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The church goes from doing to being when it becomes about loving God, loving each other and loving the world.
Suggested Scripture for today:
James 2
Questions for Reflection:
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Big Idea:
Celebrating is not just something we do: it’s who we are based on our love for God.
READ Psalm 63:1-8 (The Message)
God—you're my God! I can't get enough of you!
I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God,
traveling across dry and weary deserts.
So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,
drinking in your strength and glory.
In your generous love I am really living at last!
My lips brim praises like fountains.
I bless you every time I take a breath;
My arms wave like banners of praise to you.
I eat my fill of prime rib and gravy;
I smack my lips. It's time to shout praises!
If I'm sleepless at midnight,
I spend the hours in grateful reflection.
Because you've always stood up for me,
I'm free to run and play.
I hold on to you for dear life,
and you hold me steady as a post.
.
The Scoop:
Often times we celebrate because, in the moment, it’s the right thing to “do.” In a church setting, we look around and it seems everyone is singing, clapping their hands, and celebrating together, so we join in. We tend to participate rather than celebrate. As a 1.0 celebrator we only do so because we are supposed to or in hopes that it will turn into something more.
As a 2.0 celebrator we sing, move, pray, and read because our God loves to hear us and in return we become filled with joy. Our God loves to hear the sound of our voices no matter how well we sing, read, or pray. Celebrating 2.0 is when communicating with God becomes a part of who we are rather than just something we do.
What’s Next? (take home/further processing/application)
Is God waiting to hear from you or are you already experiencing Celebrate 2.0? If God is waiting, what steps are you going to take to grow in the area of Celebrate 2.0?
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The church goes from doing to being when it becomes about loving God, loving each other and loving the world.
Today's suggested Scripture:
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Questions for Reflection:
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Big Idea: The church goes from doing to being when it becomes about loving God, loving each other and loving the world.
Today's Suggested Scripture:
Acts 2
Questions for reflection:
Posted at 09:00 AM in Daily Reading, You 2.0 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Big Idea: The church goes from doing to being when it becomes about loving God, loving each other and loving the world.
Today's Suggested Scripture:
Romans 12:1-16
Question for reflection:
If the people in my life were to describe me, would they say that church/Christianity is something I do (an interest or hobby) or would they describe me as someone who follows Jesus and tries to live that out in the different areas of my life?
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Big Idea: The church goes from doing to being when it becomes about loving God, loving each other and loving the world.
Today's Suggested Scripture:
Revelation 2:1-5
Questions for reflection:
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Session 1
Church 2.0
Big Idea
The church goes from “doing” to “being” when it becomes about loving God, loving each other, and loving the world.
Ice Breaker
What have you purchased recently that had the words new, improved or 2.0 on it? Did that “new, improved, 2.0” product meet your needs?
Introduction
In many cases, church is usually something we “do”; we go to church, attend church, become church members, get active in church, and serve in church. To most people church is essentially an activity. This is what we are calling a 1.0 version of ourselves as a Christ-follower.
When “Christ-follower” becomes our primary identity, it is grounded in love: the love of God has laid hold of us, and all of life is a response to His love. Life becomes about loving Him, and loving Him makes us who we are. It changes us, transforms us, and defines us. At this point we move from “doing” church to “being” the church; from 1.0 to 2.0.
1. What would you define as Church 1.0 (“doing”) vs Church 2.0 (“being”)?
2. How have you lived out Church 1.0?
Read Acts 2:41-47 (The Message)
That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.
Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met.
They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.
3. What was it about the early church that caused so many people to be “in awe” and caused God to “grow their number”?
4. How would living out Acts 2 look in your everyday life? What would need to change?
5. In what area of your life are you currently “doing” church? How is God calling you to grow into “being” the church in a particular area?
6. In what area of your life are you currently “being” the church?
READ Ephesians 3:17-19 (The Message)
And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
7. What are some areas that you see people can help move Keystone from a 1.0 Church to a 2.0 Church?
What’s Next?
What’s one thing you could do this week to play your part in making Keystone a 2.0 Church?
Session 2
CELEBRATE 2.0
“What’s Next?” Follow Up
Take a moment to revisit last week’s “What’s Next?” to see and hear how people have grown or have been challenged.
Big Idea
Celebrating is not just something we do: it’s who we are based on our love for God.
