Picture Developing, Third Shoot.

If you're seeking transformation for yourself primarily out of a desire for self-improvment, it won't take and it won't last. You will find yourself frustrated, and the same. If your desire is primarily about becoming more like Christ as you understand him, then you will be frustrated, but more like him every day.

This week is a finally nudge to allow God to do what he wants to do for more than us; update us, bringing us into conformity with the image of his son. See this week's discussion as license to say and ask things about changing that you've perhaps not had before.

Thaw

• If someone came to your house and offered you $10M if you participated in an olympic event, which would you choose and why?
• If Jesus came to your house and offered you his definition of Life if you stepped out of human expectations and into what he wired you to be, what would you assume he was talking about?

• Share a moment or two where you "read the label" on a word or action in the past week, pausing to check an impulse and to employ wisdom instead. Describe all the positive and negative feelings that it came with, and what you learned.
• Where are the recurring areas in your life that God seems to be trying to help you surrender your thinking and teach you wisdom?

• What has stayed with you from the message Sunday?
• How do you see it applying in the near future?

Read

• Ephesians 4:17-5:2
• What are the things that most pop off the page for you?
• Paul gives many instructions in this text. Describe the relationship between the "don'ts" and the "do's".

Leader note: for example, "stop stealing" is coupled with "work with your hands". Paul illustrates new uses and new thoughts, not just the prohibition against the old ones.

Discuss

• How might a passage like this make someone feel guilty?
• How does your perception of this passage change when you read Ephesians 1:1?

Leader note: The point here is that Paul writes this instruction to people he calls Saints. Our view of a "saint" is typically someone else that's arrived in the faith; someone that doesn't need told not to steal or have rage issues.

• How does your perception of a saint change when you read who Paul is speaking to?
• Might you be a saint? Why or why don't you think that?

Leader note: "Saint" comes from the same word in Greek ("hagios") that we get our word holy, or "set apart for special use". Saints in Greek are the holy or "set apart ones" that have allowed God to continually transform them into the image of Christ, and are part of redeeming the world with him into His Kingdom dream.

Read

• Ephesians 1:2
• Ephesians 6:24
• Thoughts?
• Replace the word "grace" with "God's loving patience"...what does this facet of God's attitude toward us (you) say to the process of transformation we're undergoing?
• What place would guilt have in this process? Explain.

Leader note: Some may still think God uses guilt to control. Their daily life of "don't do that because God will get mad" is proof. That kind of control would be a weak, unimaginative god trying to manipulate people like religious leaders have done for millennia. But some want to throw guilt out all together, when that's not Biblical either. Guilt can catalyze a desire for change, but it can't do the changing. I may feel guilty for stealing supplies at the office. That's good guilt. It may drive me to go back, give the supplies back, repent and confess. The repentance (change of mind that precedes the change of behavior) is where the transformation occurs, and Christlikeness is employed.

Discuss

• If we compare ourselves to other "saints" we'll surely not compare equally. One will have matured in areas the other hasn't, and vice versa. Others may be immature by comparison to ourselves and we'll feel like we've achieved and arrived. Ephesians 5:1-2 says mimic Christ. Yet, there are people that are more like Jesus in certain areas than ourselves, and we more than others....what do we do?

Apply

• What are some of the first areas of your life that will be/are affected by Christlikeness?
• What are some of the areas of your life that seem to be impossible to get to in terms of allowing God to change them? Why might this be?
• How can your group help?
• How can embracing disciplines help?

Leader note: Prayer, study, meditation, fasting, simplicity, solitude, more open discussion in group, serving as a lifestyle, wisdom seeking, etc...

• If Jesus came to your house and offered you his definition of Life if you stepped out of human expectations and into what he wired you to be, how do you assume he would work to transform you?
• The premise of the above question isn't hypothetical. You are covered in God's loving patience, and challenged/invited to become new. What does you saying "yes" to this invitation look like tonight? This week?

Video Message to LifeGroup Leaders

Picture Developing, Second Shoot.

This week we keep the discussion going about how and where real change begins. As we reflect on "what's gone wrong", our thoughts abut our bad behaviors and regrettable choices seem to come down to an issue of foolishness. And this is a very deep, very ancient insight. We think historically on our lives in terms of foolishness and wisdom, but work presently on our faith in terms of morals and guilt. Help you group take 1 step this week into the non-anxious current of Christlike wisdom so they may become the men and women God intends for them to be.

