The wisdom literature of Proverbs often contrasts the wise and the fool. It’s too easy to say that there are wise people and there are fools. In reality, even those of us who have grown to be as wise as possible have areas of life that need developed. However, the warning is there in scripture because we need to pay attention to what we are dealing with. Is the person in front of us teachable, curious, willing to learn, seeking wisdom, honest, discerning, and capable of good decision making? That’s a wise person. Do I need to be more cautious and boundaried because the person is lacking judgement, reckless, reactive, easily duped, assumes they know, and has a history ignoring wisdom and good advise? That is the way of the fool. We welcome the wise but we need to have appropriate boundaries when dealing with foolish behavior or foolish relational interaction. This is complicated. Let’s learn together and from each other.

1. A theme in scripture is “pay attention to wisdom and more wisdom comes.” Where our attention goes our energy follows. If we tune into wisdom and connect to wise people we grow in wisdom. Who has been a source of wisdom for you and how have they helped you learn?

2. We all grow and mature in our lives. Was there an area of your life that took you a long time to learn because you were too locked in and unteachable for a while?

3. Have you ever had to put a boundary in place with someone that was hard but proved fruitful over time? (OR) Is there a boundary you need to create with anyone right now?

4. Is there anything going on where you need wisdom right now? Could you bring that up and open yourself to the shared wisdom of the group?

Read Philippians 4:6-7

In this short verse Paul is teaching on prayer and makes the point that relationship and connection with God is the main goal of prayer. Any relationship that is primarily transactional and about getting our own needs met isn’t a healthy relationship. That’s not the kind of relationship we want with God. In prayer we seek a sense of connection, freely sharing ourselves, a sense of peace, a safe place to express all our emotions... and we make requests.

1. What is one of the most powerful prayer experiences you’ve had?

2. Paul distinguishes between prayer AND supplication or “asking” for things. What do you think is the difference?

3. One thing emphasized here and other passages is that prayer is about connection to God first. Why is it so important that it’s a prayer of connection first and foremost?

4. Paul instructs us on how to make requests when he says, "with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Why is that important?

5. VS 7 sounds like it’s the result of praying how we are instructed to in VS 6. "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The result of praying this way is peace. Why is that?

Luke 9 has several stories in it and in the middle of these stories about other people there is a pause for a story about Jesus himself. In the middle of a longer chapter there is an aside for this story of the transfiguration. It begins by making a note that it is eight days after the previous story. This is a new week. We have no idea what had been going on in the previous week but the author points that out so the story stands out. Jesus takes three disciples; Peter, James, and John with him up a mountain. Traditionally, Mount Tabor in lower Galilee was the site of the event, which doesn’t look like a mountain to us but more like a hill with it’s peak elevation of 1886 feet. They go there to pray. Something Jesus often did alone but this time he brings witnesses. As the disciples pray they get sleepy, just like they do in the Garden the night Jesus is arrested. Then they are awakened by a profound experience where they see the heroes of the Jewish faith and God speaks in a way that is reminiscent of when Jesus was baptized and with a similar theme. When the voice was done speaking there was no one there but Jesus. The experience was over as quickly as it began.

This story follows an arch. They ascend, there is an experience, there is confusion, God breaks through and speaks, then they descend being told not to share about the experience.

1. Often in the western church, when you ask someone what the “gospel” is, they quote the Apostle Paul and something about being saved. As N.T. Wright put it, we should be asking, “What is the gospel in the gospels.” This story is in the Gospel of Luke. What is “gospel” or “good news” about this story?

2. Jesus takes three disciples with them but then tells them not to tell anyone about there experience. (which they did or we wouldn’t have the story) Why do you think this story is told? Who was the experience for?

3. Peter, as usual, is the first to speak. Jesus is there, Moses and Elijah are there... and Peter speaks first. It’s kinda funny. He’s so overwhelmed that he just starts talking. Where it says “He did not know what he was saying” may have been Peter’s own commentary when he shared this story. Why does that moment get attention in an epic experience about the identity of Jesus?

4. Jesus is baptized in Luke 3 and the Spirit of God says, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” This launches the ministry of Jesus. This time the voice of God says, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” Jesus is about to go to Jerusalem where he is killed and his ministry is passed on. This is why Jesus is talking about his death after they go back down. How do you see the message God speaks about Jesus to be different in these two occasions?

5. All these stories have something for us in them even when they are a story that is pretty far removed from our experience. When reading scripture notice what STANDS OUT for you because there is something FOR YOU in that feeling. What stands out to you and what do you need to take with you?

But for life groups this week:

Biblical Genre’s- Prophesy

Sunday we talked about what Prophesy is in the scriptures. Throughout the bible Prophesy is either a foretelling or a forth telling. About 10% of biblical prophesy if foretelling something that will happen later. About 90% of biblical prophesy is a “telling forth,” or explaining what is really going on right now in front of us. The prophetic in scripture is often showing its audience, “This is really what’s going on behind the scenes. This is what you’re doing wrong, this is what you should be doing, and this is what will happen if you don’t.” The ancients saw time as circular and cyclical and prophets would explain how, “What has happened before will happen again.”

In the modern Christian sense we ask the question, “What is God saying now?” If we are asking the biblical questions we would ask, “How would God pull back the curtain on what is really going on right now? How would God speak truth to us right now and call forth right action in us?” It’s natural for a small percentage to look at the future and ask and pray, “Where is this all going? What is this leading to?”

*NOTE- The prophetic has always been important the Vineyard movement. In the Vineyard movement we have been trained that prophesy to another person should be a calling forth of what God is doing in that person. The vast majority of the time it should be encouraging and should only call out the negative in someone if we have deep relationship with them and have earned the right to talk about it. Vineyard has often categorized the prophetic in three categories. True prophesy, false prophesy, and non-prophesy. True prophesy is someone speaking true things over you they could not have known where the result is you draw closer to God and his purpose for you. False prophesy is someone speaking something that completely misses the mark and doesn’t resonate with the moment or come true. (Often because they are making guesses about you based on their own experience or they are saying something about the future. ie- modern end times claims) Non-prophesy is saying vague things about the future that could be interpreted in many different ways and uses lots of words with little substance. If it can’t be tested or confirmed by the community it isn’t prophesy. ALSO- Vineyard has had rules about prophesy like, “Don’t prophesy specific dates, mates, or babies” because it can lead to pain and heartache. We also keep the prophetic to individuals and not to wide scale national or global events. Today the prophetic should call people to who God is making them to be. The prophetic is when someone calls out what they see God doing in you in an encouraging and uplifting way. The prophetic prayer asks, “What good thing is God doing in this person right now.”

1. Jesus was often prophetic when speaking to an individual person. Can you think of the heart and approach to how Jesus used the prophetic with someone?

2. Have you experienced someone speaking to you in a way that it felt like they saw straight through you and encouraged you in a profound way?

3. Have you ever felt the inner compulsion to speak something you sensed or felt to someone to encourage and lift them up?

4. Some of us feel emotions for others, or have thoughts that feel like they are from outside us, or hear words, or imagine pictures, or even feel physical sensations when we are praying for someone. All of these can be different ways God speaks to us based on how he’s made us. Have you ever experienced this?

5. Take a moment to pause, breathe, and pray. This is just practice. Practice asking God if there is anything he would like to share to encourage someone here. We don’t always get it right but we are trying to learn to hear God’s hearts for others. Pray, ask, listen... and share with someone here.