Ice Breaker
What is the best celebration you have ever experienced? Why?
Introduction
Often times we celebrate because, in the moment, it’s the right thing to “do.” In a church setting, we look around and it seems everyone is singing, clapping their hands, and celebrating together, so we join in. We tend to participate rather than celebrate. As a 1.0 celebrator we only do so because we are supposed to or in hopes that it will turn into something more.
As a 2.0 celebrator we sing, move, pray, and read because our God loves to hear us and in return we become filled with joy. Our God loves to hear the sound of our voices no matter how well we sing, read, or pray. Celebrating 2.0 is when communicating with God becomes a part of who we are rather than just something we do.
1. How would you classify the celebration you experience with God (at home, at church, in good times, and in bad times)? 1.0 or 2.0?
2. What would it take or what does it take for you to experience Celebrate 2.0?
Read Psalm 63:1-8 (The Message)
God—you're my God! I can't get enough of you!
I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God,
traveling across dry and weary deserts.
So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,
drinking in your strength and glory.
In your generous love I am really living at last!
My lips brim praises like fountains.
I bless you every time I take a breath;
My arms wave like banners of praise to you.
I eat my fill of prime rib and gravy;
I smack my lips. It's time to shout praises!
If I'm sleepless at midnight,
I spend the hours in grateful reflection.
Because you've always stood up for me,
I'm free to run and play.
I hold on to you for dear life,
and you hold me steady as a post.
3. What images does the Psalmist use to make his point?
4. Have you ever “hungered” for celebration with God?
5. Have you ever pictured God as being as present in your life as the Psalmist suggests?
6. What are some ways that you most effectively celebrate God in a unique, 2.0 kind of way (i.e. study of Scripture, prayer, a quiet walk, journaling, fasting, etc.)
What’s Next?
Is God waiting to hear from you or are you already experiencing Celebrate 2.0? If God is waiting, what steps are you going to take to grow in the area of Celebrate 2.0?
Session 3
CONNECT 2.0
“What’s Next?” Follow Up
Take a moment to revisit last week’s “What’s Next?” to see and hear how people have grown or have been challenged.
Big Idea
Connecting is not just something we do: it’s who we are based on God’s love for the people in our lives.
Ice Breaker
Who was your best friend in elementary school? Middle school? High school?
Introduction
Remembering relationships past and current is a good way to realize the importance of relationships and helps us to realize what our life would be like without human connection. Connecting is a good thing to do: getting together with other
Christ-followers for support and encouragement, prayer and Bible study, building friendships, etc. But it’s meant to be more than what we do: it’s meant to be who we are.
Connecting moves from 1.0 to 2.0 when we realize and appreciate how much the people in our lives mean to God. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are more precious to God than we have any idea. God loves everybody and it makes Him happy when His children love each other and take care of one another.
The best connections are made when we spend time together outside of what we normally do: helping each other, encouraging each other, being there for each other and truly living life together. Connecting 2.0 is the kind of connecting where we begin to see others as God sees them; when connecting is a part of who we are.
1. Take time to share the times when you have connected with someone on a 2.0 level.
2. Where do you see room for growth in connecting in a 2.0 kind of way?
READ John 13:34-35 (The Message)
Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.
3. Give some examples of how we can love in such a way that people recognize that we are Christ-followers?
4. Where would you place your life on the scale below when it comes to connecting?
Connect 1.0 Connect 1.5 Connect 2.0
“What’s your name again?” “How are things going?” “How can I pray for you?”
What’s Next?
What changes can you make and implement this week to move from Connect 1.0 to Connect 2.0? How will people recognize you are a Christ-follower based on your love for others?
Session 4
CONTRIBUTE 2.0
“What’s Next?” Follow Up
Take a moment to revisit last week’s “What’s Next?” to see and hear how people have grown or have been challenged.
Big Idea
Contributing is not just something we do: it’s who we are based on God’s love for world.
Ice Breaker
What body part would you not want to live without? Why?
Introduction
A body would function differently without one of its parts. It’s true that we can adjust and compensate for a missing part, but we were designed for all parts to function together. Some of us have gifts in areas that serve one need and others of us have entirely different gifts that may serve very different needs. In terms of contributing, we can have a number of reasons for playing our part: because we like to serve in our area of interests and gift set, because it makes us feel good about ourselves, because we get affirmation and approval from others for doing it, or because we get an income tax deduction. That’s ok, but if that’s why we contribute, it’s going to be just something we do. And contributing is meant to be more than what we do: it’s meant to be who we are.
