Preventative Groups Week #2

Preventative maintenance is tricky in all areas of life because we don't always know what we are preventing.  Or better yet we don't know how much we are saving ourselves by doing the preventative maintenance.  Life Groups can be the same way.

To gain the full advantage of how God has wired us, we must give other people access to our hearts now.  If we don't, like David in 2 Samuel 11, we are capable of some terrible actions with some horrible consequences.

When we become less accessible, do we make better or worse decisions?

Are you willing to give some people access to your heart who can tell you "No"?

Preventative Groups Week #1

Last Sunday we wrapped up "Five Things that Grow Our Faith" by talking about Providential Relationships.  Those relationships that really have impacted our faith in God through a conversation, a series of conversations, or just through watching the way they lived.  When our relationships intersect God's timing, our faith grows.

While we can't make a Providential Relationship happen, we can put ourselves in places & positions to have a better opportunity to do that.  Primarily, our focus to make those relationships happen is through Small Groups or Life Groups.  Reading Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, we see Solomon's wisdom in having people around to help us when we fall.  In many cases, having people just a bit ahead of us can even prevent us from falling.

Join us the next few weeks as we discuss the power of being connected to a Life Group, and we will give you an opportunity to find or start a group!

Preventative Groups - new message series

Prevention is easy to ignore because of time, energy, & schedules. But what if you could go back and avoid your greatest regret? Starting February 7th, join us as we talk about one of the best ways to prevent regret through groups.

Week #4 - Personal Ministry

Our faith is important to God.  It is so important that He will challenge, exercise, and stretch our faith "muscle" through service.  While we have all wrestled with feeling unprepared & not skilled enough to serve, God grows our faith in those moments when we are not fully prepared or able.

In Matthew 14, Jesus challenges His disciples to do things they could not do on their own, so that they would have to place their trust in Him more.  He challenges them (and us) to do what they can do and trust God to do what only He can do.

Where is God nudging you to serve?  Are you willing to be uncomfortable & possibly unable to do alone what He is asking you to do?

Week #3 - Pivotal Circumstances

Pivotal circumstances can be positive or negative.  However, it seems from experience that the negative circumstances of life are what typically help us grow the most.

The call...

The diagnosis....  

The relationship....  

The tragedy....

While we wouldn't sign-up for this to happen again, somehow God grew our faith in a way maybe He couldn't have done another way. In John 11, we read of a circumstance that Jesus allowed to happen so that He could strengthen the faith of the people.

While in this life we will have difficult circumstances, it is critical to have Christian community support and to remember that God is with us.

“There is only one thing worse than disappointment with God, disappointment without God.”

— Philip Yancey

Week #2 - Private Disciplines

Disciplines are hard.  However, as with any discipline, if you stick with it, it has the potential to become a joyful part of our lifestyle - exercising, eating healthy, organized, etc.  Spiritual disciplines are no different.

In Matthew 6:1-6, Jesus teaches us the importance of giving & prayer as ways that God grows our faith.  He challenges us to give our money because that discipline helps us not to place our trust in bank balances or little pieces of paper, but rather in God who sees everything.  He also challenges us to pray as a way to demonstrate that our trust is in God not our circumstances, abilities, or the data around us.

When we give of our resources & pray, we are telling God we trust Him with our money & our time.

Week #1 - Practical Teaching

Looking at Matthew 7:24-29 we see Jesus address the importance not just of being in environments where we hear the Bible taught in practical ways, but that we actually apply what we learn.  

When we see the Bible as something God wants us to do not just know, our faith gets bigger.  Being a consistent attender is of almost no value, if you don't do what the Scriptures teach.  Obedience makes the difference.

Are you practicing and applying the teaching from the Scriptures?

Are you looking more like Jesus?