12 Nov Discussion Guide: Living Out of a Living Hope Week 5
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
Today, we continue our series from 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Living Out of a Living Hope. In life’s ups and downs, the frailty of our human bodies, and with the time that we have each day, the resurrection of Jesus offers us what it offered for the early church in Thessalonica: a living hope.
Today’s Topic
Growing in Gospel Love
Discussion Questions
What is one thing that you love about being part of Mosaic Church?
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones
Growing In Connecting
John C. Maxwell
Think back to the most important experiences of your life, the highest highs, the greatest victories, the most daunting obstacles overcome. How many happened to you alone? I bet there are very few. When you understand that being connected to others is one of life’s greatest joys, you realize that life’s best comes when you initiate and invest in solid relationships.
Margaret J. Wheatley
Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop pretending we are individuals that can go it alone.
Corrie Ten Boom
Be united with other Christians. A wall with loose bricks is not good. The bricks must be cemented together.
How is the gospel of Jesus a story about connection?
Does connecting with new people come naturally to you, or does it require more intentionality and courage?
Was there a season in life in which you felt more or less connected to other people than you do now? What circumstances or events have created that shift?
Growing In Serving
Luke 22:25-27
Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.”
Maya Angelou
I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.
Francis of Assisi
We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen away, and to bring home those who have lost their way. Many who seem to us to be children of the Devil will still become Christ’s disciples.
What does serving others have to do with the gospel of Jesus?
What challenges do you face in prioritizing serving others in your current season of life?
Can you share about a time when serving helped you feel more connected to others and God?
Growing In Generosity
Anne Frank
No one has ever become poor by giving.
Amy Carmichael
You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving.
Tim Keller
A lack of generosity refuses to acknowledge that your assets are not really yours, but God’s.
What is the most generous thing someone has ever done for you?
How does our generosity toward others reveal our understanding of the gospel?
What practices can help us prioritize generosity in our daily life?
Growing In Evangelism
Billy Graham, Just as I Am
The evangelistic harvest is always urgent. The destiny of men and of nations is always being decided. Every generation is crucial; every generation is strategic. But we cannot be held responsible for the past generation and we cannot bear full responsibility for the next one. However we do have our generation! God will hold us responsible at the judgment seat of Christ for how well we fulfilled our responsibilities and took advantage of our opportunities.
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.
Shannan Martin, The Ministry of Ordinary Places
As Christ-followers, we are called to be long-haul neighbors committed to authenticity and willing to take some risks. Our vocation is to invest deeply in the lives of those around us, devoted to one another, physically close to each other as we breathe the same air and walk the same blocks. Our purpose is not so mysterious after all. We get to love and be deeply loved right where we’re planted, by whomever happens to be near. We will inevitably encounter brokenness we cannot fix, solve, or understand, and we’ll feel as small, uncertain, and outpaced as we have ever felt. But we’ll find our very lives in this calling, to be among people as Jesus was, and it will change everything.
Who first shared the gospel with you?
How did you find Mosaic Church?
Is there someone you’ve been speaking to about your faith or who you’d like to invite to church?
Closing Thought
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Spend your remaining time together praying for God to help you grow more connected as a group, serve and love others more generously, and be more courageous and compassionate as you share the gospel and invite people to church.