As a leader, you may enjoy reading this article as you gather your thoughts.

Thaw

• What have you learned/discovered from last weeks discussion on surrendering thoughts?
• How has God (or other people) challenged you with regard to where your arrows are pointed?
• Have you felt any part of you transforming as you have sought ways to imitate Christ?

• What has most stuck with you from this week's message?
• How have you seen your self applying it?
• How have you seen your self struggling to apply it?

Read

• Proverbs 4
• Thoughts?
• Does it surprise you to find wisdom seeking at the center of our faith? Why or why not?
• Who are the people in your life that you think of when you read this?

Discuss

• What are some of the ways our lifestyle rejects wisdom?
• As you look back on your own life, what are some key moments where you rejected or embraced wisdom?

Leader note: Depending on the flow of conversation, you may want to consider reading the following excerpt from the book "Leap". It discusses how entrepreneurial super stars are actually the risk taking immortals we've maybe heard they were. You will hear partial definitions to wisdom within it. If you read it, follow up by seeing who in the group is surprised, inspired or perhaps even bothered by it:

"...Far from being one of the world’s great risk takers, Bill Gates might more accurately be thought of as one of the world’s greatest risk mitigators. And in that, he is not alone. The simple fact is that everyone is afraid of risk at some level, including everyone I interviewed for this book. …

You don’t have to be fearless to make dramatic changes in your life. Transformative change isn’t propelled by raw courage. It’s “sparked” by a series of events that build exposure and experience, both of which help to create asymmetric risk. Through sparking, the upside opportunity is confirmed while downside risk is mitigated..."

Read

• Genesis 25:29-34
• Thoughts
• What do you notice about the world-view that Esau carries into this event?

Discuss

• How would you define the difference between emotional decisions and rational/wise decisions?
• How does this apply to relationships?
• To how we spend?
• To how we respond to pain?
• To how we speak?

Apply

• Share specifically with the group the precise area that this applies to in your own life?
• If you feel like you only understand this after the foolishness has happened, how do you actually begin applying this beforehand- going from impulsive decision making and speech, to label-reading and pausing to reflect?

Leader note: Help the group understand how engrained our patterns of speech and behavior are, and how it takes time. You may want to go make to Proverbs 4 here and there and point out the the first step in wisdom is getting wisdom. The pursuit is wisdom, and encouraging the group as such is how they can take one step.

• Who are people that you need to begin opening yourself to in order to gain wisdom?

Prayer

• Ask God for wisdom. But recognize it doesn't come in a package, but in a long series of small decisions between who we are and seemingly insignificant impulses over soup. Ask God to begin showing you wisdom.

Additional reading

• Proverbs 15:21
• Proverbs 15:22
• Proverbs 15:23
• Proverbs 15:33
• Proverbs 16:22-23
• Proverbs 16:25
• Proverbs 17:18
• Proverbs 17:24

Picture Developing, First Shoot.

We all want change. No one more than our Creator.

This series is meant to do a few things, and one of those is give LifeGroups a chance to have some catalyzing conversations, take some faith-advancing steps, and enjoy a greater level of Christlikeness. But that doesn't jut happen for wanting and waiting. It must be pursued with at least the same mental energy one uses to join a gym to change into the likeness of their physical trainer.

Do not settle for a discussion about change. Find ways to create a physical and intellectual and spiritual environment where change, in however small a measure, can be realized. May God conform us all to the image of Christ!

Thaw

• What is an event from your past that had a major effect on who you are today?

Leader note: This is a great chance to get to know people in the group, so take time to let everyone answer this. They may need time to answer, so let them have it. Additionally, note whether or not all the stories swing positive in the end. You may notice that tragedy and pain are referred to as catalysts for positive change. Once everyone has finished, if this pattern has been established, you may want to point out that in hindsight, even terrible circumstances have been used by God (not caused, necessarily, but He still uses them) to shape our souls and deepen who we all are.

• What most struck you from the message Sunday?
• What thought has stayed with you?

Read

• Romans chapter 12
• Thoughts?
• What kinds of character traits does transformation by way of mind renewal (v2) create in people, according to Paul?
• WHat part of this is most appealing to you?

