King/Swanson Life Group Weekly Challenge

Life Group Family & Friends:

On Saturday, we finished a 20-week study of Colossians.  Paul ends his letter by giving thanks for his close, Christian companions and he also encouraged them.  Some of the people he mentions have left him at certain times.  But he lives out the words he wrote in Ephesians 4 about bearing with one another in love. 

Here are some words Paul used to describe his fellow servants: dear brother, faithful servant, comforter, hard worker, and wrestling in prayer.

 

My challenge to you this week is to discuss these questions with your spouse.

What words would someone who knows you well use to describe your relationship with Christ and with your community of believers?

How can you comfort, support, and encourage each other in our life group?

Be intentional.
Travis

Weekly Challenge -Colossians 4:2-6

Life Group family & friends:

Paul is closing out his letter to the Colossians and gives them final instructions:

·         Devote yourselves to a personal relationship with God (4:2)

·         Devote yourselves to prayer for others (4:3-4)

·         Devote yourselves to wise conversations with outsiders (4:5-6)

Then to give an example of what he means, he tells the Colossians that he is in jail (chains) and asks for their prayer.  But he does not ask for freedom from jail.  He asks for open doors, or opportunities to clearly share the truth and love of God the Son.

My challenge to you is to change your prayer focus for one week.  Spend your time talking with God by being thankful (4:2) and wisdom to make the most of every opportunity (4:5) with unbelievers. 

Be intentional.

Travis

Weekly Challenge -Lake Rockwall Estates

Life Group Community:

This morning I was reading from Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby.  Part of what I read spoke deeply to me about the incredible opportunity God has given us to act as His hands and feet to our LRE family.   Here are some comments that I want to share:

“What our world often sees are devoted, committed Christians serving God.  But they are not seeing God.  They…see people serving…, they however, do not see anything happening that can only be explained in terms of the activity of God.  Why?  Because we are not attempting anything that only God can do.”

 

“The kind of assignments God gives in the Bible are always God-sized.  They are always beyond what people can do because He wants to demonstrate His nature, His strength, His provision, and His kindness to His people and to a watching world.”

“God is far more interested in your having an experience with Him than He is interested in getting a job done.  You can complete a job, and never experience God at all.  He is not interested just in getting a job done.”

As we work on the demolition, building of a new home, and providing essentials for the house, pray that we are not just getting the job done.  As we studied in Colossians 3:23, we need to work willingly in all that we do, as though we are working for the Lord.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this Life Group community.

Be intentional.

Travis

Weekly Challenge -Colossians 3:18-21

Life Group community:

Thank you for the participation last night.  I thought the discussion was great.  The passage we studied last week (Colossians 3:18-21) is familiar to us and contains encouraging commands and truths as parents and for our marriage.

We looked up passages to see what the bible has to say about having harmony in the home because of God’s design for the family.  Having harmony in the home comes from having God at the center of our marriage and our family.  This is so very important because a transformed family advertises the Lord Jesus Christ like nothing else on earth. 

Here are some of the phrases we wrote down from our discussion about how to have harmony in the home:

·         The husband is called to love his wife and treat them with respect.

·         We are to be honest in a loving way and maturing spiritually.

·         There is no place for bitterness in the home.

·         Our speech and actions should be God honoring.

·         The wife gets to “keep on submitting yourself” just as Christ submitted to the Father.

·         Genesis 3:16 says that women will want to control their husband, contrary to God’s design.

·         Be satisfied with your spouse.

·         Be refreshed by your spouse.

·         Be your spouse’s biggest cheerleader.

·         Be proud of your spouse and excited about them and by them.

·         Sex in marriage is required and good.

·         Teach your children the Word of God.

·         Teach your children to Love God.

·         Train your child in what is right and they will return to it.

·         Obedience teaches authority, discipline, responsibility, right and wrong, etc.

My challenge to you this week is to identify an area that you need to improve to enhance the harmony in your home.  Is it more family time?  Or more date nights?  Do you need to discuss expectations?  Or stop yelling or speaking harshly?  Can you be encouraging and uplifting?  Or celebrate your differences?

Identify it and put it into action.

Be intentional this week.

Travis

May/June Family Devotionals

Over the next two months there are four family "Mealtime Moments" you can do with your children on the topic of "Family." Two of them focus on your entire family. The other two go along with Mother's and Father's day. Remember these activities are a creative way to get your family discussing everyday topics in an interesting way, while teaching them more about the Christian life and how everything revolves around God and bringing Him glory.

All in the Family http://media.focusonthefamily.com/fotf/pdf/channels/parenting/mealtime-moments/137.pdf

Getting to Know You (Family Discovery Night) http://media.focusonthefamily.com/fotf/pdf/channels/parenting/mealtime-moments/166.pdf

Mother's Day (May 12th) http://media.focusonthefamily.com/fotf/pdf/channels/parenting/mealtime-moments/152.pdf

Father's Day (June 16th) http://media.focusonthefamily.com/fotf/pdf/channels/parenting/mealtime-moments/154.pdf

Have fun and be intentional with your child's Spiritual growth!