By kellitempleton
This week we start the “Are You?” sermon series based on Romans 8. This series gives us an opportunity to invite friends and family to services as a natural application of the Lost and Found series. Romans 8 addresses who we are in Christ and all we can be when we walk in the Spirit. The six sermons are:
- Are you freed? (v.1-8) 2. Are you filled? (v. 9-13) 3. Are you adopted? (v. 14-17) 4. Are you included? (v. 18-27) 5. Are you called? (v. 28-30) 6. Are you loved? (v. 31-39)
For some in our congregation, these will be new concepts. For some, these are known truths we need to keep internalizing. Magnets will be provided each week to remind us of these truths during service.
Here are the sermon questions for your small group discussion time:
1.Think about the movie clip from “Princess Bride.” Share a word that you, your spouse or your children have used incorrectly and humorously. We try each week to add an element of fun to the questions. Hopefully this provides some fun. Dave spends some time talking about the context of a word to figure out its meaning. We had a child that would ask for “M & M’s” vs. nummy nums for food.
2. Read Romans 8:1-8 and answer the following:
a. What idea from the passage stands out to you? answers will vary but this allows some time for people to read the passage again.
b. What roles do the Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit play in setting us free? The Father provides Jesus to free us. Jesus dies for us as our sin offering to give us freedom from the penalty of sin. The Holy Spirit allows us to walks in freedom.
3. The “Four Freedoms” from the sermon are: 1. Free from the just penalty of sin. 2. Legally free from sin as our master. 3. Free to live through the power of the Holy Spirit. 4. Free to live according to the Word of God.
- Which freedoms are given to us when we trust in Jesus? This is tricky because all the freedoms are given to us. The first two are legally given and true without any action accept trust from us.
- Which freedoms require our continual choice to experience? Again, a tricky question. The face-value is that the last two require a continually choice by us to walk in the Spirit and to abide in the Word; however, we often need to choose to remember we are forgiven and we are free from sin as a master although we may not experience it.
- What are some inward and outward signs that we’re not living in these freedoms? inwardly we could be living in shame, hopelessness, despair, striving, earning, working; outwardly we could be living in the flesh doing things contrary to the Lord. We may be neglecting meeting with other believers, reading the Word, etc.
- Brainstorm ways to regularly experience each of these freedoms. We need to remind ourselves of our legal position with God through songs, prayers, being with others; we can choose to confess, repent and walk with the Spirit; we can regularly immerse ourselves in the Word.
Break into gender groups for the following:
4. As a Christian:
- What chains immediately fell off when you first trusted Jesus? answers will vary but might be a lack of desire to party, modesty, entertainment preferences, freedom from addictions, etc.
- How has being in the Word helped you overcome other chains? answers will vary but might address how we speak differently, who we hang out with, etc.
- How have other believers helped you? answers will vary but hopefully we care for one another, confront, speak truth, forgive, etc.
5. What chains continue to hinder you? How could your group help you? we are hoping the group will help through at least prayer if not accountability throughout the next few weeks.
Follow-up Assignment: Read Romans 8 three times this week. Be prepared to share next week how the Lord is using this passage in your life. We will be doing this each week with the prayer that Romans 8 will sanctify us each as needed. Some people are even memorizing portions of the passage or the whole passage.
By kellitempleton
We will be doing an actual all church “inventory” during the Sunday services this week (11/1/15). We use this information to get a “snapshot” of who we are and where we are in our discipleship. We did somethin similar a few years ago, so the comparison will be helpful as well.
We also have the opportunity to do a GROW Assessment. Please do encourage your group members to complete the assessment before your small group meeting. Also, there is a GROW chart provided with your results. The GROW chart provides crawl, walk, and run ideas for us to start in areas we would like to partner with Jesus for growth. Some of the specific ideas directly link to books, tools, etc.
Here are the sermon questions for your small group discussion:
Homework: Before attending small group take the GROW Assessment at GROW Assessement Big Picture - Bethel’s purpose is to “make disciples” and we have defined a disciple using the acronym GROW after reviewing over 800 definitions of a disciple from the New Testament. G is God Lover, R is Relationship Builder (within the church), O is Obedient Follower, and W is World Influencer (outside the church).