God loved the world through giving of Himself sacrificially, and that’s what we can do when we contribute, too: giving of ourselves out of love for the world. Serving in Children’s Ministry is loving the world. Being a greeter is loving the world. Tithing is loving the world. Singing on stage is loving the world. Setting up chairs is loving the world. Pouring coffee is loving the world. Washing dishes is loving the world. Driving students to an event is loving the world. It’s not just what we do. It’s who we are. That’s contributing 2.0!
Read 1 Corinthians 12:27 (The Message)
You are Christ's body—that's who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything. You're familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his "body.”
1. Do you believe that God has designed each of us with unique gifts, talents and passion? Why or why not?
2. What talent or gift have you used to serve God and others most?
3. Is there a talent or gift that you have not used to serve God and others?
Contributing becomes who we are and not just what we do when we open ourselves to loving the world the way God does. For our contribution to move from 1.0 to 2.0 we have to contribute as a way of loving the world instead of just being something we do.
4. Do you have a favorite experience of contributing – what impact has that had on your life?
What’s Next?
What need do you know of right now (either in your church or in your community) that you have the ability to meet? What is holding you back from meeting it? Would doing something to meet this need move you from a 1.0 contributor to a 2.0 contributor?
LEADER COMMENTARY
Commentary
SESSION 1 – CHURCH 2.0
1. Answers will vary but some examples to consider are attending on Sundays and leaving without interacting with people would be 1.0 and engaging in the community at church and serving in a ministry area would be 2.0.
2. Answers will vary but may include not singing, not making friends at church, attending sporadically, and not tithing.
3. I’ve always been intrigued about the particular time in history that God chose to come to the earth as Jesus. He could have come at any time, but he came when there was no marketing, no fancy buildings, big parking lots, or polished programs. Not that those things are bad necessarily, but he chose to come into this world when things were a little simpler and mostly done through relationship. Church wasn’t an activity or task per say, it was lifestyle. As my 6 year old niece will tell you, “We didn’t go to church…we are the church.”
4. Answers will vary but for me living out Acts 2 would look like a daily routine of reading the Bible, playing some music on cd or on my guitar, engaging in intentional, spiritual conversations with others, being involved in a discussion group, and praying constantly for others with whom I interact.
5. Answers will vary. This will provide people an opportunity to begin sharing where they would like to grow over this next year. I know for me it is in the area of prayer. I struggle with having a consistent prayer life – listening to God’s Spirit. I want to go from doing to being when it comes to my prayer life.
6. Answers will vary. Being the church means we have a genuine life transformation. For me it has been financial generosity – I have a long ways to go in this area, but genuinely enjoy giving away money. And this has all been possible through my relationship with Jesus
7. Answers will vary. This question is giving people a chance to share growth areas for the church but really asking what are they going to do about it. How will they lead church towards spiritual growth and stronger dependency upon God as we become more and more Church 2.0.
SESSION 2 – CELEBRATE 2.0
1. Answers will vary. I love celebrating church and feel most connected with God through music. At home, I am often distracted and would consider my celebration at home a 1.0. In good times, it seems much easier to celebrate (2.0) and in bad times much more difficult (1.0).
2. Answers will vary. For me, it takes prayer, a good song that I already know the words to, and some times brokenness.
3. The Psalmist uses hunger to describe our yearning for celebration. Almost like wew can’t get enough and can’t hold it in all at the same time.
4. Answers will vary. I would say for me, I have definitely hungered for celebration but it’s often after a long lapse in celebration that I notice I am starving for it.
5. Answers will vary. I have definitely longed for a life where God is on my mind as much as food is one my mind. That my body and soul would crave God like it craves an all you can eat buffet.
6. Answers will vary. This one will easy for me, though: pray. I just need to pray before I attend and participate in our worship. Celebrate 2.0 is so dependent upon my willingness to hear from and God and to humbly approach His throne of grace.
SESSION 3 – CONNECT 2.0
1. Answers will vary. I have connected best in a one-on-one situation where trust was strong and we could share deeply personal things and pray for one another as well as hold each other accountable.
