Only Human Part Two

This week deals very specifically with what it means to be image-bearers of our Creator. The specifics of pornography have everything to do with a culture that has forgotten that we are brothers and sisters under One Father, not products for consumption.

Do not underestimate the likelihood that one or more members in your group has 1. had significant problems seeing difficult people, or even different people, as made in the image of our God, or 2. has had problems with pornography in some measure. Note that the one doesn't necessarily point to the other in a person, but the two are not all that distinct. This may be a meeting time where you "go there', so use prayerful discernment about creating an environment where people can take steps in this area.

Thaw

• Did looking like your parent ever benefit you?
• Did it ever cause problems?
• What stuck with you the most from the message on Sunday?

Read

• Genesis 1:26-27
• Thoughts?
• Why do you think this is so important to have in the text?
• Why is it hard to remember, in day to day life, that other people are made in the image of their God?

Leader note: You may want to read Matthew 5:23-24 and see if Jesus' words make more sense in light of the connection between people and the image of God that they carry.

Read

• Matthew 25:31-40
• Thoughts?
• How do these words of Jesus challenge us?

Leader note: Typically, this verse is read in it's social justice context. And rightly so. But make sure the group doesn't leave it in that column. This same reality is in play for the hurting, annoying, difficult, unintelligent among us, as well as those who sell themselves to be consumed because of their own desperation and foolishness.

Read

• Ephesians 2:10
• Thoughts?

• The word "workmanship" or "handiwork" in the original Greek is poiema. From this word, we get "poem" in English. It denotes artwork, a thought that goes beyond the thought of having just been made. Hw does this affect how we view each other?

Discuss

• Do people have to earn respect from us? Explain.
• Does Jesus respect people before or after they earn it?
• In our culture, disrespect isn't viewed as a sin much. If you were God, having made creatures that bear something of your own heart, an artistic extension of who you are- how would you view any maltreatment of others?
• What are the ways in which pornography is deeply unloving and disrespectful?

Leader note: don't let the group forget that it disrespects spouses, the "star's" parents and even the self, all of whom are made, as well, in the image of God!

• People use the term "addicted" to porn or two sexuality outside of their own marriage. How does this terminology reveal that the issue is about people being used as consumable products?

• How does a disregard for the intrinsic worth of a human being open the door to things like pornography?

Leader note: a low view of humanity, mixed with a heightened view of sensuality has us all looking at nearly nude women, in the check-out lane, right next to the candy.....

• How can this group take a step in adjusting its perception of its members?
• How can this group help each other go into the world with an elevated view of the deep worth of all people?
• How can this group challenge anybody in the group that has gotten used to hiding the role pornography ( or even the temptation of it) plays in their lives?

Prayer

Spend some time thanking God for the reminder in the scriptures that humanity is not some side-note for Him. He deeply cares so much for each one of us that their is something of His own character in each of us. We have eternal worth. Pray that we would go into our day seeing the familiar and unfamiliar faces of people in our lives as looking something like God. And pray, specifically, for anyone thats bought the lie that pornography is just pictures, but that they will come to understand it creates ,multiple layers of Hell on earth, and not the Kingdom.

Only Human Part One

You get caught in a lie, and you shrug your shoulders and say "I'm only human".

You continue to return to bad habits and poor choices; "I'm only human".

You say and do things to people you love- people who love you. "I'm only human".

How would God hear this excuse? "God, my inability to make wise choices and control myself are your fault. You made me human, and that's why I make things bad sometimes."

This series is about understanding that God created human beings in His image, and in so doing stated "It's VERY GOOD!" (Emphasis His!). What we are is what God made. What goes wrong is not from Him or part of the design- it's a twist, a perversion and a stain on His image and handiwork. Not to be confused with a humanistic celebration of people as the highest order, this series and the discussions are intended to elevate humanity to its proper place- worth of Jesus coming to save, redeem and return to what God set out to do in the beginning of beginnings.

Thaw

• What's something that retains its worth no matter the condition it is in?

Leader note: You may not be able to think of anything except for a person. The example of a $10 bill works up to a point, but sooner or later even it isn't worth what it was made to be worth. people seem to be the only ultimate answer. Parents will see this if you use their own children!

• What has stuck with you the most from the message on Sunday?
• What was something you heard that you felt creates a paradigm shift if embraced?