Read Exodus 20: 1-21

The ancient idea of Law wasn’t like our concept of law. Some “laws” carried public consequences for breaking them and some were internal issues that others couldn’t see. Law Code functioned more like a wisdom code. In modern times people have been talking about a “rule of life,” a set of personal values to direct where they are going.

There is a context to these commands. They had strict and predictable order in Egypt and now they are in the desert learning how to be a people. This is chaos. Law code is wisdom literature to direct a new people in a way that brings order. Slavery was structured. Freedom is more complex and feels like chaos until you learn to live in wisdom. The point of law code is to give you the structure to build a wise life so you can learn to live as free people.

1. Do you have a different understanding of law code after this weekend? How do you understand this chapter differently?

2. To have a rule of life you have to think about your context. We live in the wealthiest and most powerful nation the world has ever known. “You shall have no other gods before me” could be hard to interpret in our modern times. We may not have other literal gods but there are “functional gods” that we put our hope in. What pulls your attention off of God most frequently?

3. The fourth command is to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. This is the one Jesus spoke to and said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Jesus showed us that the law is there to serve us but if we aren’t careful, we end up serving the law. Have you seen the law used against people as a power grab? The opposite of the function it’s there to serve?

4. The first four commands are about how we relate to God. The next five are observable behaviors about how you relate to each other. But the last one is about coveting. That’s internal. It’s not observable unless you act on it. Why would God put a non-observable commandment in the top 10?

5. Verse 20 “Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Why would Moses say to not be afraid and the fear of God will keep you from sinning?

6. The story transitions after this detail in VS 21. “The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.” What do you make of the author saying the people remained at a distance? Why do we “remain at a distance” from the challenge of God?

King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream of a great and powerful tree that is cut down. Daniel interprets the dream as being about how the great king will be cut down and become like a beast of the field for a time. In the Old Testament the word “righteousness” means “right relationship with others.” It’s about care for others and justice requires those with power to take care of those without. Daniel states what the dream means in verse 27 by calling Nebuchadnezzar to “be kind to the oppressed” so his prosperity will continue. But... he doesn’t.

1. If those with power aren’t kind to the oppressed they become like beasts. It’s quite the imagery. It’s easy to critique those with the most power but we all have our little kingdoms. How do we become more human?

2. A dream and interpretation that seemed important to Nebuchadnezzar is forgotten 12 months later and he fulfills the dream with his own forgetting. Jewish writers leave lots of space for interpretation. Do you think Nebuchadnezzar forgot? Did he not care? Is there a difference? Does it matter?

3. Again, the author of Daniel is very visual. The great king becomes a lowly beast who’s hair is like eagle feathers and nails like the claws of a bird. The bird who soared above the tallest trees is like a grounded bird. Then at the end of the time the king “raised his eyes toward heaven and his sanity was restored.” What do you make of that phrase?

4. Twice in the last few verse the king says his sanity was restored. THEN he is returned to power and becomes greater than before. Also, the last four verses have Nebuchadnezzar speaking in first person. It’s “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” He is judged because he forgets the message. He learns a lesson and turns. But he forgets again in the next chapter. What do you think about this cycle of forgetting, remembering, repenting... over and again? Can you relate?

The author of Daniel is such a visual artist. He paints incredibly vivid pictures in his story telling to engage the imagination and pull you into the story. The story is dramatic and dynamic. The author wants to grab your attention so you get the point.
Following the chapter about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream where his kingdom was represented by a head of gold, the king has a statue of himself made out of all gold and it’s to be worshiped. We should hear the story teller’s nod to Moses and the golden calf story. These young jewish wise men know they aren’t to bow down. They say “no” as a way of saying “yes” to God. They are exiles in a foreign land and they have still become a community that help each other stand and have a clear stance for what they value. They support each other in what is right.

The message is clear. “When we play, you dance. We’re in charge.” This is the proclamation and demand. When the music plays you fall and worship and fall in line or die. It’s simple and clear. Almost everyone did what was expected.

1. Sometimes there is a lot of debate around the right thing to do. Sometimes it’s incredibly clear. This was a defining moment in the lives of these young men. Do you remember being young and hitting a decision point? Did you go with the crowd or form your own way?

2. Have you ever gotten in trouble for doing the right thing? Has doing the right thing ever cost you dearly? What was that like?

3. In verse 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego give a great response to the king. They are clear about what the right thing is for them to do before God. It’s not about them and what they want. It’s not about their safety or comfort. It’s about being true to their values. They tell the King God can save them but even if he doesn’t... they stand their ground. What do you think it would feel like in that moment for them?

4. They take their stand and earn their sentence. They are thrown into the fire. They weren’t delivered from being exiled from their homeland but they are delivered through the fire. Not from the fire, through the fire. They are not kept from the fire but they are brought through it. How does the message of that moment impact you? What does it say to you?

5. The story ends with Nebuchadnezzar praising their God and threatening to kill anyone speaks against their God. Quite the change in tune. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are promoted. It doesn’t always work out that way, especially in the old testament. The author is making a point about standing in the right place during hard times, through the fire, because eventually you will come out on top. This is the wisdom theme of Proverbs. Where does this speak to you right now?

Daniel has been through three years of training and is working in the king’s court. He is one who has proved himself wise enough to be there but this is the ultimate challenge. There is an impossible task, all the other wise men hopelessly say it’s impossible, Daniel agrees it’s impossible, but then he says, “But God Can.” There was a weird dream with a weird interpretation. The interpretation couldn’t be proven for generations and that is an interpretation of hindsight. Nebuchadnezzar knows that kingdoms rise and fall. They disperse into smaller kingdoms. But he sees that Daniel is tapped into the one who is beyond time and the kingdoms of men. We must remember that we are tapped into the one who is beyond time and kingdoms.

The king asks an impossible task. The wise men are told they have to tell Nebuchadnezzar what the dream is and interpret it. He could tell them the dream and they could make up an interpretation. That’s easy. They’d probably done it before. He’d had enough of that. They tell him it’s impossible and no one has ever asked this. The king commands the wise men to be killed. Daniel asks for time because God can reveal it.

1. When the task feels impossible. It doesn’t seem like there is a way through. “This has never been done before.” What do you do? Have you ever whispered to yourself in that space, “But God Can?” Have you met the God of the impossible in your life?

2. We don’t know how it happened but God revealed the mystery to Daniel. He woke up and praised God. He says, “He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.” Considering the dream about kingdoms rising and falling, why do you think this is part of the praise?

3. Daniel tells the King what his dream was and interprets it. Why does Daniel tell the king, “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future” if the kind didn’t know but Daniel showed him the dream and it’s meaning?

4. In verse 47 the king says to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.” This story positions Daniel in the rest of the book as a wise man who reveals mysteries. That is a major theme of the book. Why do you think and oppressed people group like the Jews held to this story through the years. Is there a value we could adopt? What do we need to seek based on this story?

5. What are you seeking wisdom on right now? How are you calling on the revealer of mysteries?

Daniel was just a teenager when he was taken from his home in Judah to Babylon to serve Nebuchadnezzar. Growing up Judah was under Egyptian rule and 2 Kings says Jehoiakim who was placed on the thrown by Egypt did evil in the sight of the Lord. Daniel grew up a man of faith when his own King (of Judah) was evil and they were paying heavy tribute to Egypt who oversaw them only to later be captured buy the Babylonians and taken as a servant to a foreign land. This is how the book of Daniel opens. The Babylonians weren’t like other superpowers that would demolish enemies. The Babylonians assimilated those they conquered into their culture. This is why Daniel is promoted after meeting the standards of being smart, handsome, and athletic. He was trained for three years to BE a Babylonian. But Daniel never forgot who he was and who God was. He held his identity and his faith. He learned to thrive, even in dark places.