2. Answers will vary. I could benefit from a group of people to interact with on a spiritual accountability level. I would grow from interacting with others and reading the Bible together.
3. Answers will vary. Sacrifice is the biggest for me. I notice when people do random acts of kindness and it costs them something but they gain nothing from it. I know that kind of love does not come naturally.
4. Answers will vary. Be sure to get the reasons why.
SESSION 4 – CONTRIBUTE 2.0
1. Answers will vary. I definitely do but I also believe that we can develop in areas that we may not be strong. God helps us to grow and he uses our strengths to help other grow where they may be weak.
2. Answers will vary. I have served God best by caring for people. I am passionate about helping others and I know God has given me a gift of patience and understanding.
3. Answers will vary. I know I can develop a stronger backbone when it comes to standing for what’s right and facing conflict. God has really grown me in this area and I know that the conflict in my life is a direct opportunity to grow further in connecting and serving others.
4. Answers will vary. One of my favorite serving opportunities came when I was serving a homeless shelter in Atlanta, GA years ago. It was at this shelter where I got to connect the stories of the homeless with reality. I got the chance to converse with many who were looking for hope and I had the privilege of telling them about the hope of Christ.
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Big Idea:
The church goes from “doing” to “being” when it becomes about loving God, loving each other, and loving the world.
READ Ephesians 3:17-19 (The Message)
And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
The Scoop:
In many cases, church is usually something we “do”; we go to church, attend church, become church members, get active in church, and serve in church. To most people church is essentially an activity. This is what we are calling a 1.0 version of ourselves as a Christ-follower.
When “Christ-follower” becomes our primary identity, it is grounded in love: the love of God has laid hold of us, and all of life is a response to His love. Life becomes about loving Him and loving Him makes us who we are. It changes us, transforms us, and defines us. At this point we move from “doing” church to “being” the church; from 1.0 to 2.0.
1. What would you define as Church 1.0 (“doing”) vs Church 2.0 (“being”)?
2. In what area of your life are you currently “doing” church? How is God calling you to grow into “being” the church in that particular area?
What’s Next? (take home/further processing/application)
What’s one thing you could do this week to play your part in making Keystone a 2.0 Church?
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The Big Idea is our way of helping you bring the weekend message into your family, work and personal life all week long. Use it this week! An expanded guide (great for groups and in‐depth study) is available at the info table or on the web at www.keystonecc.org.
Big Idea:
Giving our offerings at church is not about helping the church pay the bills, it’s about giving something to God, and at the heart of it is worship and sacrifice.
READ Romans 12:1-2 (The Message) So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
The Scoop:
God wants us to give sacrificially to Him. He wants our hearts not our things and He knows that often times our hearts are attached to our things so He asks for the things that pull at our hearts. Jesus talked about us sacrificing for Him frequently, not as a way to gain relationship with Him, but to show what relationship really looks like, what it means to follow Him. The sacrificial off erring that we make “in church” reminds us of our sacrificial stewardship of life, how following Jesus costs us something. When we make the effort to pray or connect or contribute, sometimes it feels like something we want to do and other times it’s a sacrifice. Our sacrificial giving is meant to be a part of the cross that we bear for God, but our cross is like His cross--what it costs us is something we do willingly out of love for God and for people, not out of obligation.
1. Which of the following do you think best describes your attitude towards church and money?
a. Churches are all corrupt and cannot be trusted with money.
b. Churches don’t really need my money, they have plenty already, and plenty of other means to get more.
c. I know the church needs my money to pay their staff, pay the bills, and keep the doors open, so I try to help when I can.
d. I commit to giving regularly to my church, but I don’t really see how it relates to my relationship with God.
e. I realize that giving to my church is really about giving to God’s mission on this earth, and that God is most interested in my heart, which my giving represents.
2. Why does God care so much about us being sacrificial towards Him? If He doesn’t really need whatever it is we are sacrificing, then why ask us to do it?
3. What do you think it looks like to take our “everyday, ordinary life” and “place it before God as an offering”? That sounds like a good thing to do, but what does it really mean when we apply it to our lives?
4. Can you remember a time when you gave financially to someone or something and it really was a sacrifice? What ultimately motivated you to give?
