Category: How To Be "We"

February 9, 2025

2/11/2025

How to Be "We"

When "Me" Hurts "We"

Icebreaker:
What's something that's unique about who you are?
Discussion
This week we're looking at 2 Timothy 2:14-3:5.

Take some time to recall with each other who Timothy is. What is his relationship to Paul, and what is his role?
Leader note: Timothy is Paul's emmisary to various churches in Asia Minor, functioning as a pastor of sorts, equipping the people to grow in their faith and become healthy churches. He has served in Thessalonica, Corinth, Philippi, and now, when he received the 2 letter from Paul, he is in Ephesus
What were the types of "false teachers" that Paul, Titus, and Timothy dealt with in these various churches?
Leader note:
1. Judaizers: They were more on the "conservative" side, trying to convince the people to still follow all the rules of Judaism—very legalistic.
2. Early Gnostics: They were more on the "liberal" side, bringing Hellenistic Greek philosophy into the Christian faith. One thing they were pushing as noted in this passage is that they denied the teaching of the future resurrection of the dead—a standard Jewish (Old Testament) and also now Christian doctrine. Instead, they claimed the resurrection was an allegorical resurrection for each of us when we came to saving knowledge ("gnosis") of Jesus Christ.
3. Religious Profiteers: They were the ones who went around preaching the name of Jesus for the sake of profit.
4. "Grace abusers" (Jim's words): These were mostly Greeks who really liked their immoral lifestyles and tried to claim Christ's grace for their sins without changing their lives to pursue righteousness.
All these people were in the churches, along with those who were truly wanting to follow Jesus. What kinds of conflicts do you think came up?
Read the following passages and identify Paul's instructions to Timothy about handling these conflicts. Some of these are specific to Timothy and teachers or leaders like him. Others are, by implication, also instructions for all disciples.
1. 2 Timothy 2:14-16
  1. Have you ever experienced any of these?
  2. How can they be divisive and harmful to a church community?
2. 2 Timothy 2:22-26
  1. Have you ever experienced any of these vices?
  2. How can they be divisive and harmful to a church community?
  3. Have you ever experienced any of these virtues?
  4. How can they be helpful to a church community?
3. 2 Timothy 3:2-5
  1. How can these vices be harmful to a church community?
  2. What would it look like to "have nothing to do with such people" while also loving your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39), accepting one another (Romans 15:7), and being "humble and gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love," (Ephesians 4:2), etc.?

Prayer
During tonight's prayer, please pray for your church—that God would protect it, work through it in our community, and teach us "How to Be We." Take time to ask for personal prayer requests and pray for each other.

February 2, 2025

2/5/2025

How to Be "We"

Unity in Diversity

Icebreaker:

Discussion:

Read Colossians 3:11-17 and Galatians 3:26-29.
1. What do you know about the differences between the groups of people mentioned in verse 11?
  1. What are some things that Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians (Greek, Roman, etc.) would have argued about?
  2. What were the spiritual arguments the circumcised and uncircumcised would have had?
  3. What did the Greeks think of the Barbarians?
  4. What did they think of the Scythians?
  5. How were slaves and freemen different, and how would they have seen each other?
  6. How were men and women treated differently in the Greek, Roman, and Jewish worlds?
2. Paul tells us in vs 12 through 14 to "clothe" ourselves with a list of virtues. How do these each of these virtues help us overcome division?
  1. How does showing compassion to people who are different from you or have different opinions than you help overcome division?
  2. How does showing kindness overcome division?
  3. How does humility overcome division?
  4. How does gentleness overcome division?
  5. How does patience overcome division?
  6. How does bearing (enduring, putting up) with others overcome division?
  7. How does forgiving others overcome division?
  8. How does love overcome division?
3. What does it mean to let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts? How does that overcome divisions?
4. So, in light of all these above, what does it look like to teach and admonish (correct, reprove, warn) one another in undivisive ways?

Prayer
Take time to ask for personal prayer requests and pray for each other.