- Share one thing you have done intentionally to GROW spiritually. Answers will vary but our sermon question team answered in the following ways: memorizing Scripture, being in accountable relationships, removing distractions/temptations, attending seminary, etc.
- Read 1 John 2:12-14 and discuss the following:
- What are the 3 stages of spiritual development? child, father, young adult
- What helps you know this is spiritual development and not physical? Besides Dave telling us, the passage provides spiritual instructions for each stage. Furthermore, the passage is written in poetry form which often means it is not literal but figurative like poetry.
- Why do you think John wrote nearly the same things twice? The second “stanza” provides the foundational focus for each spiritual stage whereas the first “stanza” describes the stage.
- Describe the spiritual characteristics for each stage:
- Child literally means “born ones”- their sins are forgiven; childish (Matt 18:1-4); ignorant, instable, vulnerable (Eph. 4:11-15); immature in thinking (1 Cor. 14:20); false expectations, self-focused (Matt 11:16-17): undependable (Gal 4:1); unable to feed themselves, can’t discern the difference between right and wrong (Heb. 5:11-14); consumers (2 Cor. 12:14-15); they need to get to know their Father
- Father (parent) walk with and walk like Jesus (1 Jn 2:1-6) - they walk closely with Jesus, they know Him (Phil 3:10); they serve, love, live, think like Jesus and it is an on-going process that will not reach full maturity this side of heaven.
- Young adult have overcome the evil one (tempatation); they are developing in self-discipline, self-sacrifice, dependable, stable, informed, mature in thinking, protectors….”baby sitters” or “warriors” as Dave B puts it; they need to get strong, let the Word abide in them, and overcome the enemy
- As a group assign a spiritual stage to each of the following statements: These are difficult to answer because any stage, not walking by the Holy Spirit, could make these statements.
- “Is there anything I can do to help around here?” young adult or parent
- “I got in late last night so now I’m too tired to do what I said I’d do.” child or young adult
- “I don’t get anything out of Bible if I try to read it.” child
- “I go to church when I can.” child
- Brainstorm a statement for each stage. answers will vary
- Since God delights in every stage of spiritual development, why does He want us to GROW? (Ephesians 3:17-19, 4:11-16) One aim for this question is for people to not become discouraged if they are in the beginning stages. They are right where they need to be. Another aim for this question is that we are to GROW. God wants it and commands it. It is for our best to delight in the Father, to walk with Him. It is also for other’s benefit - believers and unbelievers. Our new heart and the Spirit within us want to GROW and help us. By His grace, we can know Him and GROW in Him.
Break into gender groups and discuss the following:
- What spiritual stage mostly describes you? answers will vary. A good follow-up question might be “Would those closest to you agree with your answer?” wink, wink
- Based on your GROW Assessment results discuss the following:
- Identify an area in which you want to GROW. Why? An answer like becoming a God-Lover is a start but push them to something specific - like “I would like to get baptized” or “I would like to sincerely praise God at services and not be distracted or critical”
- Select one or two steps to take from the options provided. There is a GROW chart with crawl, walk, run suggestions for G, R, O, and W. People may also have other ideas for growth.
- How will the Bible (Word) play a part in your GROWth? Ideas include regular Bible reading, Bible study, memorization, application, meditation…..listening to sermons, listening to music, etc.
- Who could you team with to help you GROW? God provides Himself, His Word, and His people. We need others to GROW. Hopefully, people will actually use a name or ask someone in the group to help them.
By kellitempleton
- Share any new insights you learned after listening to the sermon.
2. Read John 9:1-41 and discuss the following:
- What did the disciples think caused the man’s blindness? (vs 2) He or his parents had sinned. This was the common belief of the Jewish culture - hardship was due to personal sin. However, sometimes its just a result of living in a fallen world.
- What was the actual reason for his blindness? verse 3 says “so that the work of God might be displayed in his life”. This healing was further proof Jesus was the promised Messiah. Healing of the blind is uniquely the Lord’s work, and a mark of the Messiah (Ps. 146:8; Isa. 35:4-5).