What’s Next? (take home/further processing/application)
Start a new “habit” that you do every time you give an offering to God (at church or wherever). Some ideas include:
• Smile or laugh as you give your offering. “God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)
• Pray as you give your offering that God would bless it to do powerful and long-lasting, impactful things.
• Take the 10 for 10 tithing challenge.
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Session 1
WHY SINGING?
Big Idea
Singing is a dynamic form of worship in which we celebrate God, express thanks to Him, and show love to Him.
Ice Breaker
If you are scanning through the radio, what is one song that will always cause you to stop and crank up the volume?
Introduction
Imagine life without songs. We would have no favorite band to see in concert, no fight songs for our favorite sports teams, no pledges of allegiance, no soundtracks for our road trips, and no way to express the blues. Although our lives are full of music, in some ways, many of us still live without singing in a very important setting: church. Whether it’s because we don’t understand why we sing at church, or whether we don’t like to sing, it’s important for us to understand why we even sing to God in the first place. Since music affects us emotionally and allows us to express ourselves in dynamic ways, singing is an important mode for how we relate with God. Check out this quote from Martin Luther:
“Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world . . . because by her all the emotions are swayed.”
1. How important is music to you?
2. How would you describe your experience singing at church?
a. Luciano Pavaroti. Signing is my favorite thing to do at church.
b. William Hung. I like singing, but I sound terrible.
c. Milli Vanilli. I lip synch.
d. Simon Cowell. I often dread singing.
e. Other?
3. Why do you think certain people enjoy singing in church and others don’t?
The Bible is full of music references. It was used to make war, crown kings, celebrate feasts, demonstrate sadness, unite and encourage community, and interact with God. Depending on the circumstances, it is accompanied by dancing, shouting, crying, clapping, and even laughter. Whenever the biblical text is off set into stanzas it indicates that you’re reading a song or a hymn. Therefore, singing is an important form of worship and communication with God. It is a great way to express thanks to God, reach out to Him, celebrate his victories in our lives, express pain, pledge ourselves to him, and identify with other Christ followers.
Read Colossians 3:16-17 (The Message)
Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
4. When has music been most important in your life?
Isn’t it odd to think that when you have the music cranked in your car or you’re shouting at the top of your lungs in the shower, that you could be communicating with God? Colossians says to “sing your hearts out to God,” yet there seems to be a disconnect between the music in our lives and God.
In biblical times, oral tradition was the main form of communication because of low literacy rates. Songs were a very important way of passing on stories and lessons and people relied on singing as a way to pass on customs, traditions, and beliefs.
Although music is no longer a necessity in passing along beliefs, it has remained a major medium for communicating. Musical messages stick with us because we feel and sense melody, rhythm and rhyme. With music we can capture feelings and emotions without specifically spelling it out in lyrics.
5. What messages good and bad have you heard through music lately?
6. What is the strongest, most comforting song for you? Why?
READ Psalm 71:23
When I open up in song to you,
I let out lungsful of praise,
my rescued life a song.
All day long I'm chanting
about you and your righteous ways,
The verses in Colossians and Psalm 71 seem to imply that singing is supposed to be free spirited and even spontaneous. Paul is suggesting that we just have to let loose emotionally and spiritually every now and then. Sometimes we have to make up songs, sing them aloud joyfully, and ride the wave that God’s Spirit is inspiring within us.
7. Has there ever been a time when you were so joyful to God that you wanted to or did burst into singing? Explain.
8. If you were to burst out in song would it be a song of celebration, pain, angst, or joy?
What’s Next?
What will you do this week to make the music in your life more about God? Here are some suggestions:
• Read any of the following songs from the Bible and journal about what they are conveying (Exodus 15:1-21; Psalm 104; Romans 11:33-36; Revelation 19:1-9).
• Download some praise songs into your music library.
• Sing a praise song or listen to one with a group.
Session 2
WHY BAPTISM AND COMMUNION?
Big Idea
Baptism is an act of worship symbolizing our commitment to the new life we have in Christ, and communion is an act of worship that commemorates Jesus’ death, celebrates his resurrection, and anticipates his return.
Ice Breaker
What’s your favorite food that you like to eat with a group of friends?
