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*** housegroup plan for tonight
{WORSHIP SET}
One Thing Remain
{SKYPE} Psalm 27
{8 TO BE GREAT} 1. Passion. 2. Work. 3. Focus. 4. Push. 5. Ideas. 6. Improve. 7. Serve. 8. Persist.
{101} Group and Pair Discussion
P: What does “success” mean to you?
P: What is your definition of influence?
P: What are you doing with the influence you currently have?
P: Are there discrepancies between what you desire in your heart and what you are doing with your life?
G: "You only have as much influence as people have respect for you." How do you increase or get credibility?
G: What does the bible say about credibility and influence?
Too many people are content to live a life of information rather than revelation. But knowledge alone will never inflame a sustained blaze in you to love Jesus passionately. Only revelation will do that ~ Banning Liebscher
G: World changers understand their dream of the Kingdom of God invading earth doesn’t come by simply sitting around inactive. They know “the ball is in their hands and take steps to co-labour with Jesus and see His desire fulfilled. What are two things you could do today to shift your life out of passive mode and into an offensive posture?
P: Think back to a time when you felt the love of God. Talk about how it happened and how it impacted your life. In what way did it change and empower you?
P: Pray for each other
Jesus, i pray that You would write Your message upon our hearts that we might speak life, hope, destiny and purpose into these young people
i pray that You would open their eyes to the reality of Your love and greatness, that they would find their greatest satisfaction in You. i pray that they would know who they are in You, what their giftings are and what You have called them to do and be. that they would be secure in purpose and confident in serving, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
i pray that we would have lots of fun and that you would build community amongst us, that we would create lifelong friendships and be open with one another, able to challenge honestly, encourage lavishly and walk through life together.
i pray we would learn well, that we would love Your Word and love Your presence. teach us new ways to communicate with You, to connect with You, to communicate with each other and to follow hard after Your ways and Kingdom.
*** yesterday we had a fantastic housegroup leaders meeting – thanks pastor peter – and talked about group discussions and some of the core elements that make group discussion teaching work well in the housegroup context.
G Group
R Room Engagement
O Objective
U Uplifting and Honouring
P Presence of God
* create a safe environment
* guard your atmosphere
* have an objective but go with the flow
* ask open questions
* be positive and honouring, even if you have to interrupt and redirect
* make space for God to speak
* value different perspectives
**** following on from Session 6 and Session 7
Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:16-21
Growing in truth is connected to you practicing what you already know
Let us live up to what we’ve already attained
You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children,to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. Titus 2:1-8
Imitate me
Follow those who set the example
Our faith although personal is not meant to be private
Community
Mentors
Find someone who is strong where you are weak
The WHY to give us purpose and perspective to continue forward
Eyes were here on earth, temporary things, leading to destruction
Vs
Eyes fixed on Jesus and eternity
Live with eternity in our hearts
All there will be will be the story of our great king and the heroes will be those who followed him
How do you do that in real life?
Now and not yet KINGDOM
Let God chisel me, hard times are gifts to remind us that this isn’t home
Where are your sights set?
My eyes
My mind
My heart
Fixed on that day
Reminds me
Stirs me
Towards following wholeheartedly
we all make plans about things that are important to us
How and when
Just do it
*** once every 6 weeks or so we have a LIFE APP night at housegroup… usually this is a night where people write their own questions on a piece of paper and stuff it into the hat/handbag/bowl etc and then we pass it around and draw a question out and discuss. no question is too trivial or too tough. it can be anything from relationships to work place conflict, to church to whatever…
this time round however we’d had our pastor come and talk the week before about leadership and personal organisation and two guest speakers at church – kristen williams on the kingdom of God now and not yet and len buttner on elisha and the arrows/strike the ground – who rocked out about more leadership and character and ministry and God stuff… so we used all of that as our springboard and i made up the questions and hosted the discussion…
it begun with “an easy” question, and a packet of old photos that my parents sent me in the mail this week. which i passed round, regardless of the terrible fashion/hair choices i made/didn’t make as a child… was a real flashback night… i would count those photos, and my usb stick, with all my photos and preaching messages written and audio copies would be counted as my most treasured possession… more because of what those photos and writings mean to me rather than the $40 stick… amazing how possessions are really more treasured because of the feeling or the memory attached to them… even the guys with their treasured iphones could rationalize it because of the photos and preaching notes etc on them…
What is one of your most treasured possessions? Why?
