Expletive: F-bomb

Mark 2:18-22

-What are some times in your life that you fasted? Why did you do it? What were the results?

-What were some of your misconceptions about fasting? Why do you think people don't do it more often?

-What does fasting communicate about God? About you? About your relationship with Him?

-Why would you fast? What's the purpose and result?

Pastor Nathan compiled some texts to help us know when to fast. Share these with your group:

1. Crisis, Hardship, In Trouble
-Esther 4:16- She needed favor with the king in a time of trouble.
-Acts 9- Since Paul converted, his friends would want to kill him.
-The fasting wasn't just about getting what they wanted, but about seeking God is a vulnerable time in their lives in order to grow their faith and relationship with Him.

2. Gain Understanding
-Daniel 10:2-3
-The fast resulted in Daniel having clarity and focus on what God had called him to do
-The fast was built around growing the relationship, but a by product of that was hearing from God and gaining clarity and understanding on what the next step was. It's not just about "what's next" but about a daily familiarity with God.

3. Self-evaluation and consecration
-Leviticus 23:27
-Jeremiah 36:6
-It's a time in life to ask God for an evaluation and examination. God, how am I doing in these areas: family, personal relationship, work, finances, calling on your life. What do I need to change? Do differently?
-Doing this at the beginning of the year could be good to know how to Move Forward
-This isn't just about a New Years resolution though. We want to hear from God and what He thinks about our lives so that we can do things better or eliminate things. Doing this increases our intimacy and closeness to God.

4. Big Decisions
-Judges 20
-Summary: The Israelites wanted to fight a battle, but the first 2 times they went to war, they lost. The third time they spent extensive time praying and fasting, and had a sweeping victory.
-Never go into a big decision without fasting and having sought God on the issue. You've asked everyone else what they thought, did you ask God?
-It was more than just a big decision, it was experiencing God and knowing Him more as we move forward into the future. (See a pattern yet?)

5. Mercy, grace, and forgiveness
-1 Kings 21:29
-Sometimes we fast to prove the seriousness of the situation. It's not a nonchalant "sorry about that God." We are recognizing that it's a big deal that we sinned against God.


6. Healing and health
-1 Samuel 30
-Isaiah 58
-Fasting is not just to get skinny or fit into your old clothes. However, since you body is a temple of The Lord and we need to honor Him with it, health is important. Fasting can detox our bodies and help us perform the tasks that God has for us, and give us longevity in our ministry.
-But again, detox and health is about eliminating physical things in order to hear from God and grow closer and more dependent on Him.

7. Spiritual toughness
-The 40 day fast by Jesus
-Jesus was tempted by Satan, and was able to overcome it. Fasting actually made Jesus tougher, stronger, and more able spiritually to get the job done.
-Jesus wanted an extreme intimacy with the Father. This resulted in him being prepared to face any situation physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Spiritual toughness was not the ends, but simply a by-product of fasting and seeking a deeper relationship with God.

8. Refocus on what matters
-Isaiah 58
-Fasting helps us not to focus on ourselves and not be so self-centered.
-Fasting is a reminder that we are not self-sufficient.
-Its a reminder of how important God is in our lives and how dependent we are on Him.


REMEMBER: When we fast, God shows up. However, that's not the reason we fast. It's just a bi-product of a deep relationship. You don't have friends just so they can do things for you and get you out of a jam. That's just something that comes naturally as a result of that friendship.

 

Baptism!

We had an incredible baptism celebration yesterday. Nine people went public in their relationship with Jesus through baptism and we're stoked about that!

Tonight in your rGroup spend some time sharing your stories of life change. Eat, hang out, and be encouraged as you hear about how God has worked in the lives of people in your group.

As the group leader you may want to offer to go first so people aren't intimidated.

Some details to include as you share your story:

-Your life before Jesus (how you lived & why it was dissatisfying)

-How God drew you to Himself (what circumstances or people did God use in saving you)

-How your life is different since God saved you

Expletive: Holy Sp*t

Mark 7:31-37 & Mark 8:22-26

1. When God works in your life in "stages," rather answering everything how you want when you want it, what does that do for your faith?

2. What areas of our lives are in the different chairs? Some areas of your life may be completely changed (chair 4), while other areas are still a bit blurry and still unfolding (chair 3). Can you share a time when you were in chair 2, blind to what God was doing, and then everything went clear and you moved to chair 4?