Read

• Genesis 1:26-31
• Thoughts?
• What's the text trying to teach?

Leader note: You jay point out that it's in the plurality of humans, together, that God is displayed. Not just one, but in multiple people honoring living in shalom that best represents the character and image of God.\

• Is the core of a human being sinner or glory? Explain your answer.

Leader note: Jonathan taught that the Bible begins in Genesis 1, not in Genesis 3. In other words, sin comes as an invader after the fact, tainting and corrupting what God intended. Many religious folks start in Genesis 3 by the way they insist that humanity has no worth. It's an important thing to realize that God sees something in us worth saving, versus us having no intrinsic value at all, now that we've sinned. Though its serious and needs dealt with in Gods loving justice, Sin is not more powerful than God's glory.

• What shifts in your relationships if the core of people is goodness and the image of God, versus that they are sinners who's only value is whether or not they believe the right things about God?
• What changes in your view of God when you recognize that God sees people as very good, not very bad?

Read

• Matthew 6:9-13
• Thoughts?
• Why is Jesus teaching us to pray that God's will be done?

Leader note: because right now, it's not. Things are "all under his control". There are things in existence and being exercised that He doesn't want. Thus, Jesus teaches "The Way" to His followers, and prays that God's will would be done on earth, as it is already being don in heaven. This is the definition of the Kingdom. The King-Dome, or the dome under which God's Kingship is full recognized. The Sphere of His effective will and reign. It's more heart than it is a place.

• If what God wanted originally for Humanity was very good, and Jesus is teaching us in this prayer as in many other places that His followers are people who implement His will, how would you describe what Jesus came to do?

Leader note: Jesus came to REdeem, REstore, REnew and REsurrect people. These "re" words point to taking us back to our origins. Jesus and the salvation He offers is about nothing less than making us fully human. Only human has it's weight and significance back! Jesus came to save humanity, not yank us off the earth and making us something else!

Read

• Revelation 21:1-5b
• How is this picture of a renewed earth, and God coming down to us, different than what you thought the Bible taught?
• How does this affect what Christianity should look like?

Leader note: The word in Greek translated "new" is not "neos" as in having never existed before, but "kainos", as in refreshed or distinct from the old. "An updated version" in our modern language.

Read

• Matthew 13:44-46
• Thoughts?
• Why do people focus on what it cost Him?
• What changes for people when they focus on the joy that seems to overshadow the cost for the man in the parable?
• How does religion make it about the cost, the discipline, the misery?

Apply

• What are the areas of faith that seem like something to dread?
• What are the areas of faith that seem to have everything to do with the cost, and the avoidance of sin, but not on the pursuit of the beauty of life that God intends?
• How can this group help you exhibit more disciplines in your life and relationship and decisions, with the mutual understanding that the goal is to see Heaven on Earth, not religion in force?
• What's something your group can start doing that implements Gods dream for the world?

Leader note: Let the group be creative. Should you discuss a 2010 Haiti or Kenya trip? Can you get plugged in with Pam McKerring and serve at the Durham Rescue Mission? Can you serve together on Sunday mornings to make sure kids get loved in a way that shapes them for the rest of their lives? Can you work on forgiving people that have hurt on or more of the members in the past? Can you work on focusing on beauty more than despair and hold each other to such a perception? Be creative, across the board. Find a way to recognize, as a group (and not just during group time) how to live out Gods dream. Develop a strategy, and do it. Don't let it terminate in mere talking, but pray and then go bring God's Kingdom, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Money $3

Our apologies for not having this posted Sunday, dear Sunday groups! It was simply forgotten.

In this last segment, group members would do well to drill down on the very simply idea that all is God's. This has implications across the board, not least of which is our finances. As you lead discussion, be listening for fear and guilt associated with God's reign over our money on one side, and stubborn obstinacy on the other. Both need some space to be discussed, as they both reflect a misunderstanding of the character of God.

Thaw

• What's the first thing you remember buying with your own money?
• What's the first gift you remember giving?
• Can you remember setting up your first bank account, or your first check book? Describe some of the principles you learned back then, good or bad.

• What was the main take away from the message Sunday, and what are you planning to do with it?

• What was something that you had heard before, but somehow it struck you differently?

• What are the implications for Christians and the issue of tithing when you understand the multiple tithes of agricultural Israel, and the fact that the Temple's function ceased to be in AD70?