One thing I would like people to know about me is:
What are your thoughts about:
The power of God is released through obedience
God wont promote you to a place that your character cannot withstand
Live in a way today that prepares us for tomorrow
You will reap what you sow
Where does grace fit into that?
What is the tension between grace and action?
How do we live in the tension between the promise and the fulfilment?
What habits and behaviours are you trying to establish or change?
What is one thing you can do this week to step towards that?
What is your spiritual goal?
What is one thing you are excited about now or in regard to your future?
How do you plan your week?
- Define your priorities
- Inflow / outflow
- Time with God
Explain the difference between these 2 perspectives:
I’m looking for the right person
I want to be the right person
**** notes from the best housegroup in the world – peter morton speaking
The test of success is even greater than the test of hardship
All about jesus
Leadership is using the influence you already have
1 positive
2 negative
3 do nothing
The kingdom of God is the influence of God
Life
Healing
Joy
Peace
Change the way we see our lives
Often we just think of occupation
Perceive our identity not just by what I do but who i am
GOD THROUGH ME
At any given point in time
None of us need a title to be a leader
Eg fruit tree
What is in your life will come out
You don’t need a title to be empowered
What’s in the well will come up in the bucket
Do you think it matters how well a leader manages their personal life even if they can do the job?
Leadership always begins with us, with me
It’s not about principals but about character
We can only influence the world for God the same degree we are influenced by God
Guard your own time with God
Ripple effect
Fly in the ointment
Intention doesn’t change anything, action does
Too many christians live without the anointing
What could your job look like with the power of God
Its not just a job
Dont box God in
Use your influence for the kingdom of God
Where the rubber meets the road
Having your personal life on order actually means you are mire flexible to be available to God
Disorganization is not spiritual
Creation shows order
Disorganization is sin
Not just personality flaw
Disorganization affects those around you
Bring it under the lordship of christ
Getting organised
1 use a diary
2 have a week view of your life
3 don’t leave things to the last minute
You will reap what you sow
How you treat leaders is how others will relate to you
No one ever has a problem with authority until authority tells them to do something we dont agree with
*** notes from housegroup Matt Chandler Philippians session 7
Phil 3:12-14 – Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.
4 ways to stirring Holy Discontent:
1 introspection – know yourself, know your strengths and weaknesses
2 measure yourself against the holiness of christ
3 know and embrace the promises of scripture like phil 1:6 that God is transforming my life
4 get around yourself who are uber godly, who are beyond you spiritually and challenge you, who have strengths where you have weaknesses
Holy discontent stirs us towards God
Insatiable for jesus
Be careful of resting on your victory
Be careful of being held back by your past – the cross saves us
1 timothy 1:12- I received mercy, jesus came to save sinners of which I am the chief for the purpose of demonstrating the gospel
Straining forward to what lies ahead
Strain
Press
Pursue
Go
Run
Chase
Toil
Strive
Yes I’ve found him, he has found me
This is the only prize there is
1 cor 9:24-26 run to obtain the prize
Do not run aimlessly, discipline your body
How do we make this real?
