Faith Promise Blog

Main Idea:
Before we set the table, we must first CLEAR the table. Then we can reset it so that we can leave a Spirit-filled legacy for our family.

Discussion Starter:
What is the worst (so bad it was funny) dinner experience you have had at either a holiday time or a large family gathering? Have you ever seen anyone “clear” the table with a swipe or a tablecloth pull?

Introduction:
Before we can set the table for our families, we need to be real. We need to be honest. Every family can be messy. What does your family table look like? Messy until it’s time for people to come over? So cluttered that it’s hard to even SET the table for a meal? We can choose to keep living in our mess, or we can live differently, not trying to cover up the mess, but intentionally confronting our mess. We must clear the table so that we can start over and set the table correctly. We should set the table in a manner that can sustain the family’s spiritual legacy.

Encounter God

Primary Scriptures: Genesis 12:5-7, Genesis 35:1-5, Joshua 24:14-15

Discussion Questions:

• 1. Read Genesis 35:1-5. Even Jacob’s table was a mess—he had a house full of idols! Does anyone have a messy dinner table? Is your life as messy and cluttered as the table? Do you feel you’re barely getting by? Pastor Chris says one of our problems is that we place EVERYTHING on our table. What can you take off the table in order to lessen the clutter?
  2. We live with a lot of distraction, especially at the family table. It can cause quite a disconnect. If the family table does not have discussion, then there can be no arguments. Therefore, we think we are “okay.” However, a lack of argument does not mean that problems and issues do not exist. What can we do to reset the table for our family? How can we lessen the distractions and confront any messes early before they become larger messes?
  3. Read Genesis 12:1-7. God promises more for our families. He does not promise jobs, a good house, money, or happiness. Abram did not have any of those things. What did Abram have? What do you have that God has given you or promised you?
  4. Pastor Chris shared four ways to set the table for a Spirit-filled family:
     -Set a place of prayer together
     -Set a place to read God’s Word together
     -Set a place to go to church together
     -Set a place for accountability to one another
     As a group, make a plan for each family. Talk about any difficulties you face with these four values.

  Discovery Bible Method:
  For deeper study, as an alternative to the questions above, read Joshua 24:14-15 and use the Discovery Bible Method to explore the passage.

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  Embrace Others

  Suggestion: Consider breaking the group into dyads or triads for this section.

  Getting to know you:  What is your mess that you try to cover up? What can you be more transparent about so that the group can help you clear the table?

  Getting to know them:  Hold each other accountable this week. Talk about your messy table and how we can each help one another clear it.

  Getting to know Him:  We must set a table for a Spirit-filled family. Read Joshua 24:14-15 and decide if you’ll commit your family and your table to worship the world or God. Memorize Joshua 24:15 this week.

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  Engage the World Around Us

  Engaging at Faith Promise:  Faith Promise values are posted in our lobbies and on our website:

  • We serve others.
  • We grow together.
  • We give generously.
  • We put God first.
  • We tell them of Him.
  • We elevate those around us.
• Promisers – are you incorporating these values in your life, your ministry, your group, and your family? How can you engage those around you at church and in your ministry?

• Engaging in Community:  Time to clean out your closets! Did you know that you can take all donations to KARM, get a tax donation for your records, AND have your donation attached to Faith Promise? Every donation made and every hour of service volunteering at KARM helps Faith Promisers who are in need. Faith Promise Church supports KARM in many ways, but KARM supports us too. So take your household and closet donations to KARM today.

• Engaging the World:  Clear your table this week. Wipe clean any preconceived notions, and engage with someone that you assume is different from you. Learn about one of the countries served by Faith Promise missionaries.
  

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  Expand God’s Kingdom

  As we set the table for a Spirit-filled life, we must first make sure we are nourished. Studying God’s word and meditating upon it will help write God’s message on our hearts. Strengthening our relationship with God will help us to nourish others. Don’t be afraid to share with others what God has done and is doing for you. Let them know His love is available to them as well.

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  Leader’s Notes

  ALL groups at Faith Promise should follow Jesus Christ and lead others to do the same. Below are the marks of a growing follower and disciple of Jesus.

  – A follower of Jesus desires to encounter God through the deeper study and application of God’s Word.

  – A follower of Jesus embraces people and values relationships on a deeper level so everyone can grow together.