Read

• Deuteronomy 10:12-14
• Psalm 50:9-12
• Thoughts?
• What fears are associated with God having full ownership of all things?
• Has anyone in the group had an older sibling, or a friend, or perhaps a parent, that used their position of ownership as a way of making your life miserable? Describe?
• Since this human form of ownership is based on an insecurity, how does God's ownership of all things equal our freedom and joy?

Leader note: You may want to share 1 Timothy 6:17 as a way of highlighting that, indeed, God wants us to enjoy the resources he gives.

• How does God's ownership equal, if not demand, that we take responsibility for our resources?
• How does professed faith in a "God of all" demand that we're fiscally responsible?

Leader note: The idea here is one of "witness" or "testimony". We want people to know that we serve the God of gods and the Lord of lords, and they way we handle (or mishandle) money speaks volumes about what we actually believe about Him. At the same time, some people take so much "responsibility" that they appear obsessed with finances, which also has the effect of diminishing the beauty of peace-infused faith. Wisdom over finances shouldn't be the uptight number cruncher anymore than it should be the financially ignorant mis-manager. Again, awareness over the Who and the what goes a long way.

Read

• Acts 4:32-35
• Thoughts?
• This passage highlights the giving, unified hearts of the first believers more than anything. But what does this passage say indirectly about the overall strategy and vision that these people had for all their resources?

Leader note: See if you can help your group think about the total financial picture that's being implied here in this passage. These believers were all over the map in terms of wealth. Some owned multiple lands and houses. Some were fisherman that probably didn't make much of anything. Yet the playing field was evened between them, and they must have been deeply, and communally, aware of what they all had, together. As well as, they must have had a profound awareness about the people around them and the needs they were going to be able to meet in their faith and trust in the Giver and Owner of all things! You may reference passages like James 1:27 which makes a direct connection between our professed faith and our awareness and financial support of people who are in dire straits, though completely dissimilar to us in their life. Awareness is key: of what we have, of where it goes, from Whom it comes, and for all those, including ourselves, that it's for.

• Does this passage seem possible or impossible for our modern context? Explain.
• How can your group function in this way?

Apply

• In light of finding strategic, God-honoring percentages to enact along the lines of "Give, Save & Live" (first, give a percentage, second, begin saving a percentage, and then live and enjoy the rest), how can this group come along side its members to take some steps with developing a strategy?

Leader note: Crosspointe offers Financial Peace University, and if you haven't gone through it as a group- this may be a great step for you to take together. Be looking for the next dates for that. Additionally, you may want to make sure that you make your members aware of some helpful resources on the Crosspointe website at www.crosspointe.org/welcome/budget_forms

• How would our lives and faith be different next year, if this year was when we finally did the hard work of getting a strategy in place?
• What are we up against, and how can we, as friends, take down these barriers for each other?
• Is there anyone in the group that needs to ask the group for specific help, such as further discussion, accountability, tough monthly questions about finances, etc..?

Additional texts for further study

• Ecclesiastes 2:26
• James 1:17
• Matthew 6:24-34

Money $2

Don't forget that as this week is meant to give more practical assistance to our walk where finances are concerned, we will also be providing a three-seminar environment on March 15th call What.Now.

You may want to attend this offering as a group, or as a partial group with the other part serving in the childcare area that is being provided so as to remove any hurdles some may have in attending. Please RSVP to jenny at jrogers@crosspointe.org if you or your group is planning to attend, serve and with how many children you are bringing.

For this weeks discussion, see if you can help each of your members make a decision to take a step. Or to grow in awareness of the importance to know where your money is going ahead of time, based on where God wants to take our families, and what He wants to do through them.

Thaw

• What really stuck with you from the message?
• What decisions if any did you feel like you/your family need to make?

Read

• Prov. 28:26
• Thoughts?
• What does this passage say to you regarding tracking expenses?
• Why isn't foolishness a big concern in our culture, compared tot he times in which this was written?

Read

• Matt 6:21
• Thoughts?

• Jonathan discussed living on 3 percentages (a percentage to live on, to give, to save). How is this determined by where you place your treasure, or what you and your family value most?

Read

• Proverbs 21:20
• Thoughts?
• How is your life wise, and how is it foolish, when you consider this passage and the value of predetermining a percentage to live, give and save?