1. The book of Daniel opens with a story about food. Really? Food? Why is this the first step in assimilating these young men? Why does Daniel take a stand right here?

2. Verse 17 says God gave them “Knowledge and understanding of literature and learning. Daniel also understood visions and dreams.” This is telling you what this culture valued. The practical and the mystical. Daniel understood both. How do you think Daniel adapted to the culture? What do you think it was like for him?

3. Daniel doesn’t try to go home. Escape. Maybe at times he imagined he would be like Moses and lead people out of captivity. But he doesn’t. He says. He learns to serve and thrive in a place he didn’t chose. What do we need to learn from that right now?

4. What is a hard situation you are in right now where you need knowledge and understanding and spiritual wisdom to thrive in? How can you thrive in a hard place?

Ash Wednesday initiates the season of Lent. This means we are 6 1/2 weeks away from Easter. Traditionally, ashes are made from burning crosses made on Palm Sunday the year before. The ashes are wiped on the forehead in the shape of the cross to symbolize that we are with Christ. Leading up to Christmas we are reminded of the birth of small things in strange places through Advent. Advent is a season of birth, Lent leads through a season of death so that following Easter is the season of resurrection. Birth, death, resurrection. A rhythm of life we remember in the life of Christ. There are seasons and cycles. The beauty of Christmas gives birth to a new year but the beauty doesn’t stay. The winter and darkness come and there is a death of sorts but at the center of the Christian faith is the knowledge that the story doesn’t end there. We walk through darkness and death with hope and faith because we know new creation is coming.

Reading 1:
Joel 2: 12-13
“Even now,” declares the Lord,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart

and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God,

for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.

1. At the center of Ash Wednesday is a focus on repentance. A moment to pray and say, “Search my heart oh God and see if there is any wrong thing in me.” Take note of the words you have spoken over yourself and others. Turn the eye of justice to self and see if you have looked down on another God loves. Feel the love and grace of God bring to the surface anything that is not aligned with your call and your identity as a child of God. See where you heart has been gripped by shame, fear, anger, bitterness, hurt, anxiety, or accusation and confess it to God. We repent so we can receive the good news.

Take a moment to pray and confess silently.

Reading 2: Psalm 51: 1-2 Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion

blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin.

Sing the first verse of Amazing Grace together.

Reading 3: 2 Corinthians 5:20-21
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2. Surrender follows repentance. Search your heart again. See if there is a grasp on something that you struggle to release. See if there is a tightening in you when you want to open your hands to what God has in the present for you right now.

Take a moment silently to see if Spirit is calling you to open your hands around something you are grasping. You are welcome to share with each other if you choose.

Reading 4: Luke 7: 48-50
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

3. The final moment will be for gratitude. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is getting far more than you ever deserved. Gratitude flows from grace. Where has grace produced gratitude? What thought lifts you heart and makes you feel grateful?

Take a moment to reflect and share! Final reading: Read out loud together.

Psalm 100
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations. Amen.

All say Amen

Read 1 Thess 2:17- 3:13

“How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?” Paul asks. There is a celebration of the community of faith in this section of scripture. There is an emphasis of “let’s celebrate each other” in this passage. Adding to this he says, "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.” Let’s do the same today.

1. Share a story of someone who influenced you in the faith early on. Who were they and what did they do for you?

2. This past weekend people shared encouragements about each other. We just typed them in the chat but there was still power in it. What was it like for you?

3. It’s often even more powerful to encourage someone in person. Is there anyone in the group today you could share an encouragement with? Either something you see in them or a positive way they have affected you?

In 1 Thessalonians 2 Paul is speaking up for himself and those he worked with to start the church there. He uses relational language and clarifies his motivations. He wants them to understand his heart and where he was coming from. He uses language of being a child to show humility. There is also parental imagery demonstrating his heart to be a nurturer and provider. Paul gives us a good example of leadership in his relational language as well as a good reminder to check our own motivations.

1. Share with the others about someone who has led you well from a relational space. Who was a good example to you as someone who led more from relationship than position?

2. Paul uses the language of family to describe his leadership. Has there been a time you have been able to lead as a spiritual parent? Have you been able to help someone along by being a brother or sister in Christ to them?

3. Have you ever been surprised by your own motivations in wanting to help someone? Have you ever caught yourself wanting good things for others but your motives got in the way?

4. Verse 19-20 says, “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.” This reminds us what all of this is about. Paul is demonstrating the heart of Jesus. WE are the reward. That is how important we are. Jesus thought you were worth dying for and Paul and many after thought you were worth dedicating their life in service of. To see you grow in the faith. How does that feel or what comes to mind when you see it laid out so clearly there?

1 Thess 1:8-9 Your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

Paul is making a point in 1 These that there is the true God and other “false gods.” False gods can come in the form of culture and religion but can be anything that silences the voice of the true God and replaces it with a falsity. The true God says you are loved and I sent my son because I believe you were worth dying for. The false god says you are never enough and could never be good enough to earn the love of ‘god.’ Often the voice of the false gods can come in the form of the internal values, motivations, and lies we tell ourselves. The true God is motivated by and motivates us with, love.

Here are some examples of the lies whispered too us:
There is never enough. I am not good. I am inherently flawed. I am not loved. I am not wanted. I am a failure. I am not worthy of love. I am not special. I don’t have enough to meet the demands of the world. I am not safe. I won’t be supported. I’m not secure. I don’t have enough. I won’t have what I need. I’m weak, lazy, and won’t have an impact. I’m always the problem. I have to bend toward others to have peace.

1. What do you think is missing from this list? Are there any voices you have to combat that you would add to the list above?

2. Which of the above list do you relate to the most?

3. What is the truth you can speak in the place of the lie you struggle with?

4. What would the True God say to you today that you need to remember on a daily basis?

A Life of Impact

Verse one talks about "work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope.” The work, labor, and endurance comes from faith, love, and hope. The first set of words (work, labor, endurance) are words of effort, but the second set (faith, love, and hope) come from a different place. They come from the Holy Spirit. They come from a surrendered life. It’s not effort first. We don’t labor for love but labor FROM love. We don’t work for faith we work FROM faith. The author Paul is trying to rearrange our natural order of thinking it’s up to us again. He knows when we start with God and a focus on him the other things will be in their right place. When we properly value God we’ll properly value everything else. They all come from the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. Do you ever catch yourself living like you need to work for love than from love? Do you feel like you have to do something for God instead of knowing if you follow God he will put things before you to do?

2. In verse 5 Paul says, “our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.” When did you first experience what felt like the power of the Holy Spirit? Share an experience early in your faith where you experience this good news in a powerful way.

3. In verse 6 Paul says, “You became imitators of us and of the Lord.” The mark of a disciple (learner) is they imitate Christ. The question to ask yourself is, “Do I have a life worth imitating?” Remembering people don’t need perfect examples but living examples. Who has set a good example for you as a person of faith worth imitating?

4. What have you been given in the faith to pass on to others? What is something God has put in you that you want to see in others?

(Notes from Zoom Chat)

God with us: receptivity. Receive God as God. Easier to accept God’s holiness than his love. God finds a way to come to us in Jesus. We believe more in getting rid of the bad than nurturing the good in us. It’s about nurturing the garden not getting rid of weeds. The focus is on growing trees, not destroying weeds. We are gardeners, not guards.

Us with God. Us leaning forward toward God. Be with God without try. Meditate on the beauty of God. Silent with God. Be still and know God is with you. Absorbing the present moment of the presence of God.