What does ot look like for ME to follow God wholeheartedly
No one stumbles into godliness by accident
Eg Israelites mega display of power yet made gold calf
Its ok to set spiritual goals and make a plan
How and when
Answer those questions in the context of growth
Want to pray more – how and when
Give more – how and when
this year in housegroup i think i’m feeling led to focus on a few main things:
LEADERSHIP
WHAT WE BELIEVE aka doctrine
LIFE AP
i believe that what you believe then leads to how you live
you have to live out your faith and make it real in every day life
a right belief about God will lead to a right living for God
and how you approach life and obstacles is influenced majorly by what you believe
orthodoxy is important because it leads to good God pleasing, world changing, fruit growing orthopraxy
believing affects being and being affects doing, attitudes, lifestyle ~ kevin conner
“When we know the truth about God, it fills us with wonder. If we fail to understand his true character, we’ll never be amazed by Him. We’ll never feel small as we stare up at Him. We’ll never worship Him as we ought. We’ll never run to Him for refuge or realize the great love He’s shown in bridging the measureless distance to rescue us.” Dug Down Deep / Joshua Harris
"Doctrine is important and theology is important, but it’s only important insomuch as it informs us and fuels our love and passion for Jesus that works itself out as we love and patiently walk with others inside the family and outside the family." ~ Matt Chandler
looking at the WHAT we believe is also really great for those who are young adults and finding their own faith and belief outside of their family and youth group and are being perhaps challenged in their peer group, work or study situations. Orthodoxy matters because the Christian faith is not just a cultural tradition or moral code. Orthodoxy is the irreducible truths about God and his work in the world.
plus it never gets old to to talk about God and His greatness and His salvation! to me doctrine isnt crusty and old or dull but its about magnifying the greatness and goodness of God, setting the foundation of faith in which to springboard into the adventure of knowing God and making Him known
Ive come to learn that theology matters. And it matters not because we want a good grade on a test but because what we know about God shapes the way we think and live. What you believe about God’s nature- what he is like, what he wants from you, and whether or not you will answer him- affects every part of your life. Joshua Harris
so i’m taking a highlighter to my FOUNDATIONS OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE (by Kevin Conner) book and am prob going to pillage the library of tim keller, john piper and mark driscoll books, have brought my own copy of DOCTRINE by mark driscoll, and DUG DOWN DEEP by Joshua Harris (which i think was one of those God appointed books, was a 4 for $40 deal at the local christian bookshop and i had 3 books chosen but couldn’t find a fourth so was browsing elsewhere then asked God to help me find the fourth… and then boom, saw this one, its tagline is “unearthing what i believe and why it matters” – exactly what the aim is for housegroup, yay God)… along with re reading THE EXPLICIT GOSPEL by matt chandler – basically feeding my mind and heart with anything i can find that fits my brief and wraps language around what we believe and why
* notes for WHAT WE BELIEVE = AMMO (5-7 min slot) @ housegroup tonight, followed by worship and prayer
What is Worship?
but i, by your great love, can come into Your house, in reverence, bow down in worship at your temple with deepest awe. Psalm 5:7 NLT
worship REMINDS us who God is, His greatness, His goodness, His power, His grace
it REFOCUSES our attention on Him, His greatness, His goodness, His power, His grace
it REFRESHES our heart and CONNECTS us in RELATIONSHIP
it is an expression of love, adoration, surrender
worship reinforces what matters most, reminds us of truths we forget and renews our desire to live what we believe. Rick Warren
it is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men. CS Lewis
Why do we Worship?
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise Psalm 145:3
You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being
Revelation 4:11
For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”’ Matthew 4:10b
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Psalm 103
They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. Psalm 145:7
we always do this thing… when we have new people… well anytime really… its a great random icebreaker that has developed its own culture within our group
its the random housegroup get to know you questions.
it always starts the same.
name. what you do (occupation)
and then we add some more.
to get to know you.
we have usually 3-5 questions, because for some it can be novel, but for others it can be brief.
ahhh personality
and its amazing how even simple questions like “favourite colour” can reveal more than just whatever
sometimes we end up adding a few more and branching of onto tangents…
off track
but still getting to know you.
and its weird. its so become a THING. a good THING. a THING we look forward to.
here are some of the questions i’m thinking of for tonight:
* who is your hero
* what book are you reading right now
* dream holiday destination
* what did you want to be when you “grew up”
* fav person (apart from Jesus) in the bible
*
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