07 May Discussion Guide Lost from the Church
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 titled Lost and Found, in which we study one of the central metaphors Jesus uses to talk about the human condition apart from God: lostness. From Genesis until now, the biblical story reveals that people are lost in four primary ways: lost from God, themselves, one another, and creation. In this new series, we will learn to follow the path home by discovering all the ways Jesus has come to find us.
Today’s Topic
Lost from the Church
Discussion Questions
If you moved to a new city where you knew no one, how would you begin looking for a church to attend?
Matthew 16:13-18
When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” He pressed them, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
Your Church History
Rick Warren
Many believe one can be a “good Christian” without joining (or even attending) a local church, but God would strongly disagree.
What kind of church did you attend growing up?
How have you needed different things from the church in different seasons of life?
How did the lockdown in 2020 impact your relationship with the church?
How has your involvement in a church been a bright spot in your life? How has it been challenging?
Finding Mosaic
Lisa Sharon Harper, The Very Good Gospel
Evidence of the presence of the Kingdom of God is thick wherever and whenever people stand on the promise of God that there is more to this world—more to this life—than what we see. There is more than the getting over, getting by, or getting mine. There is more than the brokenness, the destruction, and the despair that threaten to wash oer us like the waters of the deep. There is a vision of a world where God cuts through the chaos, where God speaks and there is light. There is a vision where there is protection and where love is binding every relationship together.
How did you find Mosaic Church?
How long have you been attending Mosaic?
How did you find your way to this community group?
Mosaic’s Mission
Mosaic Church exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ through the core values of worship, community and mission in a multiethnic, multigenerational context.
Which of Mosaic’s three core values fosters the most intentional participation and spiritual growth in your life?
How has being a part of a racially, ethnically, generationally, and socioeconomically diverse church affected your life and perspective?
Is there any area of ministry at Mosaic that you would like to explore more through increased participation or volunteering?
Closing Thought
Carrie Stephens, Jesus, Love, & Tacos
…Ephesians 5:25–27 (csb) says that Christ “loved the church and gave himself for her to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.” If we find we can’t love the church as Jesus did and wash her with words of prayer and hope and faith and wisdom, perhaps we aren’t grasping what’s at stake.
Take some time to pray for the church at large as well as Mosaic in specific, asking God to provide for her needs, increase her influence in the world, encourage the volunteers and staff who serve and care for her, and to equip her people to love the world as Christ first loved them.