Us with one another. The old lines between people of who is holy (set apart) and created divisions. Separate from each other. My holiness is better than your holiness and so we must separate. Can we be with each other? Can you be there for someone and not where you want them to be? The line that divide. Peace that you don’t have to have someone else cross over to your side. Move from definitions of God that separates to an experience of God that unites.

The Shepards were keeping watch over their flocks AT NIGHT.
The angel appeared and the LIGHT- the glory of the Lord was bright around them.

The light comes in the darkness. The message of light, that God had come in human form, came to those who were forgotten in the dark. Shepards, the outcasts of society, are the witnesses to the story. The light often breaks in at unexpected times to an unexpected audience. God often shows up as a surprise with an unexpected message... a baby for a unwed Mary and old and barren Elizabeth. Again the light shines to Shepards and a star appears to foreign wise men of a different religion.

1. If you are going to proclaim the birth of the Messiah, why do it at night to those who are on the outskirts of society? Do you think an announcement like that could have found it’s way to a better audience?

2. Where did the light of the message of God first meet you?

3. Name a time when you were in a dark place that the light of God met you unexpectedly.

4. Have you ever seen God speak through a surprising source? Have you seen the light of God come through you in a surprising way?

5. In what ways do you want Emmanuel (God with us) to meet you this season?

Advent- Hope and Words Luke 1:1-25, 57-66

From Genesis and throughout scripture there is a theme of words creating new worlds and new realities. Words can bless and build up and encourage. Words can tear down, separate, discourage. We want to use our words well but it can be hard to develop that habit because that’s not how words were used toward us. In Luke chapter 1 The archangel Gabriel comes to Zechariah to prophesy the birth of John the Baptist. This is a man who has lived through many years of disappointment and lost hope around having a child. He is so disillusioned that even the sight of an angel speaking to him doesn’t cut through his past hurt. The angel speaks of what will happen. Zechariah questions it. The angel tells him, “because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will be silent, unable to speak, until the day these things take place.” In the place of silence God works on Zechariah as all other voices are strained out... And in the end Zechariah experiences a redemption when he proclaims the same of his son to be John, accepting and embracing the word of hope of Elizabeth and him.

1. What do you think was going through Zechariah’s mind during his time of silence?

2. It was the years of disappointment that led to this miracle being possible and this amazing story to be told. Elizabeth and Zechariah lived a lifetime of wondering why something didn’t happen only to have it fulfilled at such a late time in their lives. Maybe they though of Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Is there anything you can relate to in that?

3. Like Zechariah, we can loose hope due to repeated disappointment. What would you like to see God breath hope back into your life about?

4. Where are you looking for redemption these days? Have you ever experienced a redemption after a long season of disappointment?

5. What is something you are praying for the redemption of right now? What do you want to see in the coming season?

As the Byrds sang, “To everything turn, turn, turn” based on this passage of Ecclesiastes. There are seasons, there are moments, there is a time for everything. This time right now is the time for this to happen. We want to be “there” but we can only be “here.” When we get “there” it will be the new “here” but for now... we are here. This is the way the teacher of Ecclesiastes talks. It doesn’t settle or answer questions but invites us into the deeper wisdom of mystery. Our brains like certainty but that isn’t the higher wisdom. The teacher starts chapter 3 bookending the life of anyone with “a time to be born, a time to die.” Everything that follows is what takes place between those two “times.” Discern the season. Be present to it. And know that the current reality isn’t a permanent reality.

1. Is there any part of these verses that you find encouraging? Anything that settles your spirit?

2. What part of this passage do you find frustrating or unsettling?

3. Apparently right now is a time for what’s happening. What do you wish was happening right now? What do you wish it was a time for? Take a moment to dream about it and share it.

4. “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” How do you understand this given our current reality?

5. Our current reality is hard on many folks. A global pandemic, greater isolation, political uncertainty, contentious social media, kid’s home from school, economic downturn, winter approaching with shorter days, upcoming holidays... And that doesn’t even include the personal stuff you were already dealing with. Is there anything in this passage that you find comforting in light of all that?

6. Again and again the teacher comes back to a phrase something like this throughout the book, “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.” What does it feel like for you to return to that phrase?

38 times in the book of Ecclesiastes the author uses a Hebrew word that means “Vapor” or “Breath.” Some versions translate the word to “meaningless” or “futile” but the word doesn’t carry that negative connotation in Hebrew. The author certainly goes back and forth from negative to positive as he looks at the whole of life... like we do. See if you an notice your own experience in this ancient wisdom as we struggle with deeply human questions.

1. In Ecclesiastes 1:3 the author asks, “What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?”He is explaining the ups and downs of life in these two chapters and all the things he thought would give him what he wanted. But it was all “Vapor.” The author is looking for “benefit?” This is the struggle we deal with around, “If I live a certain way I should get certain things or feel a certain way.” Have you struggled with this feeling of feeling like the payoff doesn’t match the effort?

2. Have you experienced the chasing of things you though would fulfill and realized they were just smoke? Can you name things that you’ve looked to for fulfillment only to realize you couldn’t hold on to the feeling?

3. The author talks about pursuits (accomplishments), pleasures, and escapes (a natural desire to sooth the pain). To a certain extent we all do these things but can you name your go to coping mechanism to deal with disappointment?

4. Read Chapter 2:24-26 The author hints at something he’s going to go deeper on by the end of the book. The ability to find enjoyment is a gift from God. Where are moments of real enjoyment for you? Talk about moments that gave you great joy, comfort, or peace. These are the meaningful gifts from God.

5. Take a moment to thank God because you were able to enjoy them. Do this out loud together so others can witness it.

Mark- The Power of a Question Read Mark 15:1-15

We often want God to give us answers to whatever we are struggling with. They wanted that from Jesus too. We have to remember that when God took on flesh in Jesus he didn’t give many answers. When asked hard questions he usually responded with non-answers that confused his audience, stories, or another question. Jesus isn’t trying to solve the mystery but draw us further in. In this story his silence provokes so many questions. To leave a question unanswered is hard because it allows others to fill up the space with their own assumptions about us. Jesus continues to amaze in this story with his silence as he does in others with his questions. And here we are left asking the questions so we are drawn into the mystery of Christ.

1. Pilate asks, “Are you the king of the Jews?” What is behind this question? Is it a serious inquiry? Mockery to “king in chains?” What do you think Pilates intent is in this situation? Where is he coming from?

2. When Pilate asks Jesus if he is the king of the Jews Jesus simply responds, “σὺ λέγεις” which means “you say” or “say you.” How did Pilate “Say so?” What could Jesus mean?

3. There is no “one thing” they can accuse Jesus of so they accuse him of many things. They figure if they pile on the accusations something will stand out and get him in trouble with the Roman authority who has the job of keeping the “Peace of Rome.” Pilate then expects Jesus to defend himself... to prove himself. Jesus refuses to participate. He won’t play their game. We just finished several stories in a row where Jesus gave answers that amazed those listening. Now he shocks them with his silence as Pilate asks, “Aren’t you going to answer?” Why has Jesus decided the silence will have more impact than words here?

4. It’s hard for us to not respond when people accuse us or make assumptions about us. We don’t want others to fill in the story with their own narratives and interpretations about us. We want to make our point, make ourselves look better, make others like us, make others understand where we are coming from. We feel we have to play the game when it’s our name, reputation, image, or worthiness that’s on the line. What is the invitation and challenge of Jesus to us in this passage?

