Weekly Challenge

 

What a beautiful time of sharing in communion last night.  As we walked through the first half of Luke 22 we looked a little deeper into a few realities of life:

1. Satan is prowling like a lion to attack and devour Christs' followers - 1 Peter 5:8
2. Jesus prayed specifically for ALL of his followers - John 17:13-23

The Challenge:
Each time you "break bread" with your family this week, practice remembering Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.  If you have friends over for a meal, all the better.  And don't feel like you have to use bread and grape juice, feel free to be creative.  Pray through Psalm 139:23-24 as a guide towards confession and purifying your heart to receive communion.  Read any or all of the verses listed in this post; see what kind of discussion follows.  Be prepared to share your experiences in class.

In Him,
Aaron

Weekly Challenge: Guarding the Heart

It was very fitting that last week's lesson was on Resurrection Hope as this week we looked at some seemingly distressing words uttered by Jesus about what will happen on earth prior to the end times. Terrors and difficulties MUST come before the end and there is no telling how long those "birth pangs" will last.

As we broke into groups we looked at what it means, as Christians, to live expectantly, hopefully, and differently amid those trials and tribulations. Here is a breakdown of the answers each group came up with:

In General:
Be ready at all times, hope and don't worry, be a brave witness in everything, focus on end result, hunger for the Word, focus on His promises, keep watch, take heart, be on guard, stand firm, be renewed day by day, fix eyes on unseen, stand firm, rejoice in ALL things, live as if this is not our final destination, work as unto the Lord for eternal reward.

In Application:
Live in the Word, weave Scripture into life, pray continually, prepare your family and others, be confident in who He is and remember His promises, keep calm and carry on, keep the glorification of God as your motivation.

The Challenge:
This week, be aware of times you find yourself preparing for anything i.e. getting ready for work, getting the house ready for visitors, friends, in-laws, etc., primping for date night, reviewing notes for a presentation. Any time you notice yourself in preparation mode pray for God to reveal to you ways that you can be preparing yourself by living expectantly, hopefully, and differently. Talk about those revelations with your spouse and children and determine what you, as a family, are specifically going to do. Be prepared to share in class (but don't worry, we won't put anyone on the spot!)

In Him,
Aaron

Weekly Challenge

As we continued our study in the Book of Luke, we learned this week about living Resurrection Hope.  We also discovered the best definition of Hope is "to anticipate, expect, and have confidence in" (Greek translation).  Your challenge this week is to find an opportunity to demonstrate this attribute of Hope with your kids.  It states in Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  Find some creative ways to explain and demonstrate this to your kids this week.  I look forward to hearing your examples in class on Saturday!

Weekly Challenge

Life Group Family & Friends:

Our study last week of Luke 20 focused on submitting to authority.  This was a tough lesson for me to prepare because it hit a little too close to home. 

After the long journey south from the Sea of Galilee, Jesus had finally arrived in Jerusalem.  He presented himself as King/Messiah. The religious authorities interpreted that act as one of blatant blasphemy.   He paused briefly to weep over the city, grieve their spiritual blindness, and predict the coming destruction of the city (19:41-44). Then, King Jesus boldly purged the Temple of its shameful exploitation and condemned its leaders for mutating God’s House from a place of prayer into a robbers’ den. Jesus had drawn His line in the sand. “What are you going to do about that! What are you going to do with Me?”

We discussed that we tend to have a problem submitting to authority, some authorities are harder than others to submit to, and there are areas in our lives that we choose not to live under God’s authority.  Even though we may never find it easy to always submit to God’s authority, we can fully submit our lives to Him.  That is good news.

Jesus asked for the coin that bears the image of Caesar and said give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but give to God what is God’s.  He called on all people to give to God that which bears (or carriers) God’s image and likeness.  The coin bears the image of Caesar, but God’s image is stamped on us. 

Here is my challenge to you this week:

1.    Believe that you are made in God’s image and that you belong to God

2.    Ask God to show you areas in your life that you are giving to Caesar that you should be giving to God (time, use of spiritual gifts, your role as spouse or parent, money, etc.)

3.    Submit to the authority of God as His image bearer

Be Intentional.

Travis