Introduction (Baptism)
After Jesus death and resurrection, he commanded his disciples to spread the news about him and to baptize new disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). So in the book of Acts, most new believers immediately responded to the message of Christ by being baptized. Because of Israel’s wandering experience in the desert after they left Egypt (see the book of Exodus), the “desert” became a powerful theological symbol that represented spiritual testing for obedience and faithfulness.
In the Red Sea, God washed away the Israelites’ old life of slavery and was now leading them into a new life of freedom to worship him. Therefore, the rite of baptism became a way for people to identify with God’s saving activity and to symbolize his transforming power in their lives. In his baptism, Jesus fully identifies with and embodies God’s saving activities.
1. What are some different types of baptism traditions of which you have heard?
READ Acts 2:37-38, 41 (The Message)
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
2. Have you ever baptized someone else? Or been a part of someone’s baptism?
The Bible typically affirms that something supernatural happens in the moment of baptism. Some people in the Bible accept Christ and become baptized much later. Regardless, baptism marks the point when the Holy Spirit fills the new believer (Acts 2:37-38; 8:12-17; 19:1-6). It is the point where spiritual gifts start making sense and we begin to live more like Christ. The point is the physical act of baptism in water is a significant symbol and gesture of faith. Baptism is merely an outward expression of our inward reality in Christ.
3. If you are a Christ follower, what was it about hearing the message of Jesus that initially made you want to respond?
4. Why is it important to get baptized in front of other people?
There are two dominant symbols of baptism in the Bible. The primary symbolic meaning behind baptism is about repentance. Repentance literally means doing an about face. Throughout the New Testament, the act of baptism was most often linked with the washing away of a person’s sins through repentance (Mark 1:4; Acts 13:24; 19:4). The act of dipping oneself into the water symbolized the cleansing a person receives by turning from a life of sin, and accepting God’s grace. A second symbol inherent in baptism is the symbol of our unity with Jesus in his death and resurrection.
The physical action of immersing a person in baptismal waters symbolizes our union with Christ in his sacrificial death for us. In other words, the physical action of baptismal immersion into water symbolizes Jesus’ death and burial. And our emergence from the water symbolizes his resurrection and our new life with Jesus Christ.
READ Romans 6:3-4 (The Message)
So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land!
That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus.
5. Imagine what it would have been like if the symbol of our repentance was something other than water baptism. What other actions or rituals might you have used to symbolize a person’s repentance of sins?
6. If you haven’t been baptized, what barriers still prevent you from doing so?
Introduction (Communion)
Another key element of the Christian faith that is important to understand is Communion. Communion is another very symbolic expression of a relationship with Christ. Because eating is one of the quintessential experiences of community, and sharing a meal with others is a great way to meet new people and build friendships, it is important for us to experience communion with each other and with Christ.
The Bible is rich with food references. Meals are extensions of hospitality (Gen. 18:1-15; Acts 16:31-34). Spiritual maturity is described through the metaphor of eating (1 Cor. 3:2; Hebrews 5:12-14). God shows that he cares for people by feeding them (Exodus 16:1-36; Matt. 14:13-21). And fellowship in the growing church occurs around dinner tables in the book Acts (Acts 2:46). The practice of taking communion is rooted in this Biblical tradition of eating.
1. What is your favorite meal or food?
2. What kinds of food do you eat when you are celebrating something special?
Communion is the practice of eating bread and drinking wine or grape juice in commemoration of Jesus’ death. It follows the pattern of the Last Supper with the disciples on the eve of His crucifixion. The Last Supper took place in celebration of the Jewish Holiday, Passover. It was common for people to share bread and dip their bread in wine to soften it. At the Last Supper, Jesus used a common experience of sharing a meal to illustrate a very symbolic experience. Jesus explains that the bread represents Christ’s body that was offered for everyone. The wine represents his blood that was shed for our sins.
READ Luke 22:7-20 (The Message)
When it was time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, and said, "You've no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering. It's the last one I'll eat until we all eat it together in the kingdom of God."
Taking the cup, he blessed it, then said, "Take this and pass it among you. As for me, I'll not drink wine again until the kingdom of God arrives."
Taking bread, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, given for you. Eat it in my memory."
He did the same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you.”
3. Why do you think Jesus chose the act of eating and drinking by which to remember him?
Christian’s presently participate in worshipping the Lord Jesus by observing communion. The early Christians set this example by gathering on an appointed day of the week, likely Sunday. These early disciples “broke bread” as a standard part of their fellowship during these meetings.