Mark- The Most Useless Passage Read Mark 14:1-11

Joel called this the “most useless passage” because it isn’t really a passage you can “use.” It isn’t a story about right and wrong. It’s a story that steps out of the logic of function, use, right, and wrong... it’s categorically different. It’s Beautiful. Logically it’s wasteful. The woman’s actions are even called that. Often scriptural stories are taught to make a truth or a statement and the only response is to accept or reject. This is story is about beauty which is an invitation to relationship, to an exchange, to a dance. This woman is action when everyone else is talk. She is the instigator and everyone else merely the commentator. All we can be as we observe this story is an interpreter and commentator but maybe we can accept the invitation to beauty in this space.

1. The woman in the story never says a word. She is all action. She is resolved in what she is doing and does what she feels is right. Why do you think she does this? What is motivating her? Why take THIS action of all the things she could have done?

2. This didn’t happen quickly. It would have taken some time with all these people watching. Everyone smelling the smell. It would have stopped whatever was going on. Where do you see yourself in this story? As the woman? As Jesus? As someone watching? How do you respond internally to this story?

3. Read the beginning and end of this story again. Verse 1,2,10,11. Look at how Mark frames the beginning and end of the story. This woman’s actions push Judas over the edge to betray Jesus. Why is that? Why did Mark frame this story in this way?

4. This story reminds me of the Theodore Roosevelt quote, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Maybe this is why we are still talking about her today. Does her action invite you to more boldness? If so, in what way?

Mark- You Are Not Far From The Kingdom Read Mark 12:28-34

Jesus has had several prickly encounters in a row. He’s been challenged, questioned, and they’ve even tried to trap him. In this passage someone approaches him with genuine curiosity. This one teacher of the law stands out and is different. He listens to Jesus and sees that he has answered wisely. Then he has a question... but it comes from a different place. It’s an honest interaction. And after it, no one asks any more questions. Let’s think about why.

1. What makes this teacher of the law so different that all the others previously encountered in Mark? Why does he act so differently than the other teachers of the law?

2. This one man does what none of the others do. Much attention is given to his answer and the response of Jesus but why is he different? Why was he able to see that “Jesus had given them a good answer” when everyone else is still against Jesus. In the middle of these discussions he is the only one who has an honest exchange. What can we learn from him in that moment?

3. The teacher of the Law asks Jesus about one of the most foundational thing in the Jewish faith. Everyone else is asking questions about current politics and modern interpretation of laws... but this man is going deeper. This man isn’t concerned by all the buzz of the day but wants to know if Jesus is deeply rooted. Deep roots hold us when there is noise all around. How does being rooted in Jesus’s answer hold us when there is noise all around?

4. ThemanrespondstoJesuswellandsumsupwhathasbeenmostimportanttothe Jewish and Christian faith for all of time. It’s this. To love God and neighbor with heart, mind, and strength (body). Everything is summed up in that. Everything that was missing from the previous interactions is in that statement. Some of the previous questions engaged the mind but lacked the heart. Some of the teachers of the law had the right thinking but wouldn’t apply themselves (strength) to help others. Some of us are very connected with our heart, our mind, or our actions but bringing all three together can be difficult. Is it harder for you to engage your vulnerable emotions, your critical thinking, or taking right action? Where do you need the most growth in this area?

Mark- Render Unto Caesar Read Mark 12:13-17

There were four political parties in Jesus’s day. The Pharisees, the Herodians, the Essenes, and the Zealots. The Pharisees were religious law keepers and enforcers who believed if they were pure and righteous enough God would overthrow their oppressors (Rome). The Herodians thought it prudent and wise to make the best of the situation and try and get along with Rome and not upset them. The Essenes moved out the the far regions and desert areas so they could do their own thing but didn’t participate in society. Last were the Zealots who carried daggers under their cloaks and looked for an opportunity to kill a Roman as they worked toward the violent overthrow of Rome.

In this passage Jesus is approached by two groups who didn’t typically get along. The Pharisees and Herodians came to him to trap him in a question. Jesus saw through it and stunned them with his wisdom. In a world where everyone only saw two sides and two options Jesus always finds “secret Jesus option #3.” He shows how we don’t have to take sides and live in the false dichotomy presented to us. Over and over he shows there is more going on here, there are more options, and therefore more freedom. This is how he can be in the system but not of it. Jesus demonstrates here how to be in the world but not of it.

1. Of the four groups mentioned above, do you know which you would have most likely been a part of had you been around in Jesus day?

2. Imagine you would have been there with Jesus in this moment. His disciples have come from at least three of these different groups. They want him to take a side but they are also nervous as the story is getting more intense with them in Jerusalem. How would you have felt in this moment? That feeling is still with us. What would you have been hoping for in this situation?

3. “Render unto Caesar that which belongs to Caesar. Render unto God what belongs to God.” One mystic put it this way, “When you give to God what belongs to God... what is left for Caesar?” How would you answer?

4. How does this verse speak and the situation Jesus was facing speak to you now? What does this mean for us today? Are there more options that we are seeing? What is secret Jesus option #3 today?

Mark- Club Jesus Read Mark 9:1-13, 30-41

Let’s look at the beginning of this chapter before we move on to the passage from Sunday morning. Before we get to this passage about being the last, the disciples just witnessed the transfiguration and Jesus healing a boy who is sick with a evil spirit. Let’s take a look at the Transfiguration and then tie it into the passage from this past weekend.

1. This chapter starts with Jesus saying, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” How does this set up the rest of the chapter? Why does Mark start with this statement as an introduction to the transfiguration, the healing of the boy, and the prophesy about his death and being the last?

2. In verse 10 they were discussing what “risen from the dead” could mean. It seems obvious to us now, maybe too obvious. What do you imaging that discussion being about?

3. In verse 12, who is the Elijah Jesus is referring to?

4. In verse 31 Jesus says, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.” Why would they be afraid to ask Jesus what he meant?

5. Doing something “In the name of” is a way of saying in association with. Jesus did everything in association with the Spirit of God. Imagine what your life would look like if everything you did was “In the name of Jesus.” Imagine if every action was in association with him. What would today be like?

Mark - Your Faith Has Made You Well Read Mark 5:21-43

Jesus is always flipping the script. He always surprises the people he is interacting with. That’s how it is in this story with two people who have resources and means but can’t solve the problem in front of them. Jesus is always stepping into unsolvable situations and surprising us with both his solution and they way he explains it. The woman with the issue of blood sees Jesus as the object of her healing and herself as the subject. But then he tells her, “Your faith has healed you.” Then Jesus tells a man who’s daughter has just died, “Don’t be afraid, just believe.” And then Jesus goes and heals the girl even though people laugh when he says, “The child is not dead but asleep.” But then he ONLY takes the parents and disciples in to heal the girl.

1. What goes off in you when you hear the Jesus say, “Your faith has made you well.” Do you think he means it? Do you find yourself saying, “Yeah but, really it was Jesus who healed her”? What does it mean that Jesus often told people it was their faith that healed them? Is it hard to believe Jesus on that?

2. Scripture explains this same truth in other ways as well like when Jesus say’s, “Thing Kingdom of God is within you” or when Paul says, “Christ in me the hope of glory.” The Jews saw God as “somewhere out there” and wanted Him to come and fix something down here. They saw God as an interventionist and Jesus changes it to incarnational. Jesus starts to show his followers that the Spirit of God is within us. Do you tend to see God as an interventionist or incarnate within you?

3. Why did Jesus only let the parents and disciples in to see the healing of the little girl?

4. Joel posed a question Sunday that is worth exploring together. “Where are you seeing your faith wake up?” Even in the light of everything going on... Where is your faith waking up?