Leader note: You may want to capture people's answer to this on paper, because this may be an insight to a core area of development. This will help you lead in the weeks and months to come.

• As Paul talks about changes, he lists obstacles in the way of that change. How would you summarize the obstacle, and the overarching goal?

• Respond as a group to this quote:

You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments that stand out, the moments when you have really lived, are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love... The test of a man then is not, 'How have I believed?' but 'How have I loved?' The test of religion, the final test of religion, is not religiousness, but love. Not what I have done, not what I have believed, not what I have achieved, but how I have discharged the common charities of life. --Henry Drummond

Read

• Matthew 22:34-40
• Thoughts?
• Jesus says the foundation for all of scripture, the summary of all God wants from and for people, is the genuine love of God and the love of others as self. How do you see this being transformative as it is better understood and practiced?

Leader note: You may want to add Matthew 7:12, as it's another way Jesus said the same thing and hung all of scripture on it. Interestingly, all major religions have this,the law of reciprocity. We all know, intrinsically, that this is the better way to live. Jesus, interestingly, is the only one to live it out...and even die it out.

Apply

• What are some of the things you are hung up on that you know aren't like Christ?

Leader note: Yeah....it's deep. Be confident.

• Spend a few moments thinking on these issues and see if you can identify ways that they are evidence of too much self-love, or self-prioritization.
• Displays of anger/rage
• Gossip
• Social fear
• Addiction
• Over-competitiveness
• Racism
• Sexism
• Greed
• Sarcasm
• Over-concern with appearance
• Unforgiven hurts
• Judgmental attitudes

• What does love of others have to do with this, and how can "turning the arrows away from self" speak to these obstacles?
• How does an awareness that all people live with a self-prioritizing paradigm help you love them?
• How does understanding that your own mind operates on self-prioritization help you more effectively love others?
• How can this group be helpful to you?
• What's one thing you can do this week to begin submitting the way you think to Christ, and therefore be transformed by the renewing of your mind?

• Next week, be prepared to report on how offering your mind to Christ by way of giving the love you typically reserve for your self, led to some measure of change.

Rescuing Jesus, week 5

As we wrap up this series, we as group leaders should be asking a "so what" kind of questions about what we're discussing. So what if Jesus is everything we've said He is and more. So what if the actual life he lived is more accessible than the lofty creedal statements made about him. So what....

This week, in a way, is the ultimate so what. Jesus is God.

Many of us learned that he was and is God, but have never wrestled with the implications beyond a sense that "well then, our religion is more valid than yours". As you and your group discuss the message this week, make sure that it never becomes a position strengthener or a mere apologetic. Help the group to understand that the divinity of Jesus is at once a great comfort, and a challenging call to new life.

Much of the beginning of the message on Sunday had to do with the Biblical interchangeability of Jesus with Yahweh (YHWH). There may be some desire to discuss this as intellectually stimulating, but the application to our faith is found in the final application of Christ's deity and Lordship over our lives. The discussion should deal more in letting God rule, than proving he's in the position to do so.

Thaw

• What is a way that God has been depicted in a movie that you are hoping is actually pretty close to reality? Why?
• What's a depiction that you would hate to find out was close to reality? Why?
• What most stuck with you from the message on Sunday?
• What do you sense God is wanting you to do with what you learned?

Read Aloud

• Phil 2:1-11

Leader note: This letter would be from Paul to a small church and read aloud to a group with eagerly listening ears. See if you can capture that spirit a bit to appreciate why this section, thought to be an early hymn that Paul recorded in his letter, would seem to be important enough to include to the young church.

• Thoughts?
• Verses 6 and 7 describe the dual tensions within Christ. Why is this important for us?

Read

• Colossians 2:6-10
• Thoughts?

Discuss

• How do you think the early Christians, Jews who had spent their lives worshiping God, were adjusting to the idea that the God of their youth was actually Jesus?
• What relief did this revelation bring?
• What challenge did it bring?
• How do you imagine it changed discussions about God, the Bible, faith, the future for people who had been coming together for decades before to discuss it?

Apply

• If the Christ of the Gospels is God, how is this different from your view of what God is like?
• How does this affect your faith?