January 20, 2025

1/21/2025

HOW TO BE "WE"

Don't Mind the Mess

Icebreaker:
In the winter, would you rather have gray skies and warmer temperatures or blue skies and colder temperatures?
Discussion:

Skim the couple of chapters before chapter 12. Read especially 11:1-15.
1. Why did Paul have to defend his ministry?
2. What are some things Paul names that he could "boast" about to prove his apostleship?
Review 2 Corinthians 12:1-10.
1. Paul refers to a "thorn" in his flesh and his "weakness." Given what Pastor Jim said on Sunday or what you've read or heard elsewhere, what do you think this is? 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 refers to this weakness, as well.
2. How do you think this thorn and weakness affected Paul?
3. This thorn functioned as a "messenger of the accuser ('satan')." What might that message have been?
God's counter message to Paul, found in 2 Corinthians 12:9, was "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
1. What does this mean?
2. In what ways can God's grace be sufficient for us in weakness?
3. In what ways is God's power made perfect in our weakness?

Application

What are some of your weaknesses that make you insecure?
Leader/Facilitator Note: This might be a time when you could lead by example and share a weakness of yours that makes you feel insecure.
How do you see God's grace being sufficient for you in that weakness?
How can you see God's power being made perfect in that weakness? Maybe help each other with this. Sometimes it's hard to see it yourself.
How do these weaknesses hold us back from making healthy friendships in the church?
How can we overcome this?

Prayer
Take time to ask for personal prayer requests and pray for each other.

January 12, 2025

1/15/2025

HOW TO BE "WE"

The Art of Conversation

Icebreaker:

Discussion:

Read Luke 10:5-12. The meaning of this text has to do with Jesus sending his disciples out to neighboring towns to share the good news of the kingdom. They are to go with peace and bring blessings of peace upon those homes in which they stay. If they're not wanted or the peace returns back to them, Jesus tells them to shake the dust off their feet, still proclaim the good news, and move on.
1. Have you ever been in conversation with someone who didn't like you or what you were saying? Maybe they didn't want you around? What did that feel like?
2. What do think the people receiving the disciples should do so that the disciples' "peace would rest on them"?
3. Can their peace rest even if there isn't agreement on the message?
4. For purposes of this sermon series, imagine what it's like for a new person to visit our church. They most likely come in peace looking for peace.
  - What are some things that we would do that would return their peace back to them?
  - What are some things that we could do that would allow their peace to rest on us?

Application
For "peace to rest" among us, we have to be good at conversation.

Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." What can we do to make our conversations "life-giving"?
Colossians 4:6 says, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." What does a conversation look like if it's "full of grace" and "seasoned with salt"?
James 1:19 says, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry."
1. How good are we at asking questions and listening? Is anyone in your group good at this?
2. What would it look like to be better at listening in our conversations?
3. What kinds of questions are good to ask?
Proverbs 18:2 says, “A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.” Good conversations are dialogues, not monologues. How does it feel when someone just starts freely sharing their opinions or just telling stories?
Are we willing to commit to growing in our abilities to have good conversations that are life-giving, full of grace, filled with questions that promote good dialogue?

Prayer
Take time to ask for personal prayer requests and pray for each other.

January 5, 2024

1/6/2025

HOW TO BE WE

'We' is Better than 'Me'

Icebreaker:
What do you like about this Life Group?
Discussion:

Read Acts 2:42-47. Based on this passage, what did the believers of the early church do and why?
What kinds of commitments did they make?
What does it mean that they had "glad and sincere hearts" and were "enjoying the favor of all the people"?
Read Acts 4:32-37. What would motivate these early believers to share their possessions like this?

Application

What kinds of things do we need to do as believers today to build community like this?
What kinds of commitments do we need to make?
What can we do to get more serious about having fun?
In what ways can we share our possessions today?

Prayer
Take time to ask for personal prayer requests and pray for each other.

February 9, 2025

How to Be "We"

February 2, 2025

How to Be "We"

January 20, 2025

HOW TO BE "WE"

January 12, 2025

HOW TO BE "WE"

January 5, 2024

HOW TO BE WE

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