Mark- Get Back on the Path

Mark 1: 14-15 Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Nothing is more central the the history and theology of the Vineyard than “The gospel of the kingdom.” There is a rich history of work around this subject because it speaks so much to the core questions in scripture around identity and purpose. These two simple verses contain a universe of meaning and experience for those who want to explore the path they can set you on. The mark of a Christian is found in these verses.

1. “The good news of God.” This phrase was familiar to the first readers of Mark because the Romans sent out messengers through their kingdom to announce “the gospel of Caesar.” The phrase was an announcement that Caesar had conquered and there would be the peace of Rome. It was a political word. And Jesus pronounces the good news of God. It isn’t about conquering. It’s about the identity and purpose of every person. They knew Caesar’s kingdom had come near because it was oppressing them but what did it mean that the Kingdom of God had come near?

2. “The time has come.” The Jews were waiting for the Kingdom. It was always far off. It was someday. The idea that the time had come was unbelievable. Far fetched. Ridiculous. How could the time be now when so much is going wrong? How do you respond to that message? What is it like for you to hear Jesus say to you “the time has come” when it feels as strange now as it did then? How do you invite that truth now that the time is now?

3. “Repent and believe the good news.” This is Jesus saying, “it’s time to change your mind and turn around and trust that God’s Kingdom is already at work.” This is an invitational statement from Jesus. It’s a call to return to hope. Return to faith. Return to what you know deep down is right even if it feels out of reach. It’s an invitation to remember the big picture in the middle of our small experience because we are part of that. It’s a call to remember who’s you are and who you are. As my friend Laura says, “It’s ok, you just forgot who you are, welcome back.” It’s not about getting it right but getting back on the path. What area of your life needs to hear this right now? What part needs to get back on the path? Where do you need your hope renewed?

Leviticus Introduction- Small group questions

A central question to the book of Leviticus is “How do we worship?” They live in a world where the normal way of worship includes animal sacrifice. The animal was usually then eaten by the family sacrificing and the priests but it was done as a reminder of their own morality, a ritual to deal with their guilt and forgiveness, and a meal to remember that God provides their food. Food was the most central part of life and survival in ancient culture so it naturally became the a part of worship. The sacrificial system was part of the culture they understood. Sacrifices weren’t “God’s idea” but he met the Israelites where they were and worked within a system they understood. He used that system to begin to lead them “away from” the world they knew. They were to do things differently, eat differently, and live differently as they begin to be a people who were “set apart” or “holy.” God always stoops to meet people where they are in their culture in order to move them forward. This is what we need to remember to start looking at this ancient book.

1. In our modern world, those who eat meat are removed from the process that got the meat to our plate. Around farming communities however they are intimately familiar with raising an animal that will become food. If you could imagine yourself as an ancient Israelite taking food for sacrifice... what do you think it would be like? Take a moment to imagine it and then share.

2. We just finished the book of Romans where it says in chapter 12 to “offer your bodies as living sacrifices.” Obviously this is a metaphor drawing on an ancient image... but how does this speak to the way we are to worship now? What does this say about the state of our heart as we worship now?

3. The idea of coming to God in worship is the idea of coming to remember the sacred in the middle of everything. As God steps into our culture now, what are some ways we can worship? What forms of worship can/do you use to draw you closer to God?

Romans 14-15: Am I My Brother’s Keeper- Life Group Questions

Romans 14:15-18 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

Romans 15: 1-2, 5-7, 14 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please himself... May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another.

1. Righteousness in scripture is about right relationship with other people. That’s what the word refers to throughout scripture. How do you think Paul would respond to the notion that “Whatever I do is ok as long as I’m not hurting anyone else?”

2. When scripture says “you” it usually means it in a plural context. Scriptures goal is to speak more to communities than individuals. That is how all writers of scripture communicated. How do we honor what Romans 14:15 says if we disagree with people who are part of the “you?”

3. Why does Paul make it a point to say those who do this are pleasing to God AND receive human approval? Why is the human approval part important?

4. In Romans 15 Paul prays for strength when he says, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God.” Paul knows this is hard? Do you have an experience where someone did this for you? Has anyone showed you the love of Christ even when they disagreed with you?

5. In verse 7 it says God is praised by our acceptance of one another. What do you think is happening when we are rejecting one another? Have you experienced this?

6. Paul is wrapping up by saying he is convinced that all the people he is speaking to are “full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another?” What do you think about that? How do you feel when you hear that?

As faith in Christ begins to spread through the ancient world there are a lot of questions about how to live the faith. Like... What is different for Jewish believers who decide to follow the way of Christ? What does it mean for those who are from a totally different cultural value system to follow Christ? How do we do this thing together? Who is right about their approach to faith?

In many ways we continue to walk out these questions. Under the guiding of the Holy Spirit Paul writes us about these questions in Romans 14... But he doesn’t give right or wrong answers. He doesn’t clear up the mystery or say who is right but he makes space for all of the people coming to Christ. This is still something we are working on together.

1. Many argue about what aspects of the faith fall under this category of “disputable matters.” As Joel has pointed out before, “A disputable matter is anything people are disputing.” It is simple to understand but hard to do because of our values and beliefs. How do we hold true to our values and make space for others? What is one way you have practiced this or someone has made space for you?

2. Paul gives some examples of what people disagree about and in verse 7 he says, “For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.” When talking about living in community, why do you think he says this?

3. Paul calls us in this passage to make space for disputable matters, to be convinced in our own mind of what is right for us or our community, and to not show contempt for our brothers and sisters by judging them. These are three hard things to combine. How can we practice this three part approach?

4. In verse 19 Paul sums up the purpose of this passage when he says, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” The point of all of this is mutual edification. Do you see this as a major goal of the church? How could we make it more of a goal and practice?

5. What do you think Paul means when he says, “Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves?”

Romans 13- Life Group Questions

Paul starts this section talking about heeding governmental authorities which is ironic coming from a man constantly in trouble for defying the governmental authorities. But he did it is specific ways. Ways were he thought the laws of man were against the ways of love he talks about in Romans 13:8. His life helps us interpret this passage when we see how he lived that out. We often interpret people’s actions from our perspective instead of trying to use positive imagination to develop empathy for them. The best way to understand people who differ from us is to have curious conversations with them while using positive imagination to see how they could have gotten their innocently and honestly. This is often taught as a technique to couples who are struggling to get along; to curiously imagine from a positive perspective what the other person’s motivations might be. When we get inside people’s stories we become less judgmental and sometimes even earn the right to help them change.

1. First though, answer honestly about how you are doing in light of what is going on in the world.

2. Reread Romans 13:8. What do you think it means that “Whoever loves has fulfilled the law.” How did Paul fulfill the law while preaching his faith which was against the law? How can someone be fulfilling the law while they stand against oppressive laws like Paul did?

3. Using the skill of positive imagination try and give the perspective of someone you disagree with. Don’t use an extreme example but someone you might even know and care for. Try to imagine their motivations being good and pure. Try to imagine what they must be experiencing emotionally. Imagine what goes through their mind. Share the experience of trying to see through their eyes. Take a minute to imagine this before you share.

4. Reread Romans 13: 11-12. Paul is speaking hope from a dark place when he thinks about the whole of the story and not just his immediate reality. How can you do the same right now? What would that look like?

1. A real question people face is, “If I extend grace to this person what will motivate them to change?” How do you deal with the internal conflict that comes from knowing that scripture teaches that only grace can produce internal and lasting change and the fact that it’s hard to the person in front of us will change if we give them grace?