  – A follower of Jesus engages and serves the world around them and in their community, through local partners or God-directed opportunities.

  – A follower of Jesus expands God’s Kingdom through development and multiplication of disciple-makers, possibly to lead more groups at Faith Promise.

   

Main Idea:
Set the table for a Spirit-filled legacy in your family.

Discussion Starter:
Most everyone has one favorite meal or dessert that only mom could make best. What is the one you most vividly recall?

Introduction:
As our lives have become more hectic and more things have begun to vie for our attention, the center of the home has changed. Historically, the “table” was the centerpiece of the home. The table was a place where families gathered for meals, to play games, plan vacations, fold clothes, and to have prayer. Today we begin a new series on family, and we will learn to set the table to form a Spirit-filled legacy for our families.

Encounter God

Primary Scriptures: Psalm 128:3 and Deuteronomy 6:4-7

Discussion Questions:

1. Sunday dinner used to be the time of week when families gathered around the table for a meal after church. Much time was spent sharing and getting to know each other. Memories were made during this meal that last a lifetime. How do you think the Psalm we read portrays this scene? Can you share an example of how you experienced this in your family history–or how you want to experience this in your family in the future?
2. Pastor Michele quoted John Piper: “God is most satisfied when we are most satisfied with Him”. What do you think this means? Where do you seek satisfaction for your needs and wants?
3. We must set the table for the legacy of our families before it is set for us. We must be intentional in providing our families spiritual nourishment. Read Deuteronomy 6:4-7. Brainstorm specific examples of how you can remember and talk about God during each of the times listed in verse 7.
4. Pastor Michelle said, “set enough on the table that there are spiritual leftovers for your children to take home with them to their tables after they leave.” This is an obvious reference to the legacy we leave, but how do we ensure there are “leftovers”? What must we do to provide enough that those that come after us can carry on the same “spiritual meal”?

Discovery Bible Method:
For deeper study, as an alternative to the questions above, read Deuteronomy 6:4-7 and use the Discovery Bible Method to explore the passage.

Getting to know you: How is God using this group to equip you to spiritually feed yourself? How is He preparing you to feed others?

Getting to know them: How can your group nourish and encourage each other during the week between meetings?

Getting to know Him: We learned this week that the place settings are centered around the plate. The plate is the place where the substance is that nourishes us. Let’s fill our hearts with substance. This week memorize Deuteronomy 6:4-7.

Engaging at Faith Promise: As you greet those around you during service this week, take time to share a word of encouragement or something that you have seen God do this week.

Engaging in Community: Take the time to listen to your neighbors and your co-workers as they share with you. Ask how you can pray for them this week.

Engaging the World: As our attention spans grow shorter and we become more accustomed to hearing sound bites instead of stories, remember that we do not have to be physically at the same table to “break bread together.” This term merely means to share fellowship as you share a meal. This week as you are on social media, “break bread” with your domestic and international friends. Take a few moments to share something of substance with them.

Main Idea:
Every human being is a part of a spiritual war, in which they are both the battleground and the prize. When someone trusts Christ, they have the power to flee temptations and see through Satan’s illusions.

Discussion Starter:
Do you remember the 2015 viral photo of the dress? Is it blue and black, or white and gold? Spoiler alert: the correct answer is blue and black. If you saw the dress as white and gold, how does it make you feel to realize that what you perceived was an incorrect illusion?

Introduction:
This week, Pastor Zac mentioned some of the tricks Satan uses, like distracting us from God with either pleasure or busyness. New believers who have just switched sides of the spiritual war need to understand that there are two distinct ways that we resist Satan, according to the Bible, which will be uncovered in this discussion. Can you think of a way that you’ve tried to resist sin and Satan in your own life? Don’t focus on what you were trying to resist, but how you were trying to resist it. If you can, write down your way of resisting on a small piece of paper for later.

Encounter God

A note to leaders: Please review the wealth of information in the Leader’s Notes at the bottom of the discussion guide.

Primary Scriptures:  1 Peter 1:8, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, 1 Timothy 6:10-11, 1 Corinthians 6:18, 2 Timothy 2:22

Discussion Questions:

1. The Bible says that Satan goes about “as a roaring lion.” Compare 1 Peter 5:8 to Revelation 5:5. Can you see how Satan’s actions show his lies and illusions at work?
2. If someone were to come to you and say, “I don’t think God loves me or anyone,” how would you respond?
3. If someone were to come to you with their lust and say, “I really want to commit adultery,” how would you respond?
4. When you look at the scriptures above, do you see two basic ways to respond to the temptations and lies of Satan?

