financially to help solve the problem.  Yet, non-profit funding isn't the issue with COVID-19.

We have strategic ministry partners that oftentimes specialize in mobilizing large groups of people to serve in the face of crisis.  Yet, gathering in large crowds is prohibited right now.

So what do we do?!

Here's a simple idea that could make a big impact that you and everyone in your group could do.

The card below was designed by a lady that wanted to check in on her neighbors as some of them were self-isolating due to flu-like symptoms.  She printed this card with her contact info, placed it in an envelope, and taped in on the door or put it in the mailbox of her neighbors.

She says she hasn't gotten any requests yet from neighbors, but at the very least she has taken a step to help her neighbors feel comfortable in reaching out.  

Likewise, most people probably won't respond to your offer, but consider the message it sends to those around you!  If you have any ways that you are trying to help others during this challenging season, then send them to me.  I'd love to pass on creative ways that your rGroup is being the Church and thinking outside of the box to reach people.

-Nathan

Should your group meet this week?

LEADER HUDDLE, S1 Week 11

REMINDER to email Nathan and let him know your final numbers for the End of Season 1 party coming up on March 22nd in HQ.


Here's the link to the "Community" Small group study (it's an updated version with a different cover design, but it's the same resources mentioned in the video above.

https://store.northpoint.org/products/community-starting-well-in-your-small-group-dvd?_pos=2&_sid=e3824a3f1&_ss=r


Here's the link to the best book on Hospitality and relationship evangelism I've ever read!!

https://www.amazon.com/Simplest-Way-Change-World-Hospitality/dp/0802414974

HTDO- Death

Icebreaker: How do you and your family talk about death? (Ignore it, joke about it, plan for it, talk casually about it?)

1- What do you think is the difference between physical and spiritual death? 

READ John 8:48-51

2- In what way did Jesus seek glory for God the Father while on earth? 

3- How are you seeking glory for God instead of glory for yourself?

4- What do you think Jesus meant when He said in verse 51, “if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death”? In other words, how can we avoid death while also being destined to die?

READ John 8:52-56

Jesus claims in this passage, and throughout the Gospels are ridiculous. He was either crazy or the Christ. That's why the Jews ask, “who do you think you are?” We will all have to answer a similar question when we die. 

5- Have you ever thought about how crazy Jesus’ claims were if He wasn’t truly God in human form? How can this truth from these verses help you talk with non-Christians about Jesus?

6- Jesus says that He both knows God the Father and keeps His word. After death we will face God to answer for if we knew Him and if we kept His word. If you had to give a final answer to those questions now, is there one you’re more worried about?  

7- Are you 100% certain about your eternal destination? If you died today, are you absolutely sure what would happen to you? Why or why not? 

READ John 8:57-59 

8- How can Jesus’ statement about Himself in verse 58 give you certainty about your eternity?

• Leader note: Jesus basically says I am God. So, if Jesus is God, then everything that He says and does must be true and perfect. Therefore, His death and resurrection were perfect. If needed, read John 11:25-26 for what Jesus’ own words say about how eternal security is found in Him.

9- So, our eternal security is found in who Jesus is and what He has done, not in who we are or what we have done. How does this truth encourage you? 

Next Steps:

10- Who is one person that you care about, that if they died today, you aren’t sure where they would spend eternity? How can you use this conversation about death and our eternal destination to fuel a fire to share Jesus with that person(s)? 

11- Everyone is talking about the coronavirus. Coincidentally, we were scheduled to talk about death this week. How can you try to use different conversations about the coronavirus to be a witness for Jesus these next few weeks? 

Additional Study:

For more information on the topic of what happens when we stand before God, here are two great articles about the different ‘judgements’ and their biblical basis. 

https://www.gotquestions.org/great-white-throne-judgment.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/judgment-seat-Christ.html

LEADER HUDDLE, S1 Week 10

HTDO- Evangelism

ICEBREAKER:

What's your favorite thing to order at your favorite restaurant?  What makes it so good?

OR

People share good news all of the time on social media (gender reveals, pregnancy announcements, new job, fun time on vacation, accomplishments of family members, etc).  A lot of these things are personal to us, but we end up sharing them with the world.  Why is it so natural for us to share good things, good experiences, and good news with others?

TRANSITION:
One definition of evangelism is, "the Public Sharing of Good News through Personal Experience."  It seems that our lives are filled with examples of evangelism in every area except in our spiritual lives.  For some reason, we don't hesitate to share about a good meal or a fun vacation that we experienced, but are very private about how Jesus has changed our lives and altered our eternity.

READ John 1:35-39

John knew who Jesus was and what he had come to do, but he wanted to make sure that his followers met Jesus instead of just relying on his story.  John wanted them to have their own faith that was personal.

1- How do you know that the faith you have is yours?  What does personal faith look like, as opposed to someone piggybacking off of their parents faith or simply being familiar with the facts/history of the Christian faith?

2- John knew that Jesus needed to be EXPERIENCED, not just EXPLAINED.  How can we invite people to "come and see" today knowing that the physical Jesus isn't walking on the face of the earth?

