Group Guide

March 17th, 2024

This Week's City 7:

4. Can a person be good enough to go to heaven? No. Because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He is God, I believe a person is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)

Ice-Breaker:

Favorite movie franchise?

Discussion Questions:

Have someone read the "Old and New" Core Value under the ABOUT tab on the app.

Last Sunday Amber talked about one of our City Church Core Values called "Old and New." It's true for many Christians that IF we read the Bible, we'll typically search for some affirming New Testament verse that will make for a good devotional. While there's nothing wrong with New Testament devotionals, we should be careful not to neglect the Old Testament. You'd never suggest someone watch the last movie of a franchise and neglect the rest, right? It's actually the OLD that brings fullness, depth and power to the NEW. How often do you read/study the Old Testament? Have you ever wondered how much you could be missing out on?
One thing many people may not realize, but the gospel story of Jesus' death and resurrection didn't just start with his birth in the Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. God's story of redemption actually begins unfolding in Genesis and continues throughout the entire Old Testament, and all the way through to Revelation. In both OLD and NEW, there is a PLAN. How can reading the entire Bible with the understanding that everything is connected benefit us and grow our faith?
Amber shared our City 7 #4 that talks about how no one is good enough to go to heaven or be made right with God. She also shared her testimony about how she can still feel that she needs to somehow work hard enough to be worthy of Christ's sacrifice. Have you ever felt like you needed to work for your salvation? What are the dangers of this way of believing?
Amber spent some time talking about perseverance. This is something we are all called to do when it comes to our faithfulness in Christ... to persevere. Hebrews chapter 11 talks about heroes of the faith that stepped up and persevered and remained faithful through intense adversity. Here's a quote from the OLD and NEW value: "We are standing on the shoulders of saints that have paid a great price so that we might know the gospel, have the Word of God and learn from their mistakes.” Are you currently facing anything that is making it difficult to persevere? Have there been times in the past that you faced the impossible and came out the other side trusting God even more?
Read Hebrews 10:19-25. The writer is calling God's people to persevere. He gives us several commands. Let us go boldly to God's throne, let us hold tightly, without wavering, to the hope we affirm, let us think of ways to motivate one another, let us not neglect meeting together. Which one of these challenges do you need to take to heart?

Prayer Topics:

That we would be a people that persevere.
That we would commit to studying scripture, both OLD and NEW.

No Comments

Add Your Comment