Discovery Bible Method:
For deeper study, as an alternative to the questions above, read James 5:13-20 and use the Discovery Bible Method to explore the passage.

Getting to know you: Facts and reasoning destroy Satan’s lies, because they cannot withstand much examination. Satan never has an argument—just fancy presentation. Lusts, however, cannot be reasoned with. You simply have to decide that you want something else more (for instance, God). In the Introduction, what were you resisting? A lust, or an ‘evil imagination’? And, importantly…how did you handle it? Did you give a counter-argument, or flee? Or did you try to do something else?

Getting to know them: In the interest of being ‘raw and real,’ share how you resisted with your group. And (buckle up!) share how that approach has worked out since then. Did that method of handling the problem lead to sliding back into that same spiritual problem, or did you experience victory?

Getting to know Him: God controls everything, including the temptations He allows us to face. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, we see that God also creates “a way to escape” with every temptation. Why would God would allow us to face temptation at all? Does it have something to say about how God intends to change us?

Engaging at Faith Promise: Be eager to greet people who just last week began to trust Christ and be transformed by Him. They need to know we’re thrilled to have them, and that they are in good company: we all struggle with the same things, and we’re all a mess. But most importantly, we all have the same Savior, and we want to help each other.

Engaging in Community: Find ways to talk about issues that are important to your neighbors and co-workers. They are all interested in, and even passionate about, all sorts of different things. Maybe social media has created an ‘illusion’ of enmity because you disagree about politics. Tear down the illusions, and sow God’s truth in your conversations.

Engaging the World: In some countries, people (wrongly) imagine that they do good when they murder Christian missionaries. So, pray for Christ’s missionaries to be safe and not to be discouraged. Scripture is clear that our prayers matter (James 5:16).

Main Idea:
We are called to become fearless witnesses and share the real love of Jesus with those around us.

Discussion Starter:
Pastor Chris mentioned inviting people from his CrossFit class. Can you think of a time when you or someone you knew invited someone to church? Maybe you can remember when someone invited you to a church for the first time. How did that work out?

Introduction:
Life can feel pretty hopeless without the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. This weekend we are studying a time in Israel’s history when God’s people were hopeless. They were starving and feeling pretty desperate. As we revisit this story, let’s think about the necessity of knowing Jesus and sharing Him with others.

Encounter God

Primary Scriptures: 2 Kings 6:24-7:16

Discussion Questions:

1. Over and over throughout scripture we see God’s people taking things into their own hands. What are some ways we see the people handling their situation in this passage? What do we do when we are desperate? How do we attempt to solve our own problems?
2. Who did the messenger to Elisha say was responsible for the disaster? Do you ever feel this way? How can we avoid misplacing blame?
3. What are some of the ways we see God working to help the people?
4. Is there anything significant about the group who found the abandoned Aramean camp? Have you ever felt that God could not use you? Why?

Discovery Bible Method:
For deeper study, as an alternative to the questions above, read 2 Kings 6:24-7:16 and use the Discovery Bible Method to explore the passage.

Getting to know you: Many times we act independently instead of relying on God because of the fear it can take to trust God. As you are thinking of whom you can invite to Easter, what can you remember from this week’s discussion when fear moves into your mind?

Getting to know them: In your dyads and triads, discuss ways you can invite people you know to church this weekend. What are the hesitations or roadblocks that hinder you? What are some strategies for overcoming these blocks?

Getting to know Him: Choose a verse to memorize this week for encouragement. You might choose the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) or Matthew 19:26. Touch base through the week and lift each other up in prayer.

Engaging at Faith Promise: Since this week we are working towards inviting people to church for Easter week, let’s pray for our church family. Pray for all the volunteers who work to make so many Easter experiences available at all our campuses. Pray for strength and courage to invite, and pray that we hear amazing stories as God works through us to grow His Kingdom.

Engaging in Community: Who in your community will you bring to attend a Faith Promise Easter experience?

Engaging the World: This week we saw a story about our partnership in Nairobi. Pray for the children in this community and our other partners around the world. Pray that God’s love for the world would be visible through our actions and generosity in the world.