Clash Week 2

Read 2 Samuel 16:5-14 Then answer: v. 5 What is your first response when someone is cursing you? v. 7 & 13 What about when the cursing continues? v. 6 What if they start throwing things? How should we respond? Matthew 5:43-45

Have you ever responded like David? How did he respond?

Have you ever wanted to “cut someone’s head off” in defense of someone else?  What did you do?  (Hopefully, no one says they actually did this).

If you were to defend someone who was being verbally assaulted and that person told you not to worry about it, what would you say or feel?  James 3:7-10

How is the inward response to criticism different than the outward response?

If your heart has changed on the inside (relationship with Christ)?  How has your external appearance changed? (give time for responses to this question and the next few may need to be rhetorical depending on your group)

Rhetorical: How you dress? How you act when your church people are not around? When you are at home?  Work? When you are not at church?

Rhetorical: Has anyone ever said to you “man you are the same today as you were years ago”?  Is this good or bad?

What is one external part of you that needs to change?

Leaders: In all of these passages, we see nothing about engaging the person being verbally abusive but simply ignoring them and as King David did, going on about our business.  Jesus goes further in saying we should bless them and pray for them.  Imagine if we all actually did that! What would our lives and world look like?

“Clash” Week 1

Icebreaker: Are you a morning or a night person? Explain?

Read Col. 3:7-10 and Eph.4:22-32

Talk about baggage.

How did you handle problems or conflict before you were a Christian? Eph. 2:2,

How do you handle them now?  Is it any different? Romans 12:2

What are some things non-believers do in our culture that Christians typically don’t do? Vice versa?

How different was your life before Christ?

Besides eternal life what have you gained? Col. 3:10

What has your family gained by your becoming a Christian? How have the dynamics in your family changed?

2 Cor. 4:16 Is there some aspect in your life right now you feel like you are inwardly wasting away and not being renewed? What is it?

What is one thing that needs to change in order for you to get to that next level in your relationship?  (Baggage) Col. 3:7

What do you suppose the most frequent command in the bible is?

Is it “Be good” or “love one another”? Or is it ” don’t sin” or ” don’t be mean”?

No

The most frequent command in the bible is: “Do not be afraid” and “Fear not”

Lets be honest, that’s exactly what we want to hear. We want to know that we don’t have to be afraid. We want to know that God is in control of things and that we dont live in a ever changing web of happenstance. Then why is this the least followed command? Fear dictates our day from the moment we wake up. From what clothes we pick to how we perform at our jobs, fear is our guide. There is fear of rejection, fear of commitment, fear of death, fear of embarrassment, fear of failure.

Can you live a normal, responsible life without the sense that everything is going to go terribly wrong. It’s why we have insurance, security systems, and mirrors!

By following the command that was stated by God, angels, prophets, and Jesus himself, we can have freedom from fear. The God who made this world is the God who raised Jesus from the dead, and is now calling you to follow him.

The only thing to fear is…well…nothing. Trust that God is in control.

Primal Week 5

Icebreaker:  What is the hardest job you have ever had?

How was the homework? (Read a book, find a quiet place, and become an expert at something.)

Read 1 Peter 4:7-11

When have you used your physical strength for God? Explain

What do you depend on God for the most? Least?

How do you administer God’s grace in its various forms?

Read Hebrews 13:2

When is it the hardest to love? Is that because of you or because of the other person/thing?  Proverbs 10:12

How do we love each other deeply? James 5:20

What is it as a small group we can do to love each other more deeply? 1 Peter 1:22 (from the heart)

Does love really cover a multitude of sins?  Explain? Is there something you are needing love to cover over?  (Pray for those that share) Spend the rest of the time in prayer or fellowship.

We are a growing body of believers and with interest in grow groups increasing we have decided to start a new group on Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8. This group will be led by Pastor Eric. To get more info on this group and other current groups just click on GROW at the top of the page then click GROUP INDEX. We are excited to start this group and encourage you to try out one of CrossPoint’s groups. Whether you are new to the faith, seeking, or are looking to make meaningful friendships with other believers then Grow Groups are CrossPoint’s way of helping you get connected. If you are not sure what group you want to attend you can email me (Ryan Booth) at rab3_7@hotmail.com or call 785-829-0166 and I will help you find the right group for you.

