12/4 SERMON: THE CHALLENGE OF ETERNITY

Friends,

This sermon marks the end of our NTC teaching series and the end of my blogs based on the sermon series. I would love to know if these were helpful for you and/or your group. I'm continuing to look for ways to make leading a more impactful and enjoyable and I would love your feedback so please shoot me a quick email and let me know if this was helpful for you (specifics would be great as I evaluate whether or not the teaching notes blog was helpful).

Here's Sunday's message with some questions to help your group go deeper:

THE CHALLENGE OF ETERNITY

• Why do you think the New Testament talks so much (over 500 times) about eternity? 
• Ron suggested that we can't full experience life the way that God intended it if without a view of eternity. Why do you think that is?

COLOSSIANS 3:2 – Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. – TLB

• The author of Colossians writes the words in Col. 3:2 because he knows that we have a deep sense of eternity, but a strong desire to live for temporal things. 
• Where do you see this tension coming up in your life?
• Ron reminded us that the key to life is living with a dual focus (both on the here and now, and on eternity). What does this practically look like in our lives?

 3 CHANGES THAT DUAL FOCUS BRINGS INTO OUR LIVES:

#1 – It changes what we get upset and worried about. 

ROMANS 8:18 – I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. – NIV

• What kinds of things do you get worried/upset about? 
• How often do the things that you worry/get upset about come to pass?
• How can your view of eternity change the above two questions?

#2 – It changes how we invest our time, energies, and resources.

JOHN 6:27 – Don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. – NLT

• Do the majority of your resources, time, and energy go toward eternal pursuits or temporal ones? 
• Are you happy with the percentage that you give to each or would you like to change the ratio?

 #3 – It changes how we view our own mortality and death. 

1 CORINTHIANS 15:54-55 – Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? – NLT

• Does death scare you? Why or why not? 

3 WAYS TO LIVE WITH AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

#1 – Get on board with Jesus 

JOHN 3:16-18 – God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. – NLT

• When did you choose to become a follower of Jesus? If you have never made that decision, what is the deciding factor keeping you from making it today?

#2 – Educate myself about my destination 

• How much do you know about Haven? 
• Are you going to take Ron's advice and listen to the series that he preached about Heaven, or get Randy Alcorn's book "Heaven"?

#3 – Put myself in settings where eternity is the focus

• Being reminded of our eternal destination as followers of God is one great benefit to being at church and in  a Life Group. What are some other benefits to being in this type of community of faith?

PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE: What is one thing that you want to do to put this discussion about eternity into practice?

  

 

11/27 SERMON: THE CHALLENGE OF GODLINESS

Friends

I don't know about you, but I thought that yesterdays sermon on Godliness was fantastic. Below are the scriptures that Ron taught on along with some questions to help you and your group dig deeper into the topic. Have a great week and please know that the coaches and I pray for you regularly.

THE CHALLENGE OF GODLINESS

 

1 Timothy 4:7-8 – Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives' tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. – NLT

• What do you think are present day "godless ideas and old wives tales" that we waste our time arguing about? 

GODLINESS DEFINED: Godliness is the practice of becoming more like Christ in our attitudes, actions, and responses.

• Ron said that there is part of us that doesn't naturally flow toward godliness which is why we need to train ourselves. 
• What does it practically look like to train ourselves to be godly?
• List off a few practical steps that you can take/are taking to train yourself to be godly.

 

3 PRACTICES TO HELP PRODUCE GODLINESS:

 

#1 – I must regularly ask God mold me to be like Him.

• Spending time with God is key in helping us become more godly, and prayer is a  key place to spend time with God. How much time do you spend in prayer on a regular basis?  
• How much of that prayer time is spent in reflection (asking God to reveal to you places that He wants to develop your character)?   

Romans 12:1-2 ­ Brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship. Do not change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect. ­ NCV

• There are two keys to godliness found in Romans 12:1-2. 
• The first thing that we must do if we want to become godly is "offer our lives to God." This means that we give ourselves completely to God allowing Him to determine and define the path of our lives. 
• Are there areas of your life that you need to offer to God?
• The second thing that we must do is work in partnership with God in a way that allows him to change us from the inside out through the power of His Holy Spirit working in our lives. This brings us back to the question of prayer (allowing God the space to work in our lives). 

#2 – I must protect myself from ungodliness.

1 Corinthians 15:33-34 ­ Do not be fooled: "Bad friends will ruin good habits." Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don't know God at all. ­ NCV/NLT

• One way that we protect ourselves from ungodliness is by monitoring our relationships. What kind of relationships do you surround yourself with? Are they relationships that draw you closer to God or do they drag you down?
• Spend some time thinking about your friendships and do a little self assessment. 

• If your relationships aren't bringing you closer to God then you need to either change the dynamic of the friendship or change the friendship. 

•  Another way that we protect ourselves from ungodliness is to make the bold decision to stop sinning.
• Are there areas of sin in your life that you have allowed to continue after becoming a Christian? If there are then I want to encourage you that you need to ask the Holy Spirit for the strength to break the power of that sin in your life, and follow the third practice to help produce godliness. 

#3 – I must pursue godly activities.

1 Timothy 6:11 ­ You, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. ­ NLT

• Ron reminded us that unscheduled time tends to flow toward our area of weakness. 
• How are you filling your leisure time? Are you filling it with things that draw you closer to God, take you away from God, or keep you in the same place in your relationship with God? 
• If the answer is the second or third option then a great next step is to fill your time with Godly activities.
• Here are a few godly activities:
• Getting into God's Word (on a daily level by yourself and on a weekly level in a Life Group)
• Pray
• Get involved in a  church ministry and a selfless cause in the community that is in line with God's heart and desires for our community.

APPLICATION ZONE: 

Here are a few suggestions on ways to apply Sunday's message:

1. Spend time praying this week (3 times) asking God to reveal to you areas that He wants to make you more godly and then take action on them.
2. Monitor the relationships closest to you to see if they are drawing you close to God and look for ways to move them in that direction if they aren't currently drawing you toward God. 
3. Draw a line in the sand and decide to stop sinning today. Ask God for the strength, wisdom, and perseverance to say no to temptation and sin in your life. 
4. Look for one new godly way to spend your leisure time. If you're not involved in ministry in the church then sign up for a ministry on your connect card this Sunday. If you are involved, or if you're looking for something else, find a great cause in the community and begin to volunteer.