2. How are you at extending grace to your self in your “self talk” throughout the day?

3. What would help you remember to pause and consider grace in a moment that triggers you and you feel shame? What would help you remember to pause and consider grace in a moment where you want someone else to pay for their error?

4. Before you close. Take a moment of silence and ask God to speak to you about any area you need to invite grace into today. After that you can pray together or close.

2. Do you have a fairly recent experience where you were able to perceive and receive God’s love for you?

3. What are you thinking about for this coming year and decade? What do you sense you need to grow in?

4. Are there any major changes coming around the bend you would like to talk about or receive prayer for?

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

We often long for circumstantial peace. Situational peace. We want everything to be ok around us and then we want to protect that. Often humanity has pursued and protected peace in some not-so-peaceful ways. We do pursue peace by trying to get away from everything and withdraw. We pursue peace by staying busy so we can’t feel the things that unsettle us. We pursue peace by trying to get everyone to get along and not dealing with the problem at hand. The problem is we can’t create external peace if we don’t possess internal peace. This is something that needs developed, practiced, and matured. Then we can work from a place of peace instead of working for peace.

1. Name something that disrupt your sense of peace on a regular basis. What is Jesus inviting you into regarding that situation right now?

2. Jesus, the prince of peace, brought a lot of disruption in his time. How do you understand Jesus being the prince of peace? What does that mean to you?

3. Philippians 4:7 is a verse often quoted about peace. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” What does this mean to you?

4. What is one thing you could do to increase internal peace (regardless of circumstance) in your life this year?

The Jews had hoped for a new deliverer for a long time. What they got was not what they were expecting. The fulfillment did not take the form they wanted. The deliverer still came wrapped in cloth and placed in a feeding trough. This was the word becoming flesh. There were a lot of expectations but this is what it looked like when the hope of a deliverer became a human. The questions around hope are always connected to what does it look like when hope takes on flesh.

1. What do you hope for?

2. What do you hope for that you can do something about?

3. Colossians 1:26-27 says, “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” How is Christ in you the hope of glory? How has that already happened? Where does God want to take that this next year?

The Why Behind the Why- Life Group Questions

Scriptures: Matthew 5-7, Mark 2: 23-27, John 21:15-25

Jesus is always trying to get to the heart of the matter. He’s trying to point to the thing behind the thing. To do this Jesus fulfills the law in it’s purpose and breaks it in practice. (Mark 2: Disciples picking grain- “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”) The whole of the sermon on the mount is pointing to the motivation, the heart, they “why” behind our decisions. Jesus understands that an external law will never change us the way an internal motivation does… which is being led by the Spirit. Jesus works on our internal motivation and purifies them. Purity comes from going through the fire, not from avoiding it.

In John 21 Jesus invites Peter to eat breakfast with him after the resurrection. While they are eating, Jesus asks Peter three times if Peter loves him. He keeps asking the question to get to the heart of the matter. On Sunday Joel asked Sue why she goes to church. After she answered he asked why else she goes to church. She answered that and then he asked one more time if there were any other reasons she went to church. Each time her answers got deeper and more motivation and heart was revealed. This can be a gift we give to each others. Ask each person the same question three times to see if the answer can get deeper. Do any one of these series of questions with each person or come up with your own.

1. Why do you go to church? Is there any other reason you go to church? Are there any other reasons you go to church?

2. What is one of the highlights of your life and why was it impactful? Why else did it impact you? Are there any other ways it impacted you?

3. What do you want to see God do in your life this next year? What will it look like when this happens? How else do you think this will affect you?

One of the most quoted Jewish prayers is called the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

The point was that we love God with every part of us. The heart, the center of emotion, the soul, לבבך Their word for the inner thoughts or whole mind, and our strength which is in the body. The NET translations says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength.” No matter how you translate it, it means ALL OF YOU. Every part of you connected and committed. Every part welcome before God. We looked at stories where people who were told their bodies weren’t welcome were connected and healed by Jesus. A woman people thought of as sinful, a man possessed by darkness, a woman thought of as impure because she had been bleeding for 12 years. Our bodies aren’t to be forgotten, shamed, or dishonor, but are welcome with God.

1. What messages did you receive about your body growing up and what do you think God wants to say to that now? Is there any part of you that feels disconnected that God wants to welcome now?

2. Your body doesn’t have a concept of God but can only experience God. Have you ever had an experience where it felt like your body connected to God and experienced him?

3. Our faith should include elements of being faithful to our bodies to the best of our abilities. Part of learning to hear from God is also listening to our bodies. What is one way you could be more faithful to your body? What is something your body needs in the next season? What is something you know would make your body feel better?

Psalm 116:1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.

Psalm 42:4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.

Depending on how we grew up and the messages we heard we may have learned that we should deny and repress emotions because they don’t matter and are untrustworthy…or we grew up in a way where we were led by our emotions. The bible doesn’t shy away from emotions. Especially the Psalms! To walk faithfully through this internal world requires us embracing our emotions without being owned by them. There is a difference between controlling our emotions and emotional regulation and awareness. Much of the health in how we deal with others in learning to navigate that space.

1. How were you taught to interact with your emotions growing up?

2. What did you do with your emotions as you got older? What decisions did you make about how to you were going to operate in that world?

3. How do you understand the difference between controlling your emotions and emotional regulation?

4. What do you think is the next step for you in terms of growing in this area? What do you think God wants to say to you about your emotional space?

Maybe you have been called narrow minded before. Sometimes we are narrow minded and sometimes it’s an accusation made by someone who is narrow minded about their own perspective. This week we contrasted walking the narrow path VS being narrow minded. We talked about the need to be open to seeing possibilities outside of our current perspective. We talked about the need for confidence, the decision to move forward, along with humility, the understanding that you could be wrong about the choices you make.

1. Jesus is very show and tell. Is there a favorite Jesus story that inspires you on this topic? Share that story and why it’s important to you.

2. Sometimes being called narrow minded is good because you have taken a stand. Sometimes it’s not good. Have you ever been called narrow minded and what was your experience?

3. The main distinction between the narrow mind and the narrow road is about the path we walk. The narrow path is the action we take more than the internal belief structure. What is a way you have chosen to live that is unique or has seemed strange to those around you?

4. We talked about the narrow path being one of love. Joel quoted Martin Luther King Jr, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” We know laws can’t change the heart. Often change doesn’t happen because we have to love to change a heart issue. Can you think of something or someone you would have more influence over if you had more love?

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Jesus flips something unexpected in this passage. People would have thought of traveling on a road to get to a gated place. Gates are for keeping danger out and roads lead out from that safe place to other places. Jesus says to go through the narrow gate and take the narrow road. We are often staying behind the gates of the ways we know how to live and the familiar patterns of behavior. It can be hard to exit the small gate and take the small road but God is found in the going out of the gated place.

1. We have a tendency to want to “understand first and do second.” Discipleship is do what God is saying first and understand later. Have you ever experienced taking a step you knew was right but didn’t understand it at the time but in hindsight you see God in it?

2. What are some of your most helpful spiritual practices? What keeps you on the narrow road of life and what tends to pull you off?

3. What has your spiritual journey shown you that will allow you to be a tour guide to another who is trying to figure it out?

4. Sometimes leaving the gated place is a big life direction change… moving to a new location, changing jobs, breaking away from unhealthy relationships. Some are more subtle internal patterns of behavior. What is one area of life you are being called to take a new road?

Going deeper with scripture: Right before this verse is the section on “Ask, Seek, and Knock” in Matthew 7:7-12. In this famous passage on persistence there is a bridge from the rest of the sermon on the mount to the conclusion section starting with the gates and roads passage. Why do you think it is positioned there and how can that help us understand what is going on in the rest of this passage? How does the “golden rule” at the end of this section set us up for the Narrow road scripture?