Read

• Luke 6:46
• Philippians 2:12-18

Leader note: As you can see, this picks up in Philippians where you left off earlier. This is the "therefore..." section, or the "so what". This is how a renewed view of Christ affects our lives, in part. Obedience to the commands of Christ out of trust in the heart and character of Christ. Ask questions about how this plays itself out for your group, our church and us as individuals, today.

• Thoughts?
• Not merely in generalities, but personally and as a group of followers, what changes of life and thought are necessary of we're to say that Jesus Christ is Lord and God?
• How can the others in the group help you submit yourself to the reign of Christ in your day-to-day life?
• What are the areas you resist his mastery the most? Why do you think this is?
• Who in the group is the most like you in terms of roadblocks you seem to have in submission to Christ? How can you challenge each other to surrender more of your selves to Him?
• Who in the group seems to have surrender to Christ worked out in areas of their life where you do not? How might they help you?

Reflection

• Spend a few moments quietly in thought and prayer and see if you can identify 2 areas in your life where you have bowed your knee to another master. Perhaps it's the way you talk to others. Perhaps it's finances. Perhaps it's the secret you keep. What would it look like to bring it to light and let God, as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, actually be the Lord and God of that? Be sure and tell at least one other in the group, or the value of the revelation will not last longer than your group time.

Additional Reading

• John 20:24-29
• Luke 6:46
• John 8
• John 18:1-6

A few items.

Hey Leaders!

One. We will be picking up next week with our discussions on "Rescuing Jesus". Stay tuned for a guide and some thoughts on that for next week.

Two. In the absence of a message this week, some groups are now without an obvious basis of discussion. Here's a few ideas to consider for discussion this week.

• Ask this question, and then quietly allow answers; "what have you been learning about God, yourself and others recently". The group can be blessed by hearing, as well as sharing the response to that. Additionally, you can get a feel for people's sensitivity to the work of God's Spirit. You may get some people that talk A TON. You may get others that simply turn it into an opportunity to talk about the random happenings of their job, etc. You may get stunned silence. All of these and more are actually answers, in that they reveal how our collective antennae are up to listen for and see God in our lives.
• Ask people to share how they feel like they are stepping into the next chapter of their story. This is slightly connected to the preceding. You are inviting your group to look at their life as a narrative. The choices we make affect how the narrative is and will play itself out. This and questions like it get people thinking about where they are headed, and Who it is that they submit to as their life unfolds. Be ready to highlight good stories, and encourage people feeling disappointed.
• Have people write down on a piece of paper one Biblical thing they would love to discuss. A hang up, a doubt, whatever. Then commit to discussing 2. Draw them out of a hat. Ask people why they think what they do about them. Ask in the end if it affects how we see God as presented in Christ (is it critical to our faith to be 100% right about?). Have fun!
• Do an impromptu potluck based on a cultural theme, a word or individual people's signature dish. Follow up with communion and thanks for all God is, has done and will do.
• Take a hard look at what you're service options are, and what you are planning to do. Don't throw out a bunch of new serving ideas...but guide your group to strategically align with stuff already in progress. How can you do something meaningful at the DRM. need to have someone in the group call Pam McKerring (pmckerring@crosspointe.org) and get the serving ball rolling. How can you get involved in Haiti? Can some members go in 2010, 2011? Can you look into something simpler, but no less life-changing like micro-finance? How can you get involved with the mission on Sunday monings? Is it time to have someone in the group contact Bonnie Kovacik (bkovacik@crosspointe.org)and get plugged into what we do on the weekends?
• Be creative, there are many other things that may fit a lot better than anything above.

Three. The next series begins the second Sunday in February. It's entitled "Picture Developing". It's a short series on some of what it looks like (and what is required) to transform into the image of Christlikeness. Should be fun, as we explore things like selfishness, wisdom, haste and impulse and discipleship. Following that, in March, we will begin our Easter series, which will be the Narrative of Scripture. Ever wonder how the whole thing ties together and what the overarching themes are. This series is designed to respond to that and catapult followers forward into not only understanding the story, but their (our) role in it.

Four. Got any cool stories?

Share them! We'd love to highlight a few groups this months and find out how God is at work in the hearts of those on this journey week in and week out.

Thanks for all you are and do.

Steve