3. How can you pray specifically without laying out specific guidelines for how God must work in your life? (Think about the prayers of Jesus, pleading that the cup be removed but ending with "thy will be done." What if we asked God for things, but approached his verbally and spiritually with the attitude of "thy will be done, whatever you want to do is what I want and I trust you).

4. What attributes do you see about God and yourself in this passage? (God is patient, all knowing, in control, knows the best way, and is in it for our benefit and His glory. For us, we are impatient, don't know anything except the past and what's directly in front of us, have no control, only think about the easiest or shortest way, and are in it for our own selfish reasons).

Homework this week: Think through the areas of your life where God has brought you from chair 1 to 4. Remembering what God has done in the past in your life can encourage you as you move chairs in other areas in your life.

Please close your group time with these announcements:

There are 3 Serve Hard opportunities this Saturday (April 20th)

1. Yard Sale at FBCRH (7105 Broad St. Rural Hall, NC). REVO will have a booth. Donated items are greatly apprecieated. All funds will go directly towards the July Cuba trip. Also, great opportunity to meet some people from the North side of town. Yard Sale from 8-1. Need volunteers to work the booths as well as donate items.

2. SPCC (Salem Pregnancy Care Center) Walk for Life-
They're looking for volunteers to man some of the booths, concessions, and help with tear down. Will work in 1 hr shifts. Great way to serve alongside one of our strategic partners in one of their biggest events of the year in a family friendly atmosphere.

3. Ashley Elementary clean up day-
Another opportunity to serve one of our strategic ministry partners in a family friendly atmosphere. There will be a clean-up day at the school from 2-5. Serve alongside others from the community to love on the students and staff of Ashley Elementary.

If you or your group is interested in serving in any of three opportunities on Sat, please contact Paul Davidson, paul@discovererevo.com.

Expletive: Resurrection

John 20:19-21

Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

-Verse 17 says that if Christ wasn't raised then we're still in our sins. Why did Jesus have to rise in order for us to be free from sin; was His death not sufficient to provide that freedom?
         *Jesus' death provides atonement for sin, absorbing the punishment for it. That doesn't have any implications for our current sin struggles (meaning that Jesus' death on the cross doesn't help us overcome sin it just ensures we won't be punished for it). We need a Savior who beat sin so that He can give us that victory as well. If Jesus did not rise He was in fact beaten by sin and can offer us no victory over our sin.

-Verse 14 says that if Christ is not raised then our faith is in vain. How so?
        *If Jesus isn't alive then He is a lair (Jesus told His disciples that He would die and rise again) and we've misplaced our faith and trusted someone who failed us.

-According to verse 18, if Jesus didn't rise from the dead then every Christian that dies, truly dies and is not raised to life in heaven.
         *The entire Gospel hinges on the reality of Jesus resurrection. It is the evidence that proves that the plan worked! If there is no resurrection every promise of the Gospel breaks down including the promise of of eternal life with Christ in heaven.

-What does verse 19 mean?

Let's get practical:

-What did this text teach you about God?

-What did this text teach you about yourself?

-What are you going to do about it?

Revolution: Hoarders

Mark 14:26-31 & 14:66-72

*Sin is ugly, impractical, we look ridiculous in it, and it keeps us from the life Jesus wants us to live.

-What sin do you need to take off? (Not necessarily intended for verbal response)

-Every sin issue is about more than an external problem. How do you take off/stop committing/get rid of a sin you've become enslaved to? Seriously group think this, spitball ideas, and get a conversation going about this.

I've written three things below that will help us take the ugly sin jacket off. Have your group write these three things down. After each point discuss with your group...ask them why confession, connecting to the church, and accessing God's presence is important:

1 confess- sin shouldn't push believers away from God it should cause us to run toward Him.

2 connect- use the resource of the church! Get around people who push you toward Jesus and stir your affection for Him. Not superficial relationships but deep honest prayer-filled relationships that help you move forward. If you start spending intentional with people who are pursuing Jesus it will begin to pull that out of you as well.

3 Access- Jesus died on the cross so that you could have access to God's presence, so spend time in God's presence! When you do this you'll find that you won't be so easily deceived by your sin because you'll have experienced the alternative.

If you find yourself enslaved by the same patterns of sin in your life it's probably because you've neglected one or all of these things.