Life Groups // Spring 2021 // Week 1
Posted April 9, 2021 — Lincoln Berean
Organized For Flourishing // Acts 6:1-7
Introduction
Welcome to the first week of the Spring Session of Life Groups! You may be reconnecting with your group after a few weeks off or maybe this is your first time in a group. Either way, we hope this time of connecting with others and discussing the scriptures is enriching to your life and encourages you to reach out in love to others.
To get the most out of your group time, we invite you to look over these questions and write your thoughts down before you meet with your group. This week’s passage focuses on organization (and reorganization!) within the church and using our gifts and abilities to serve God and others.
Warm Up (Suggested time: 30 min)
Here are some suggestions to get your conversation started:
1) If you are in a group that has just formed, here’s a suggestion you can use to help your group get to know each other. Ask everyone to answer these “H” questions.
Hello - Tell us a little bit about yourself.
History - What brought you to LBC/Life Group?
Hobby - What do you enjoy doing?
Happy - What is a place, activity or person that is your happy place?
2) If you are in a group that is reconnecting from the previous session, here are a few interesting questions:
What’s your all-time favorite town or city? What do you like about it?
If you could be any age for the rest of your life, what age would you choose? Why?
Getting Started
Transition into group discussion.
1) Open group discussion with prayer. Here are a few potential prayer items:
a. For the Spirit of God to lead you in truth
b. For the fruit of the Spirit to be cultivated in your lives
c. For grace to hear and apply what the Spirit says to you
2) Invite someone to read the passage in the group.
Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)
Please complete these questions prior to your group’s meeting time.
1) How did you hear the Holy Spirit encouraging/challenging you during the sermon this week?
2) In Acts 6:1-7 we see the early church facing logistical problems. Prior to this in two different passages (2:42-47 & 4:32-35) we saw that everyone was giving and serving so that anyone who was in need had those needs met. Now some widows are being overlooked in the distribution of food. So, the Apostles come up with a plan to solve this problem.
a. What were the qualifications necessary in the leaders chosen to the solve the problem?
b. What does this tell us about how seriously the Apostles viewed this problem?
c. What do we learn from this problem and how the Apostles solved it?
3) In his sermon, Bryan discussed the idea that each of us as followers of Jesus and members of His church have a high and holy calling to use our gifts and abilities to serve God and others. Take a moment to look up and read 1 Corinthians 12:14-26 and Ephesians 4:11-16.
a. What do these passages have to say about how each of us has a calling as a follower of Jesus?
b. What abilities has God given you that you could use to serve Him? Where has God called you to serve in the local church?
c. Have you struggled with viewing different abilities or areas of service as more or less spiritual than others? Where do you think that mindset comes from?
d. Are there areas of your life where you struggle to see the gifts and abilities given to you by God as being valid ways to serve God and others?
e. What can we do to encourage more people to fulfill their roles as ministers in the body?
For those who are desiring to use their gifts and abilities to serve others, we suggest the following 2 websites as resources.
Serving Opportunities in the Community: The Lincoln Berean Outreach Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/620518195101083
Serving Opportunities at Lincoln Berean:
https://www.lincolnberean.org/church-life/get-connected/serve/
Prayer (Suggested time: 20 min)
A significant part of “coming together” is being open and honest with our lives. Sitting in a group of people for prayer may be new or it may be familiar to you. If you would rather not pray aloud when it is your turn, feel free to pray silently and then say “Amen” aloud signaling the next person in the group to pray. Whether or not you choose to verbalize your prayer, everyone is a participant in sharing this time before God together.
Take a few moments to prepare a prayer request. What did the message, working through the above questions or the discussion cause you to notice about your own relationship with Jesus? Would you be willing to share your prayer request with the group?
Keeping the above instructions in mind (as necessary for your group), as you move around the circle, encourage each person to start their prayer with gratitude by expressing what they are thankful for. Then each person can pray for the person on their right.
Personal Spiritual Exercises
Each week we’re suggesting a couple of spiritual exercises. These are not required, but they may help us to actually live our faith and grow as followers of Jesus. Feel free to practice one or both of them. If a certain exercise is very helpful for you, maybe you can figure out a way to incorporate it into your daily life.
(Present yourself to God) Each morning when you wake up, before you get out of bed or pick up your phone, take a moment to present yourself to God as “one who is alive from the dead” (Romans 6:11-13). Present your mind, your body, your desires, your day and your life, committing whole heartedly to God’s way. After a week of doing this, do you notice anything different about your days?
(Practicing Gratitude) One sure way to begin to recognize the presence of God all around us is to practice gratitude for the way we see and experience Him in nature, those around us and every good thing. Every day this week, list 3 or more things you are thankful for, things that brought you happiness, things that might be gifts from the Lord. Write them down at the end of each day and share your list with your group next week. How did this practice of gratitude affect your outlook on life and your recognition of God’s presence in your life?