Before We Get Started

For our discussion today, we will be using the sermon series discussion guides. If you would like to follow along you can access this discussion guide on the website at mosaicchurchaustin.com and then select “community group resources” in the menu options.

Prayer

Because the primary goal of our time together is to establish relationships and learn how to walk with one another in all that God has called us to be and do, we’d like to begin by praying for one another. So, does anyone have anything you’d like us to pray for or anything to share regarding how you’ve seen God moving in your life that we can celebrate together?

This Week’s Topic

How to Practice Family

Discussion Questions

Practicing our Welcome

Deuteronmoy 6:10-11

And when the Lord your God brings you into the land…with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care, lest you forget the Lord…”

Anne Fishel, The Harvard eCast , April 1, 2020

Regular family dinners are associated with lower rates of depression, and anxiety, and substance abuse, and eating disorders, and tobacco use, and early teenage pregnancy, and higher rates of resilience and higher self-esteem.

Where in scripture do you see a validation of the value of sharing meals with other people?

How often do you eat with your current “family” (that could include biological family, chosen family, roommates, etc.)?

How do you feel shared meals impacts your life?

Practicing with our Words

Deuteronomy 6:20-21

“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

 

David Brooks , How America Got Mean”, The Atlantic August 14, 2023

[We need to] be seeded and tended by people who think and talk in moral terms, who try to model and inculcate moral behavior, who understand that we have to build moral communities because on our own, we are all selfish and flawed.

 

How can truth be life-saving and life-giving?

What is one of the most important stories you would want people to know about you?

What is a truth about God that has most shaped your life and character?

Practicing with our Worship

We Practice Family with Our Worship

Deuteronomy 6: 13-14

It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you…

Luke 8:19-21

Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”

What cultural or life pressures distract us from worshiping God with regular discipline?

How does our commitment to prioritizing worship and spiritual family foster stability in our life?

What is the connection between the people in your life help and your ability to worship God?

Closing Thought

Carrie and Morgan Stephens, Friendship Can Save the World

We hope to show the world Jesus’s love for all people as we choose to worship in a community that honors God’s diverse people, all of whom were made in his image. God’s love compels us to pursue his missional heart to love and serve our city, plant churches, train leaders, and make disciples…. And we pray this over the future: May God’s never-ending love rise up to meet you when your hope or faith wearies. May that love lead you to people you can cling to on the long journey ahead, and may God cause others to cling to you so you will never face the road ahead alone. May your heart remember that although you are a stranger and a foreigner here, a reward awaits you in God’s eternal presence. And may your friendships lead you to the one and only God, whose love can save the world

Take some time to pray for one another, that God would help you to practice family in a way that lights the world with his goodness, grace, and glory.