Who Is This? - 6/16/13

key texts: Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25 (All NIV)
 

What would you have done in the same situation if you were a disciple of Jesus? Or maybe a better question is what HAVE you done in the same situation? Were the disciples wrong? Was Jesus being too hard on them?

Is it possible to have faith and be fearful at the same time? 

The disciples ask a puzzling question after all these months - “Who is this?” Were they just dolts who didn’t get it at all or what was going on here?

Is Jesus Really Worth Following? - 6/9/13

key texts: Matthew 8:18-22; Luke 9:57-62 (All NIV) 

Do you think these people eventually followed Jesus or not?  What clues do you see in Matthew 8:21?

Read John 6:66-69 for another example of disciples deciding whether it was worth continuing to follow Jesus.  What is the key reason Peter gives for choosing to continue to follow?  Can you list more reasons to keep following?

What circumstances do you regularly find yourself in that lead you to doubt that it’s worth following.  Pray for courage to follow in these circumstances.

The Widow's Son - 6/2/13

Cleansing the Leper  

Healing the Paralytic 

Lord of the Sabbath (Part 1) & (Part 2)

The Centurion's Faith

Listed above are links to a few of our recent messages that have highlighted various moments in the ministry of Jesus where His authority is made clear.

I have been asking various people this week if they are “getting it”? Are we really seeing what is happening as we walk through this synoptic trek? In so many ways I feel as if I am reading the story of Jesus for the first time, starting to understand where all the pieces “fit”, watching the story unfold instead of getting random pieces all out of order. 

And I am blown away. If you are not there, it is OK, but I want to encourage you to invest the time, make the effort. There is still plenty of time to catch up.  

This week is a great time to take stock of all the situations where Jesus has established His authority. Take time to make a list the areas of His “Lordship”. Meditate on what this means, for you, for the Church, for the world? How does your faith reflect this reality? These are profound questions that I think we all too often jump to shallow immediate answers. Take time this week to really wrestle with them. 

Grace and peace y’all, 

J.Ray

Amazing Faith, How Rare Is Found - 5/26/13

key texts: Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10 (NIV) 

“Faith” is one of the those words that gets thrown around a lot and can have any number of meanings. In the text this week we are not allowed to keep our ambiguous definitions. We are given a very specific example of what faith looks like and, more importantly, acts like: recognizing that Jesus possesses ultimate authority. The challenge for us is what I want us to study, consider, discuss and ultimately act upon; what does it mean to recognize and submit to Jesus? What does it mean to call Him “Lord” and then to live like it?

Take time to dig deep into this week’s text and those we have studied leading up to this point. Pray about the above questions. Ask others how they see this playing out in your life. Come to community group ready to discuss what you are learning.

Grace and Peace, y’all.

J.Ray

Building On The Rock - 5/19/13

key texts: Matthew 7:21-27; James 1:21-25 (NKJV) 

This Sunday’s scripture focused on essentials for being a part of Christ’s Kingdom now.  Spend some time sharing with each other how God is leading you to become better at each of these three aspects:

KNOWING JESUS:  how do you build time for relationship with Jesus into your day?  What does that look like ?  How can you encourage one another to know him better?

HEARING JESUS:  what are you doing to make certain you are hearing him?  What are the inputs of scripture in your week?  How can your small group help you hear him better?

DOING WHAT JESUS TELL ME TO DO:  what do you already know that you’re doing that you should stop doing? What do you already know that you’re not doing that you should start doing?  How can you encourage one another to greater levels of obedience?