At our last Parent’s CONNECT class we talked briefly about praying character qualities over your children.  While blog hopping this morning I landed at Mama Cabra’s blog… check out this great prayer calendar emphasizing character qualities with scripture to pray over your children.  Happy Praying!

Joel Beckner will be graduating Saturday, May 8 2010. The Commencement Ceremony will be held at 1:30pm in the Bernie White Gymnasium at Ell-Saline High School.

Joel would like to invite to the Commencement Ceremony and also a reception in his honor. The reception will be held at 1433 Austin Circle Salina, KS on May 8th, 4-6pm.

Congratulations Joel!

Primal Week 4

Read: Psalms 26:2, 1 Peter 3:15, 1 Peter 1:13, 2 Timothy 4:2

Do you “actively” think about how you can serve God?

Do you think about Godly things and study His Word so you can know the answers?

What do you do personally to know the answers?

Are you prepared to act? If not, why do you think you don’t?

Read: 1 Chronicles 28:9, Isaiah 26:3, Romans 8: 5-9, Colossians 3: 2, 2 Corinthians 10:5

Is our every thought “obedient” to Christ?

Is your mind controlled by the Spirit? Is it set on things above?  How do you know? What earthly things keep your mind from the things of God?

Read: Psalm 5:3, John 1: 47-50

Is it OK to expect big things from God?

Do you “expect” a lot from God? If not, then why not?

What do you expect from God or what do you want from God?

Close in prayer!

New Post it note:

Surrender your expectations!

It stems from lingering thoughts of the Easter celebration this year. (Ok, so I am a bit slow) I tried to read through the events in Christ life during the Easter season. It was a great journey, but the events of the two men on the road to Emmaus have left me with a new truth this year. You can check out the whole story in Luke 24:13-35.

Verse 21 is the killer verse. Well actually the first four words.

Are you ready?

Here they are….

“But we had hoped”

Life changing now isn’t it? Actually those four words were the start of the men describing what they had thought Jesus was going to do and be.

They planned on a great political leader who would redeem them. Well Jesus rather blew that plan out of the water. He redeemed them but in an eternal way! What hit me was,  because of their expectations of what they wanted Jesus to do and be they missed it. They missed Gods plan and who Jesus was. They even missed that he was walking right there with them! It is tempting to call them both dense in the head!  Then I think of my own expectations at times. I have my plans and agenda of how Jesus is going to work, how the situation will be! When it does not fit my plan…”but I had hoped”…well, I miss all that Jesus wanted to be in that situation and what he wanted me to discover about Him. Dense in the head!

So it is time to surrender my expectations!

By the way…Happy Easter!

Primal Week 3

When you were a kid what was it you wanted to be when you grow up?Why

Read Ps. 8:1-9

1.What is it about the soul that drives us to go beyond living and existing?

From the book Primal—

The Bible is the place where God bares “His” soul. Nothing speaks to the soul like scripture. It’s the way God reveals His wonders in written form. And like the wonders of creation waiting to be discovered, the Bible beckons us to explore. The quest for the lost soul of Christianity always leads us back to the Bible. But rediscovering the wonders of scripture requires more than reading. That’s where the quest begins, buy that’s not where it ends. Not if you want to get it into your soul. You have to meditate on it. Then you have to live it out.

2. Give an example of a way in which a bible passage meant one thing to you at one time and another thing at another time. What made the difference?

Have you gone through times in you life when scripture seemed boring to you and times when it filled you with wonder? What opens you up to the wonder?

Quote from book “Primal”

When we experience wonder what we are really doing is loving God with our soul. When we lose our sense of wonder, what we really lose is our soul. Our lack of wonder is really a lack of  Love.

3. What is God teaching you right now or what is going on in your life right now that you are wondering what God has in store for you?  (leaders give time for people to think about his question then call on specific people)

4. Do you mediate on the sermon each week or just listen to the sermon think that was good and that is it?

5. Do you read God’s word and meditate on it? What does it mean to meditate on it?  Does it change your behavior?

6. How have you grown spiritually since the first of the month?

7. How do you translate the text?

How do you go through your quiet time what steps do you take when you read your bible? (leaders call on specific people)