- How does John 8:12 relate to this passage? Jesus is the light of the world. We don’t think it is a coincidence that Jesus says this just a few verses earlier than the miracle of the blind man receiving his sight. He went from physically and spiritually in darkness to physically and spiritually in the light.
- Why does Jesus keep healing on the Sabbath when it upsets the Pharisees so much? (vs 14) He is Lord of the Sabbath and he wants to shake the religious leaders out of their legalistic man-centered lifestyles to teach them that God did not make up their petty rules, they did.
- What obstacles did the blind man have to overcome to see (physically and spiritually)? Dave lists lying, fear, rejection from family/community, opposition, threats/hostility, and exclusion.
3. Salvation is often a process like we see in the blind man. Review the blind man’s progressive understanding of Jesus in John 9:11, 17, 27-28, 33, 38. How does this progression, coupled with the truth of 1 Cor 3:6-7, encourage you when sharing Jesus? The blind man went from seeing Jesus as man (Jn 9:11), to a prophet (Jn 9:17), to worthy of being followed (Jn 9:27-28), to stating he is from God (Jn 9:33), to believing Jesus is the Son of Man and worshipping him (Jn. 9:38). This progression should encourage us in that God is the one who opens a person’s eyes, we just plant seeds and it might take some time. We need to faithfully plant and water seeds, be patient, and pray for God to grow our friends and family into believers.
4. Look at the Lost and Found logo. If you are holding up Jesus as the light of the world how might the lost respond (John 9:16b)? What are the implications to us as we try to share Jesus with the lost? You can find the logo on the Bethel Facebook page. Note the extreme effort this man is going through to find something/someone. Dave makes a point that some want to be lost and some want to be found. Jesus, as the light, divides people. We need to expect this mixed reaction to Jesus, not be caught off guard.
5. Some characteristics of darkness are self-centered thinking, unbelief, fear, and inconsistency/dishonesty. According to the following scriptures what characteristics of the light are the opposite: Phil 2:3-4, Heb 11:1, 2 Tim 1:7, Matt 5:37, and Eph 4:25. Thinking of others, faith, power, love and a sound mind, integrity and honesty. Salvation is a sure thing - we are always in Jesus; however, a believer can chose to live in the darkness when not living for Jesus. Repentance and being filled with the Holy Spirit help us live in the light. It’s a continuous process. These indicators help us self-assess if we are living in the light or not.
6. The blind man was healed. If you were sharing your faith with someone, and they asked why your God has not healed you, how would you respond? How does God work in hardships? Probably the most important thing in answering this question is to ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern if the person asking is asking theoretically or because of personal pain. Our attitude, questions back and answers need to minister to the person no matter what but especially if they are hurting.
I remember one of my son’s asking me if God was real and truly powerful because he had asked God to take away his ailment and God did not. It rocked my son’s faith, caused bitterness and doubt, and he stopped praying. My son falsely believed that God would answer his every request like a personal genie and if God did not, He was not truly God. My son’s hope was in the answer/cure not God. My son thought he knew best; thus, putting himself in the place of God. The Lord does not promise us a problem free life. In fact, He tells us just he opposite (John 16:33). God promises He will be with us - He will not leave us (Hebrews 13:5). When we cling to Him, worship Him, experience His comfort, joy and peace in our troubles THAT is when we can most sincerely share Jesus with others. Often, this is one of the greatest works of God when we suffer - the salvation of others through our testimony and our own faith deepens. God draws near in a particularly deeper way than we have ever experienced Him. For further reading go to Biblical Reasons God May Not Heal
7. The more attractive Jesus is to you, the more you will want to share Him with others. What about Jesus in this passage was particularly attractive to you? We will use this question every week of the sermon. Answers will vary from person to person. Here are a few of my answers: Jesus’ compassion is super attractive to me. I like how he rebelled against religious rules to do the will of God. I love how personal he is in verses 35ff. He found the man after he had been rejected and thrown out. I love how he turns the world’s values upside down.