Read

• Prov 22:7
• Thoughts?
• What's the first thing you can imagine would be different in your life if your debt was cut in half? Eliminated completely?
• Why would God want us out of debt?
• If our economy counts on debt, but God wants us out of debt, what does this say about some of the choices He may be asking us to make as a family, and as a body across the nation?

Read

• Prov 25:28
• Thoughts?
• Why is self-control so difficult?
• Is it necessary, generally to have as much self-control as when this passage was written? Why or why isn't that good?

Apply

• Respond as a group to this quote from the message,

  "Get accountable to those who want something FOR you, not FROM you"

• How can this group provide financial accountability without freaking each other out?
• What painful decision have you been avoiding, and how can this group help you make it?

Money $1

Everyone is talking about it. So we thought we should too.

For the next three weeks we're going to discuss finances and the economy that we find ourselves in. Doubtless that one or more members of your LifeGroup has been affected by financial woes and joblessness in recent months. The questions about God's principles and practical help with day-to-day financial realities are being asked a lot more that than normal. This series, simply entitled money, is designed to get us who follow Christ on track, as well as provide some practical insights long after things turn around.On the evening of Sunday March 15th, we will, in addition to this series, be offering a few classes entitled What.Now. There will be a session on Career Counseling (simple things how to create a good resume, how to handle interviews, to how to step into a career that has more to do with how God wired you,etc...), creative ways to save money (coupons, Craig's List, and more) and setting up a budget for your household. You and your group (or a few of them) may want to attend What.Now. together, but at least encourage any of your members that need it to not miss it. You may also want to attend the prayer event the evening of March 3rd and 12:1:30 on March 4th in the main room. This will be a simple time of prayer over those caught in fear's cross hairs, as well as suffering from very real difficulties.

This week's message will serve a s a reminder for some and an "aha" for others. If we can understand fear and what it does to our minds and our, then we will do a lot better understanding what Trust means, and how to live out the life maturity of Christ even when everything else seems to be working against that. For your discussion this week, it would be helpful to make sure each person has their own Bible, a sheet of paper and a pen/pencil.

Thaw

• What's something that you grew up scared of?
• How did that fear affect you when you were younger?
• How does that fear affect you now?

• What stuck with you most from the message on Sunday?

Read

• Roman 12:1-2
• Thoughts?
• Why is allowing the transformation of our minds to happen so often difficult when we feel like our interests are threatened?

Leader note: you may want to, very early on, discuss that wealth and owning things/having money is not in itself an evil. But when we pursue wealth and allow it to be part of what we are, it sets us up for disaster. Some people cannot here a discussion about money in a spiritual setting because of the guilt the church has loaded on this topic, historically. If you at any time sense members of your group getting an edge to them, it may be helpful to 1. Ask them about it specifically, and 2. be ready to dispel the idea that God is against resources.

Read

• Proverbs 17:1
• Proverbs 19:22
• Proverbs 21: 21
• Proverbs 22:1
• Proverbs 15:17

Thoughts?

• This theme doesn't shock most of us? How does it change to consider that the writer of these was both the most wise as well as the most wealthy?
• What hinders a person from living in the realities these proverbs point to?

Discuss

• What role is fear currently playing in your finances?
• What effects of fear, anxiety, tension are there on your relationships and faith?
• What do you sense God, and/or the scriptures, is asking you to do about it?
• Why doesn't the Bible ever submit "having more resources" and "having more financial security" as a solution to life's issues?

Marinate

• Each member of the group should read 1 Timothy 6:6-21 to themselves. As you read, do not hear the condemning voice of a street preacher, but the calm, fatherly voice of St. Paul to a very young Timothy. As you read, write down the words or phrases that resonate with you and commit them to memory.

• Thoughts?

Leader note: Ask different members to share one or two things that wrote down. If your group connects with this exercise, be sure and use it again for helping them develop an ability to wrestle with large sections of text at a time. Notice in verse 10 that it's the "love of money". not just money. Again, it's the eagerness to have it and a life revolving around its acquisition.

Apply

• How does this group come along side its members in this time?
• How does this group come along side others in this time?

Leader note: you may already have identified specific needs with specific members in your group where finances, jobless are concerned. Be sure and give them the time they need to express their fears, and see if the group can help with encouragement and support, as well as a reminder of who they are in Christ, despite how fear has created a forgetfulness about that. It's recommended that you close your time in prayer.