READ vs 40-42

3- As soon as Andrew meets Jesus, he begins to get other people to Jesus.  What are some ways that you can help get people to Jesus?  (Try to think beyond the traditional ways of sharing the Gospel with someone, as there are so many different approaches to impacting people with the Gospel)

4- There would have been so many good reasons that Jesus could have used to justify not stopping to talk to Peter, but Jesus saw something in Peter that even Peter couldn't see about himself.  What are the excuses that we often give for not talking to people about what Jesus has done in our lives?

READ vs 43-46
(this section might sting a little bit)

Think about the stuff you see on social media everyday.  We assume A LOT about other people.
a. we assume people want to see pictures of our pets
b. we assume people want to see pictures of what we cook and eat at meals
c. we assume people want to know our opinion about politics
d. we assume people want to know when our kids reach a milestone or receive an accolade
e. we assume people want to know if a product that we use is good or that it's on sale
f. we assume people want to see what we look like on a daily basis (selfies, anyone??)

5- Yet, when it comes to God's promise to change people's lives through His Son Jesus, we mostly assume that no one would be interested in that.  When it comes to evangelism, why do we assume that most people aren't interested?

6- We only share if we're asked about it, and even then we're very careful not to go too far or come on too strong.  But that thought never crosses our minds around the subjects listed above. Why?

7- What would it look like to assume that everyone you talked to was interested in what Jesus could do for them?  How would that change your interaction with others?

READ vs 47-49

Have you ever shared your faith with someone and they didn't give their life to Jesus?  Have you been doing a steady drip of faithful evangelism for a long time with one of your co-workers/family members only to see no results?  That can be extremely frustrating and discouraging.  It oftentimes makes people give up on sharing their faith.

But remember: God calls us to plant the seeds and water the seeds.  God is then responsible for the results, not you.

8- What do you think it looks like to plant Gospel seeds and water Gospel seeds that others have planted?

READ 50-51

Jesus knew that everyone he ever came into contact with would spend eternity in one of two places: Heaven or hell.  That realization gave Jesus a burden that shaped his entire ministry.

9- What's the biggest burden in your life right now?  How does it shape how you spend your time, your money, and what you think about and focus on?

10- What does it look like to have a burden for non-Christians?  How would that shape your time, your money, and what you think about and focus on?

NEXT STEPS:

11- Because Jesus miraculously saw Nathanael in verse 48, Nathanael confessed his belief in Jesus. Who are you praying for Jesus to do a miracle in their life, so that they might believe in Him? Take time to pray as a group for the people mentioned and for yourself that Jesus would open your eyes to see how you can be bold in sharing with that person. Maybe even write down their names and pray during the week as well. 

12- Commit as a group to read Acts 4:23-31 and pray the prayer that the first believers prayed in verses 24-30 every day this next week. Hopefully, your group can report back next week how they saw the Holy Spirit fill them with boldness.

LEADER HUDDLE, S1 Week 9

RSVP!!

Leader, co-leader, admin, & host. Let me know if you’re in!!

HTDO - Worship

Icebreaker: What is your most prized possession? If your house was burning down and you could only save a few items, what is the thing you value most and would want to save? 

1- What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of worship? Why do you think that is?

2- Why do you think worship is important enough to be a Hill We Die On as Christians?

READ John 12:1-3

3- Have you ever seen someone do something crazy/mind-blowing for God like Mary did in verse 3? Share that story with the group.

4- Why do you think Mary was willing to pour out very expensive perfume on Jesus? 

5- What is Jesus worth to you? What is something that if Jesus said give up “____” for me, you couldn’t do it?

• Leader Note: This question comes with a large helping of awkward silence. It’s a very personal question, but as we near the end of season 1 it’s time to dig deeper and be more authentic with our group. Allow the room to be silent if necessary and if you feel the need, lead the way and share one of your own personal struggles.

READ John 12:4-6

6- How does Judas’ comment demonstrate what Jesus is worth to him? 

7- How can sin in our own life demonstrate what Jesus is worth to us? 

READ John 12:7-8

8- Jesus doesn’t want the opinion of others to take away from our worship of Him. How do you worship Jesus? How are we tempted to allow other people to stop us from worshipping Jesus in that way? 

9- Our worship shows what Jesus is worth to us. In what areas, do you struggle to worship Him and need to ask Jesus to show you how much He is worth? 

• Leader Note: This question is similar to number 5. It’s very personal and requires some brutal honesty. If needed, allow the room to be quiet for a few moments. The best way to approach questions like these, is by praying for the Holy Spirit to guide your group during difficult discussion.

READ John 12:9-11

10- Lazarus’ resurrection story got him put on the Jewish Leaders’ most wanted list. What is your individual testimony of Jesus rescuing you from death to life? How can you better demonstrate what Jesus is worth to you by sharing your story with others? 

11- What has been the most helpful thing you have learned about worship this week? How can you apply that truth to your life?