4. How often do you or your church take communion?
5. What do you typically do or think about when you take communion?
6. When was the last time you really felt like you were in “deep” or “true” communion with Christ? Or other Christ followers?
What’s Next?
Baptism
Baptism in an important moment in the life of a believer. During this next week, reflect on your baptism story or why you would like to be baptized for the first time. Think about what God was/is doing in your life and reflect on what baptism means to you.
Communion
Be creative and use eating as way to worship God, show hospitality, practice
community, and demonstrate Christ’s work in your life. A couple ideas might be to have dinner together as a group and share about the good things that God is doing in your life, or have a small group cookout and invite unchurched friends to join you.
Session 3
WHY GIVING?
Big Idea
Giving our offerings at church is not about helping the church pay the bills, it’s about giving something to God, and at the heart of it is worship and sacrifice.
Ice Breaker
If you had unlimited resources and were asked to go out today and buy something to give away to someone else, what would you buy and who would you give it to?
Introduction
Uh-Oh, It’s Offering Time! When it comes to the issue of money, church, and God,
people’s views vary greatly. The one constant is that people generally have really strong opinions about it, both positive and negative.
1. Which of the following do you think best describes your attitude towards church and money?
a. Churches are all corrupt and cannot be trusted with money.
b. Churches don’t really need my money, they have plenty already, and plenty of other means to get more.
c. I know the church needs my money to pay their staff, pay the bills, and keep the doors open, so I try to help when I can.
d. I commit to giving regularly to my church, but I don’t really see how it relates to my relationship with God.
e. I realize that giving to my church is really about giving to God’s mission on this earth, and that God is most interested in my heart, which my giving represents.
Most of these opinions and debates come from misunderstandings about one simple question: WHY do we give offerings at church? We often misunderstand and misinterpret these reasons WHY. So let’s dig into this key question and try to understand it in a new way.
God wants us to give sacrificially to Him. He wants our hearts not our things and He knows that often times our hearts are attached to our things so He asks for the things that pull at our hearts. David seemed to understand the reason behind giving as indicated in the verse below.
READ 2 Samuel 24:18-24 (NIV)
I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.
2. Why does God care so much about us being sacrificial towards Him? If He doesn’t really need whatever it is we are sacrificing, then why ask us to do it?
The Apostle Paul teaches about giving in Romans as an everyday thing; something that we think about and live out as we go about daily life.
READ Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
3. What do you think it looks like to take our “everyday, ordinary life” and “place it before God as an offering”? That sounds like a good thing to do, but what does it really mean?
4. “Readily recognize what God wants from you, and quickly respond to it." – Can you think of a time when you felt like God was calling you to do something, and you responded immediately (or soon after)?
5. What does this passage have to say to help us answer our key question about WHY we give financial offerings to God at church?
Jesus talked a lot about money and giving. Jesus that cuts right to the heart of what it means to really follow Him when talking to His disciples.
READ Matthew 16:24 (The Message)
Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?
6. How would you re-word this verse into your own words, to explain clearly what Jesus is saying to someone who had never heard this before?
Jesus talked about us sacrificing for Him frequently, not as a way to gain relationship with Him, but to show what relationship really looks like, what it means to follow Him. The sacrificial off erring that we make “in church” reminds us of our sacrificial stewardship of life, how following Jesus costs us something. When we make the effort to pray or connect or contribute, sometimes it feels like something we want to do and other times it’s a sacrifice. Our sacrificial giving is meant to be a part of the cross that we bear for God, but our cross is like His cross--what it costs us is something we do willingly out of love for God and for people, not out of obligation.
7. Can you remember a time when you gave financially to someone or something and it really was a sacrifice? What ultimately motivated you to give?
What’s Next?
Start a new “habit” that you do every time you give an offering to God (at church or wherever). Some ideas include:
• Smile or laugh as you give your offering. “God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)
• Pray as you give your offering that God would bless it to do powerful and long-lasting, impactful things.
LEADER COMMENTARY
Commentary
SESSION 1 – WHY SINGING?
1. Answers will vary. Music has become even more accessible in our culture, especially since the advent of the IPod. For some people, music is a big part of their culture. For others, music is a hobby. There are also lots of people who need background music for anything they do. For many, music is even a career.
