Written in Heaven

LIFEGROUP Questions

4/25/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

Everybody Ends Up Somewhere Week 4: Financially

1. If you had $1 million dropped in your lap right now (no strings attached) how would you spend it?

2. What’s the biggest financial mistake that you have ever made or that you’ve seen someone make?

3. Why do you think it’s so uncomfortable for most people to discuss their finances with one another?

4. What does it mean to have a ‘financial vision’? Would you say you have a financial vision for you/your family? Why or why not?

5. Some of us in here are planners. Do any of you spend time planning financially like you do in other areas of your life? If so, how have you seen that benefit you so far? Where do you desire that plan to end up?

6. What’s one goal that you are currently pursuing regarding finances (i.e. a big purchase, getting out of debt, getting a raise, giving more to God, etc.)?

7. What next step have you decided to take financially relating to the message from Sunday or from our discussion tonight? Let’s pray that God would allow us to fulfill financial plans that would honor Him.

Leaders’ note: You can choose a different book of the Bible or Bible reading plan. This one is merely a suggestion. You will need to make sure you email out or somehow get the prayer requests in the hands of your group members if you do not do that already.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

This past Friday I went to Family Health Center in Pekin for a physical. This Sunday I get the privilege of speaking to BridgeWay about how we can end up 'somewhere on purpose' physically. I know that I'm not heading where I want to be physically, so I went to the good Dr. to find out how I can improve my health. He told me I was mildly overweight (I thought the assessment would be much worse than that!) and we discussed my target weight which is very attainable.

I love spring. It is probably my favorite time of the year. I think that correlates closely to how much I absolutely despise winter. I can’t stand cold weather, I hate snow, I hate ice, I hate how snow turns black after being mixed with whatever is on our roads…I digress.

My favorite part about spring is the new life springing up all around. I love the Magnolia trees especially. The flowers that bloom off of those trees bring forth a burst of color into a world that (due to winter) has only been seen in shades of gray for months. The fragrance that comes with those trees is so fresh and new I can’t get enough of it.

Along with the Magnolia trees, the grass begins to grow, other trees gain their green leaves and flowers are in bloom. It’s as though the earth has awoken from hibernation and things are getting back to the way they should be.

One of the challenges of the Christian life is to live as though you’re a Magnolia tree in bloom all year long. The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives as fruit. For the Magnolia tree, the fruit is the beautiful blooms that produce life, light, color, fragrance, and hope. I say hope in all seriousness because these blooms have a timely way of hitting right when we feel like we cannot stand another winter outburst. In our situation, we produce fruit that hopefully accomplishes the same thing to those around us. Ultimately the fruit that God wants to produce through His Holy Spirit is fruit that bursts onto the scene much like those Magnolia blooms: they show up right when we’re rubbing elbows with a person who is hopeless and feels they don’t know what they’re going to do if one thing goes wrong.

It can be tough to produce this fruit. It only becomes tough though, when we put the onus on us to bear the fruit. When we do this, then the fruit bearing becomes about us rather than the One who’s working through us. It becomes easy to bear fruit when it’s about saying “Yes!” when God requires it and walking faithfully through Him.

My prayer today is that my life would produce fruit that would provide hope and joy to those around me. I pray yours does as well.

LIFEGROUP Questions

4/18/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

Everybody Ends Up Somewhere Week 3: Physically

1. When you look back on your life, what would you say is your greatest athletic or physical strength accomplishment?

2. Is there an athletic or physical accomplishment that you desire to achieve before you die? If so what is it and why do you want to pursue or achieve that goal?

3. The Bible describes the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit. What do you think of when you think of a temple? Do you think your body would be described the same way?

4. In Ephesians Paul talks about how we care for and feed our bodies just like Christ loves the church. How did Christ love the church? Why do you think Paul makes this comparison? Do you think most Christians consider their physical health as important as their spiritual health? Why or why not?

5. Have you ever seen someone who has missed out on their God intended purpose because they were not physically able to do it (could be a weight issue, disease issue, addiction, etc.)? Describe.

6. What small step did you take Sunday in regards to your eating habits? physical training? rest? Have you stuck with those so far? If you are looking for accountability, let’s help each other be accountable so we don’t miss out on the purpose God has for us.

Leaders’ note: You can choose a different book of the Bible or Bible reading plan. This one is merely a suggestion. You will need to make sure you email out or somehow get the prayer requests in the hands of your group members if you do not do that already.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.

Not that I’m a liar or anything, but it’s actually Saturday while I’m writing this Friday Leadership Post. Upon completing this, I will go outside, assemble and use for the first time the lawnmower we purchased last night. I know, you’re jealous, but settle down, it will be ok.

My wife and I will celebrate our 6^th wedding anniversary this summer (praise the Lord) and in our marriage history, this is the first lawnmower that we’ve ever purchased. The first house we lived in we rented and it had a lawnmower in the garage that we used. We ultimately bought that house, and kept the lawnmower until it literally fell apart. From there, I asked around and got a nice lawnmower from a friend of ours, which lasted about a month. From there, a colleague gave me his 20 year old lawnmower and it lasted 3 summers and finally passed on last fall. So, I finally broke down and purchased one.

At this point in the story, you might be thinking “well, that’s 2 minutes of my life I’ll never get back.” I assure you there is a point, starting….NOW!

I know people who use faith in the same way. For instance, they’ll have a family member or friend that has a deep passionate relationship with Him, and they’ll just assume that since they’re hanging with this person that they have the same standing with God. They, in essence, are borrowing faith just like I borrowed lawnmowers.

If we are to have a true faith in Jesus Christ, we have to receive the grace that has been extended to us through His death on the cross. We have to see that Christ didn’t just die for the sins of the world, but for ‘my’ sins. He personally sacrificed his life for me, and it’s up to me to believe and receive what He’s done.

Today you may be living off of someone’s faith. What you need to do is go and get your own. Surrender your life to Jesus today.

LIFEGROUP Questions

4/11/10

***Remember that we always start LIFEGROUPS reminding the group that the purpose of LIFEGROUPS is to ‘belong and become.’ To find a group of people we can connect to and build friendships, and become more like Jesus each day.

***Also reinforce the ‘Vegas Rule’ – what happens in LIFEGROUP, stays in LIFEGROUP.

Everybody Ends Up Somewhere Week 1: Purpose

1. If you could be friends with any famous person in the world, who would it be and why?

2. What is your favorite thing to do to fuel or build relationships with your friends and family?

3. Has there been a time in your life when meeting with God one on one daily was not a priority? Why was that? Has that changed?

4. Why is it important to spend time with God every day? Can anyone talk about how God has changed you through your one on one times with Him?

5. Why is it difficult for us to carve out time for God every day? What other things could we eliminate from our lives to have time with God daily?

6. Let’s all commit to reading the Bible (start with John chapter 1 and read one chapter a day) and praying together this week. We’ll come back next week and share what we’ve learned and how God spoke to us. Let’s use our prayer list from tonight and pray for one another’s needs daily. How can we pray for each other tonight?

Leaders’ note: You can choose a different book of the Bible or Bible reading plan. This one is merely a suggestion. You will need to make sure you email out or somehow get the prayer requests in the hands of your group members if you do not do that already.

***Always close your group with a time of prayer. As a leader, you can lead this or you can all share in the requests praying for one another. You need to know where your group is at to determine what would be most comfortable in that setting. i.e. don’t ask people to pray in the group if you’re not sure they’re ready to.