Group Guide
This Week's City 7:
1. Who is Jesus? I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
Ice-Breaker:
How many different churches have you called HOME over the course of your life?
Discussion Questions:
- On Sunday, we started our journey through church history, from the time Acts ended (about 67 A.D.) to today. We went through the Age of CATHOLIC Christianity (70-312 A.D.) and the Age of IMPERIAL Christianity (312-590 A.D.). We covered all the good things, like the creeds that more clearly defined good theology, but also a lot of the mistakes and missteps. Clayton made the case for us that it is important to know where we came from, how we got here, and why we believe what we believe. Why do you think it is important to be familiar with church history, whether it be the good, the bad or the ugly?
- The challenge on Sunday was to love the Lord your God with all your HEART, MIND and STRENGTH. First, we love God with our hearts. Passion matters! What we love most in our lives matters! In fact, we can't love anything, or anyone, the way we should unless we love Him first and most. Think about what a truly passionate follower of Jesus looks like. What do you picture? How would you describe your level of passion for God? His Word? The church?
- Next, we are to worship God with our MINDS. Not only does passion matter, so does right theology. So many in our culture today and churches have very weak understandings of theology. Many of us can quote a verse or two here and there (sometimes out of context), we post the occasional meme or inspirational message, but do we really have a deeply-rooted understanding of the full counsel of God's Word? The more accurately we know God, the more passionately we can worship Him. Can you say you love the Lord with your mind? How are you currently pursuing a deeper, more complete knowledge of Scripture?
- Finally, we are to worship God with our STRENGTH. Passion matters. Theology matters. And Ecclesiology matters. How we do church matters. We need both right orthodoxy and right orthopraxy matters. Orthodoxy is the correct beliefs, while orthopraxy is the correct practices. Churches need to be about the right things in order to fulfill all that God has called us to accomplish on the earth. Have you ever been a part of a church that got one of these wrong? Maybe they lacked in passion? Maybe they had weak theology and teaching? What are some of the ways this causes things to go sideways in a congregation?
- Clayton shared the stories of the martyrs of the faith. Andrew, Bartholomew, James (the brother of John) James (the son of Alphaeus), John, Jude, Matthew, Peter, Philip, Simon, Thomas, Matthias, James (the brother of Jesus)... all of them met brutal ends for the sake of the name of Jesus. He ended with the story of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John. He was arrested and warned to recant his faith Jesus. What was his response? "Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How, then, can I abandon my King and Savior?" Then he was burned alive and ran through with spears. THIS is where we come from. THESE are our ancestors. How are you living out their legacy? How do we carry the faith with similar passion and conviction? What kind of faith legacy are WE leaving?
Prayer Topics:
- That we would learn to love God with all our heart, mind and strength.
- That we would seek to leave a legacy worthy of those that came before us.
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