2. Answers will vary.
3. Answers will vary. It’s good to let people know that it is okay if some people don’t feel comfortable singing at church. Some people really don’t like singing, even if they enjoy listening to music, while others love to sing and dance. Some people, especially men, are distracted by songs that seem overly romantic to God, thus making them uncomfortable. The point of this discussion is to help those people who don’t like singing to appreciate the placement of singing in our worship to God.
4. Answers will vary.
5. Answers will vary but may include messages of hope, love, and truth or hate, anger, and promiscuity.
6. Answers will vary. Give people time to think because favorite songs may change with different moods or seasons of life.
7. Answers will vary.
8. Answers will vary. Encourage everyone to answer this question and explain themselves so you can know where they are at in life, pray for them and share in their joy.
Commentary
SESSION 2 – WHY BAPTISM AND COMMUNION?
Baptism
1. People may have experienced baptism in a lake, a baptistery, or a pool. Others may have witnessed people being doused with a bucket of water. Many people grew up with the experience of infant baptism. In Protestant traditions, some kind of full immersion will be the most common.
2. It can be a flattering and humbling experience to baptize someone else. It shows that you have been an important part of their spiritual journey.
3. Try to get at the heart of what part of the gospel affected people the most—was it forgiveness for something in their past they never thought they could be forgiven for? Was it the idea of love and acceptance? Was it all about their eternal destination? Was it an answer to a spiritual longing they had?
4. It’s a great way for other people to celebrate the decision you have made. It is also a way to commit publicly to Christ and share in some accountability with others.
5. Let people be creative on this; it’s all about helping them understand the powerful symbolism underlying the act of baptism.
6. It could be that they were baptized as an infant, they’re still unsure about their faith, they’re afraid they don’t know enough, they’re afraid of commitment, they don’t think they have to get baptized, etc. Try to help them think through these obstacles in light of what was just discussed/learned.
Communion
1. Answers will vary.
2. Answers will vary but may include a specific cultural or ethnic tradition which shows how important meals are in tradition.
3. Eating is a source of life for us. Perhaps he is trying to help us understand that we cannot survive without him.
4. Answers will vary but at Keystone it is usually at least once a quarter.
5. Answers will vary.
6. Answers will vary. Allow for reflection and encourage folks to seek deep communion with Christ and others.
Commentary
SESSION 3 – WHY GIVING?
1. Obviously answers will vary here, but try to get everyone to share about how they used to view church, God, and money, and how they currently view it. Remind them that they can be honest (people might feel the temptation to hold back and only give the answer they think you want). A good follow-up question might be: “Why do you think view developed in you?”
2. As we see in our own lives, it’s easy to “love” someone when it doesn’t require anything of us at all. What proves genuine love is when we have to sacrifice something, intentionally put someone else’s needs ahead of our own. God sacrificed an incredible amount for us, and He asks that we do the same, much like when two people who agree to get married both commit to giving up (sacrificing) their old way of life that could center around themselves, and instead start putting the other person first.
3. There is no easy formula for this one, but it can mean a lot of things. It can mean involving God in our daily lives (not just the “spiritual compartment” of our lives), sharing with Him our feelings about what’s going on, praying about it all, etc. It could mean asking God how we can honor Him in each of these “everyday tasks.”
4. Encourage people to share personal stories for this question. The point is to encourage people and remind them of times when they were obedient to God, and how it felt to do that during and afterwards.
5. Giving is meant to spill over into our daily lives, where we experience life as a grateful giving up of ourselves to God and for God, where all of life is managed on God’s behalf: our time, our bodies, our possessions, our relationships, our everything (just as the verses talk about). Our financial giving is meant to help us stay connected to the way life as Christ-followers is meant to be lived: in grateful response to God for what He’s done for us in Jesus.
6. This verse can sometimes seem just full of religious buzzwords, words that everyone thinks sound nice but nobody really knows practically what it means. So the point of this is to push people to really think through what Jesus’ words mean to them and their lives. A possible re-worded verse might be something like this: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.” (from The Message version)
7. Encourage everyone to share a story here. The point is to realize that there are times in our lives when we sacrificially gave to someone else, not because we were forced to or felt guilty if we didn’t, but because we really had a heart for them. Once we can understand this, we need to apply this to our offerings to God.
Notes
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