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

It’s easier to go along with the crowd. Jesus exemplifies walking the narrow road and entering the narrow gate. When you walk the wide path you aren’t criticized, the masses will approve, and you can blend in. There is safety in numbers on the wide path but to take the narrow road can be lonely and can invite criticism. Following Spirit will always include times of stepping out into the personal journey and taking action that disrupts the crowd on the wide path.

1. Can you think of a time when you had to take a step in your life that you knew was right even though people around you didn’t approve?

2. What keeps you going down a path you know is right when there is resistance?

3. Is there anything currently happening in your life where you feel resistance and you are struggling with a decision?

Option on going deeper in scripture:

In Matthew Jesus begins his ministry by getting baptized, then being tempted in the desert, then calling his disciples, then healing sick people, then giving the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. This passage is at the end of the Sermon on the Mount and is making the sermons final points. He closes with the narrow gates, true and false prophets and disciples, and building your house on a rock. Why do you think Jesus is making this point near the end of the Sermon? Jesus is a master teacher in the Jewish tradition. So why is this the setup for the conclusion of the sermon?

Joel shared this video this week. The audio is in the sermon but you can watch it here.

John 14: 15-17 “If you love me, you will obey my commandments. Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you.

The Scriptures tell us to “remember” over 150 times. God speaks to our identity and we forget. We face things in life that make us forget and the voice of “The Accuser” steps in. “The world” in this passage are those who have forgotten and listened to the Accuser. Those who obey Jesus have been given the Advocate to remind them and “guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13)

1. The voice of the Accuser wants to make you forget who you are. Forget your identity. Have you experienced this voice whispering to you, questioning you, discouraging you lately? What is it saying and what do you need to speak as truth?

2. When it comes to your own internal dialogue, the way you talk to yourself, which voice have you been siding with? The Advocate or the Accuser? What is something the Spirit who is your Advocate is saying that you need to spend more time remembering?

3. What will be important for you to remember this week? What do you need to practically do to be reminded of the voice of the Advocate this week?

Bonus: Going deeper with scripture. Read Zechariah 3:1-10 and discuss anything that stands out to you.

There are certain stories about our lives that we have told many times over. When we tell a story over and over we feel like we have clarity around it. We tell about the experience but we also talk about what that experience means. When we have distance from something we think of it with clarity and we feel we understand it. That was not the case when we were going through it. In the middle of an new experience we can barely describe it and we try to find language to explain what we are experiencing.

The gospel writers talk about things Jesus did and said in such an experiential way because it was so new to them they couldn’t wrap their heads around what it all meant. Jesus breaks the law and redefines its (Luke 6). He says strange things about being the way, the truth, and the light and then says the Spirit will come after he is gone and lead them into all truth. The new experiences don’t match the old paradigm. The new life doesn’t fit in the old framework of their spiritual/cultural heritage. The new thing God is doing doesn’t fit the old expectations. As Jesus puts it, “And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.” (Mark 2:22)

1. Have you ever experienced this kind of “paradigm shift” where you had always expected things to be a certain way but life changed on you? What happened and what did it feel like? How do you SEE that experience now?

2. Are you experiencing something currently that is uncomfortable because “life wasn’t supposed to look like this?” Are you currently having to make new wineskins for an experience that doesn’t fit in the old wineskins?

3. At this point in your life what do you think God is speaking to you? What is God showing you? What is that raw truth that you would have a hard time explaining but you know something is happening?

Going Deeper in Scripture: All through scripture we see this move from old wineskin to new. Sometimes it is glorious and celebrated like the movement of the Jews being slaves in Egypt to being a new nation with a newly emerged faith tradition. Sometimes it is confusing and challenging like the new way of faith Jesus displays. Where else in scripture do you see this movement from old wineskins to new?

Scripture references: John 14:16, John 16:13, 2 Cor 4:4, Luke 24:31, Mark 2:22

The word for “Spirit” throughout scripture is the same as the word for “Breath.”

Gen 2:7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Ezekiel 37:14 I will place my breath in you and you will live; I will give you rest in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord – I have spoken and I will act, declares the Lord.’”

John 20:21-23 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

This idea of God giving new life by breathing on mankind or Jesus breathing on his disciples might feel removed from us and we might not know what to do with it. It almost feels impractical. But there is something strange and mysterious in it. There is something hopeful in the moment Jesus breathes on his discouraged disciples. He is reminding them of new creation… even when they feel lost.

This story resonates because we feel lost but in our very breath God has place the whisper to keep going and to look for hope and new creation. Let’s remember that together.

1. Think of a time when you felt pretty lost or hopeless. Share what was happening at the time and how you see that experience now.

2. What is something that feels particularly stressful or might be causing you to loose hope in this season? What is happening that you need God to breath on now?

3. Pray for each other in whatever way makes sense to your group. In your prayers ask for new creation in these areas of need.

Life Group Questions:

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

None the scripture passages on the gifts of the Spirit instruct you on how to get the gifts of the Spirit. They assume gifts are already present. The lists aren’t exhaustive but summaries because we all bring different things to the table at different times. What scripture does communicate is the purpose of those gifts. The gifts are given for the common good. They are meant to bring us together. When unity diminishes, so do the gifts of the Spirit. When we support each other the gifts of the Spirit increase. When we show up as ourselves in who we are with the desire to lift the community the Spirit flows.

1. Share a time when someone showed up for you when you really needed it.

2. Share a time when you were able to use what was in you to lift up someone else.

3. What is a “gift” you have operated in frequently… or, what is a “gift” you have a desire to grow in right now?

4. Take some time to do a simple listening exercise. Listen to the Spirit and share what you hear or do what you feel led in.

The last century has seen an explosion in “movements of the Spirit” from Izzuza St to today. It was always leaning forward in how it connected groups that had been separate. People of all races, rich and poor, educated and uneducated came together to experience what God was doing. One of the key marking of this moment was people having their own experiences with God and telling those stories. They didn’t just tell stories of what happened in the bible or the distant past but stories of what Spirit was doing in their own community. Since we are still getting to know each other we are going to share stories this week of experiences with God. The could be huge and dramatic stories or subtle intimate experiences of God. Either way lets tell those stories.

1. Tell a story you heard about God moving from any time in your past that stands out to you and you’ve never forgotten.

2. Tell a story where you have experienced God’s presence or direct guidance.

3. Share what you want to see God do in this next season of your life. Then as a group, pray and ask for these things together.

New wine in old wine-skins

New Testament doesn’t use the phrase “the Spirit.” It only says “Spirit.” Through this series we will be looking at the experiences people have had with “Spirit” from Biblical times to our own experiences. This will be a time to lean into what the Spirit is saying to us and wants to do through us. For some of us this is new and makes us nervous. For others we have past experiences with Spirit we will be tempted to compare our current life with. Both need to lean into what Galatians calls “Keeping in step with Spirit.” We look with hope and anticipation to Spirit to see what God has for us in this day. Look for the new thing God wants to do in and through our community this year.

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

1. Since this is the first week. Give a bit of background to your spiritual journey. Where have you experienced Spirit in your personal life?

2. Is there anything about engaging more with Spirit that makes you nervous or uncomfortable? Maybe you’ve had an experience that concerns you to share?

3. Is there a particular area of your life that you want to see Spirit bring transformation to this year? Spiritual, relational, emotional, mental, physical, financial?

4. Take a moment to listen quietly to Spirit and share whatever was on your heart, body, or mind during that moment.