community group notes
INTRODUCTION
What do you want to be known for? In Acts, we see how the early church became a movement that changed the world, and one of the things that marked them was their love for one another. Jesus told His disciples that the world would recognize them by the way they loved, and that same calling applies to us today. What would change in our families, relationships, and communities if we intentionally chose to be marked first by love?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.If someone who knows you well had to describe you in three words, what do you think they would say? Are those the words you would want people to use to describe you?
2. Read John 13:34-35. Jesus says that people will recognize His disciples by their love for one another. Why do you think Jesus chose love as the defining characteristic of His followers? What should that kind of love look like in everyday life?
3. Read Matthew 22:37-40. Jesus teaches that the greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbors. How are these two commands connected? What are some ways we can claim to love God while struggling to show love to the people around us?
4. Read Acts 4:32-35. The early church was united, generous, and attentive to the needs of others. How did their love move beyond words into action? What would it look like for our community group to demonstrate this kind of practical love to one another and to our community?
5. Think about your relationships at home, at work, and with friends. What is one relationship or situation where being marked by Jesus' love could change the way you respond? How might choosing patience, forgiveness, humility, or generosity make a difference?
6. Jesus modeled a love that was selfless and sacrificial, but we cannot consistently live that way on our own. What helps you stay connected to Jesus and receive His love so that you can share it with others? What is one intentional step you can take this week to become more known for your love?
CHANGING YOUR MIND
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
We say we value community, but what we value and what we commit to aren’t always the same thing. In Acts 2, the early church was devoted to each other, and it changed their lives and their city. Community isn’t something you find. It’s something you build.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Have you ever been guilty of saying, “We should get together sometime”? What happened?
2. Read Acts 2:42-47. Which of the four benefits stands out to you: spiritual growth, physical care, emotional well-being, or missional impact?
3. Building community takes a posture. Which is hardest for you: being committed, teachable, vulnerable, or both giving and receiving?
4. Who is one person you could get together with this week? Set a date.
CHANGING YOUR MIND
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ACTS 2:42 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
Most of what we believe about the Holy Spirit didn't come from a Bible study. It came from something that happened to us, or something we watched happen. One bad experience, and that becomes the whole verdict. This week we talked about the continuum we're all standing on, logical or experiential, and landed on this: don't let a bad experience rob you of a good God.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Tell us about a time when one bad experience turned into "that's it, I'm done" — or one good experience turned into "you have to try this." What was going on underneath that?
2. Are you more logical or more experiential when it comes to faith? Where'd that come from?
3. Read Acts 1:4-8. What stands out in the reading of this section of Scripture?
4. If you're experiential, where are you chasing a feeling instead of chasing God? If you're logical, where are you hiding behind a question instead of letting God surprise you?
5. Is there a bad experience (with a church, a Christian, something said "in God's name") that's become the lens you see everything through now? What would it look like to actually bring that to God this week instead of just managing around it?
CHANGING YOUR MIND
"But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." John 16:7 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
Talent may get you in, but character keeps you there. Trying harder above the waterline doesn't change what's below it. InGalatians 5, we saw that the Spirit works on us in two ways: He keeps us from what's harmful, and He changes what's driving it.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What's something you've tried to fix that only lasted about a week? What was going on underneath it?
2. Read Galatians 5:16-25. How would you explain the difference between walking by the Spirit and being led by the Spirit?
3. Where do you hear the Spirit's warning, that pause or inner check? What do you usually do with it?
4. Where have you been managing the symptom instead of asking the Spirit about the source?
5. What would surrender look like for you this week?
CHANGING YOUR MIND
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. GALATIANS 5:25 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
The right tool makes a difficult job possible, and the job Jesus gave His followers is bigger than any of us. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul reminds the church that every follower of Jesus has a gift from theHoly Spirit, given for the common good. Your gift is your part in a mission bigger than you.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Share of a time when you were in over your head on a job and the right tool, or the right person, made it possible. What changed?
2. Which objection sounds most like you: “I don’t have a gift,” or “Someone else is more qualified”? Why?
3. Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-13. What stands out to you about who gets a gift, who decides, and what it’s for?
4. Paul uses a body to describe the church. Why do you think we tend to gather with people who are gifted like us, and what do we lose when we do?
5. Gifts show up in motion. Where is a need around you that you could say “yes” to this week?
CHANGING YOUR MIND
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” 1 Corinthians 12:7 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
Most of us come to God with one question: “What do I do?” This week, we looked at John 16 and saw that the Holy Spirit guides us by the Word of God, wisdom, conscience, and peace. Guidance isn’t getting an answer from God. It’s following God.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. When you’re stuck on a decision, what’s the first thing you do?
2. Read John 16:12-15. What do you notice about how the Spirit guides, and what He doesn’t do?
3. Of the four ways the Spirit guides (the Word of God, wisdom, conscience, and peace), which do you lean on most, and which do you tend to skip?
4. What decision are you facing right now, and what would it look like to treat it as an invitation to follow God, not a test you could fail?
CHANGING YOUR MIND
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” John 16:13 (NIV)