Questions for week Sept 29th - Oct 5th

Going Public

Baptism

1) Just for fun: What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten?

2) If you have been baptized, share where and when you were baptized and what it meant to you.

3) Read Acts 8:26-40. What role did the scripture play in the Ethiopian’s conversion?

4) Why do you think God sent Phillip to the Ethiopian? Has God ever used you like he did Phillip? Who is your “Ethiopian?”

5) What questions did Phillip ask the Ethiopian? How could you rephrase those questions to share Christ with someone today?

6) What lessons do we learn about baptism from the Ethiopian?

7) Read Matthew 28:18-20. Why is baptism part of our mandate to make disciples and teach them to observe Jesus’ commandments? What would you say about someone who claims to be a follower of Christ yet has no intension of being baptized?

8) Read Rom. 6:3-11. How many times do these verses reference “death”? Who’s death? How is dying symbolic of our conversion to Christ? What dies when we are saved? What do you do with an old man who dies? How does baptism picture this process?

Thank you for filling out your Life Group Leader Report found here.

Questions for week September 22nd - 28th

Faith Flex

4 Ways God Builds Our Faith

James 1:3-4

1) Just for fun: If you could visit a time period, past or present, which time period would you chose and why? (Yes, this is the same question as last week, but most likely you have not met since then.) J

2) If you could change one troublesome thing in your life right now knowing that eliminating it would allow your life to be more peaceful, what would that one thing be?

3) Point #1 in Faith Flex was, God tests our faith through difficulties, concerning your answer to the previous question, can you see how your faith is being tested?  How do you feel you are doing on this test?

4) Point #2 was, God tests our faith through demands. Have you ever felt God giving you a command that was going to require a great deal of faith to accomplish it?  How did you do on that test of faith?

5) Point #3 was, God tests our faith with dollars.  What has been you greatest test when it came to your finances?  How has your faith grown as a result?

6) Point #4 was, God tests our faith through delays.  What is one of your greatest prayers that have yet to be answered?  How are you growing through this time?

Thank you for filling the Life Group Leader Report found here.

Questions for week September 15th - 21st

Hard 2 Love

Part 4

Critical Carl

1) Just for fun: If you could visit a time period, in the past or the future, which time period would you choose and why?

Please feel free to go back to the questions from the entire series of Hard 2 Love, or to the weeks since your last meeting, and use those questions as well as these.

2) There is a difference between someone offering cutting criticism and someone offering constructive criticism.  How have you handled cutting criticism in the past?  How have you handled constructive criticism in the past?  What did you learn from either of these instances in your life?

3) The first prayer we looked at in this message was, God, help me know when I need to respond to criticism.  Have you ever responded to criticism and if so, what was the outcome?

4) The second prayer was, God, help me know when I don’t need to respond to criticism. Have you ever had a time when God did not allow you to respond and you obeyed? What was the outcome? What did you learn from it?

5) The last prayer was, God, help me overcome my own critical nature.  Have you been made aware of your own tendency to be critical?  If so, what steps have you made to change that nature?

6) Out of the 4 messages in Hard 2 Love, Needy Ned, Manipulative Mary, Hypocritical Harry and Critical Carl, which one has ministered to you the most?

Thank you for filling out the Life Group Leader Report found here.

Questions for week September 8th - 14th

Hard 2 Love

Part 3

Hypocritical Harry

Please feel free to also use the questions from the first two messages here and here if you have not met since the series Hard 2 Love began.

1) Just for fun: Tell everyone about a book or movie that you have watched/read recently and would recommend to the group. (Yes this is the same question on last week's questions, but most likely you haven't met since then :)

2) When you see a professing Christian who is living in the manner that is not lining up with the way the Word instructs us to live, what has been your first thought:

it’s none of my business

someone needs to talk to them

I need to pray for them (and that’s all you do)

I need to talk them and try and help them as soon as possible

If you first reaction is no reaction or no involvement, why is that?

3) Has someone else’s hypocrisy ever affected you negatively?  If so, what was it that they were doing, or not doing, that left a bad impression on you regarding or the church or God?

4) Have you ever had anyone come to you in love to confront some things that just were not lining up with they way the Bible instructs us to live?  What was your response, and in the end were you thankful for the confrontation?

As you close your time together, pray that God would help you confront in love those people in your life and church that you love, and for God to help you see any Hypocrisy in your own life.

Thank you for filling out your Life Group Leader Report found here.

Questions for week Sept 1st - 7th

Hard 2 Love

Part 2

Manipulative Mary

1) Just for fun: Tell everyone about a book or movie that you have watched/read recently and would recommend to the group.

2) When dealing with the hard to love people in your life, have you ever wondered how, or prayed for God to show you how, you could help them?  If so, how were you able to minister to them?

3) Have you had many Manipulative Marys in your Life; those people who try to control you, manipulate you, or impose their will on you?  Or have you witnessed others who have had a Manipulative Mary in their life?  What were the methods they tried to use to control, manipulate or impose their will?  Do you feel at the heart of the person’s manipulation they meant war or meant well?  If you could give a word of advice to the one being manipulated, what would you say?

4) Have you ever had someone in your life, who loved you but did not understand God’s call on our life, who tried to convince you to do something contrary to what you knew God’s will was for your life?  How did you handle the situation?

5) Have you ever had to place healthy boundaries in your relationships?  What was the outcome?  Would you have handled it differently if you could do it over again?

6) The last prayer in the message was, God, help me see my own need to sometimes control, and surrender everything to you.  Out of the two reasons we like control that was mentioned, which one do you relate to the most: 1. Deep down I am afraid of surrendering to someone or something else. 2. Deep down sometimes I think I can just do it better. ?

As you close your time together, pray for God to help you trust Him and give Him total control with everything in your life, including those who may be trying to control you.

Thank you for filling out the Life Group Leader Report found here.