Weekly Challenge -Ephesians 2:1-3

Big thanks to Madison Lyle for teaching this lesson. 
His summary was that the unbelievers nature is to sin.  So as a new creation in Jesus Christ, we are no longer a slave to sin.
The challenge is to give grace and understanding to future Christians and win them over with our love. 
Who can you affect by your relationship with God and others?

Be intentional.
Travis

Weekly Challenge: Isaac

We had to cover a lot of ground in Genesis on Saturday.  Started in chapter 11 with Terah having a son (Abam) and ended in chapter 35 with Isaac dying at 180 years old. It is a fascinating part of history when God makes promises and has a relationship with his creation.  No matter how many times we take timing and matters into our own hands (Sarai telling Abram to have a child with Hagar), God keeps his promise.  No matter how many times we get scared and lie or act deceitful (Abraham lying about Sarah being his sister and not his wife), God still protects his plans and promises.
However, our sin does affect generations.  Isaac lied about his wife to Abimelech.  Jacob and Rebekah deceived Isaac.  Laban deceived Jacob.  Jacob's boys lied about their brother Joseph.  And we do the same.
We understand that all these family members had a choice.  They were not forced to follow a pattern of sin through their heritage.  But our actions, good and bad, help shape our future generations.  

Challenge:
Have your parents shaped or influenced your life?
How are you shaping and influencing the lives of your children?
What one sin from your parents would you like help in eliminating from your life?
What are some virtues that are currently a part of your life that you need to pass on to your children, grandchildren, and others in your life?

Life Group weekly challenge: Lucifer

Our new series started with a study of Adam and Eve.  On Saturday we studied Lucifer. 

As a continuation of what Jamie started last week, we know that spiritual warfare is real.  It can be easy to state and sometimes even comforting to believe.  But we still have a difficult time when talking about Satan.  Why??  Maybe Verbal Kint is correct when in The Usual Suspects he says the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing a world that he doesn’t exist.   Or maybe our culture has created a pitchfork carrying character similar to a Santa Claus. 

So we took time in Life Group to go through the bible and list the names used to describe or talk about Lucifer.  Here is a partial list:

Accuser, adversary, lion, Beelzebul, ruler of demons, Belial, Leviathan, twisted serpent, devil, father of lies, dragon, serpent, satan, evil spirit, ruler of this world, prince of the power of the air, tempter, god of this world, Lucifer, angel of light, the enemy, Angel of the abyss, Abaddon, Apollyon

Then we made a list of the attributes or characteristics of Satan:

Was the anointed cherub, is limited spatially, and not omnipresent.

He is a liar, an oppressor, and an imitator.

He came to kill, steal, and destroy.

He will tempt, he plans, he schemes, he fights, he loses.

My challenge for you this week involves watching this clip of Bishop Ron Archer testimony.

Then I want you to stand with your family outside of your house and tell Satan that he is not welcome in your home.  Tell him that in the power of the name of Jesus, that you forbid him to work in your home.  Then pray a blessing on your house and family.

Be intentional this week.

Travis 

Weekly Challenge: Are we Immature?

Life Group family and friends:

We studied 1Corinthians 3:1-4 and Hebrews 5:11-14 during LG on Saturday.  Many Christians were not growing.  Paul called them immature and still babies in the faith.  They were jealous, lazy, selfish, living in fear, not teaching others, and not applying what they have learned.  Other Christians were being intentional and growing.

During LG, we came up with these words to describe the maturing Christian:

Connection, training, authenticity, bible studies, self-discipline, sacrifice, action, community, mentors, and choosing to be intentional.

We read a paragraph from For the Love of God, by D. A. Carson written in 1999.  This is the excerpt:

People do not drift toward holiness.  Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord.  We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith.  We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.

 

My challenge to you this week is to read this excerpt every day.  Make it your call to action and maturity.  We will not drift into Christian maturity.  We must make a decision.  It will take an effort on your part.  We have to be intentional.  

 

Travis

Weekly Challenge: Information + Application = Transformation

Life Group Community:

Great discussion on Saturday.  The theme was Information + Application = Transformation

Our study was on Proverbs 3:1-2.  Every two verses, we are told to do something (or not to do something) followed by a promise.  It is useful for us to read the bible, but we have to be intentional about applying the information we have learned.

My challenge to you this week is to finish the handout we started in LG.  List the exhortation and the promise.  Then complete the application and the steps you will take. 

 

Verses	Exhortation	Promise	Application	Steps
v. 1-2	Don’t forget God’s teaching and keep his commandments in your heart.	Long life and prosperity	God promises me long life and prosperity if I make his teaching and commands a part of my life.	1.     I will practice a personal Bible study and prayer time daily. 2.     I will make my Life Group and Growth Group a top priority.
v. 3-4
v. 5-6
v. 7-8
v. 9-10
v. 11-12

 

Weekly Challenge -What does it mean to produce Fruit as a Christian?

Life Group family and friends:

The question we worked through on Saturday was "Are you producing fruit?".  We also read through Mark 4 where Jesus was talking about seed falling on the path, on rocky soil, on thorny soil, and on good soil which produced 30x, 60x, and 100x multiples.

But what does all that mean for us?

As believers, the result of a spirit filled life should be fruit.  If you put it in context with Galatians 5, we should be producing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
But when you look at the Mark 4 parable, several questions come to our attention. 
The rocky soil example are believers who hear the good news, believe, but don't have the strong roots or maturity.  They drop out when trouble or persecution arise demanding suffering and sacrifice.
The thorny soil example are believers who get choked out by worry, wealth, and materialism and fall away from their commitment to follow Jesus and grow. 

How are you tending to your soil?  Are you growing roots and going deep?  Are you removing the weeds that choke you out or distract you? 

And finally, what fruit are you producing?  The apple tree does not produce fruit for its own benefit.  The fruit is for other people. 

How are you using the fruit of the spirit to benefit your family, your co-workers, your Life Group community, and for unbelievers?



Be intentional this week.
Travis

Weekly Challenge -Security through the Trinity

LG family and friends:
You have been chosen, redeemed, and sealed!  Amen.  In our study of Ephesians 1:3-14, we learned:

• God the Father chose you
• God the Son redeemed you
• God the Spirit sealed you

Your salvation is a done deal.  God's desire now is that you participate with Him.  He wants you to live a holy and blameless life, be intentional, and make a difference for Him today.  This goes back to our challenge last week regarding Ephesians 4.

The challenge this week is talk to someone this week about the security you have because of what the Trinity has done for you.  Describe the hope, joy, and peace you have and how your life is different. 

People are naturally seeking.  As the news story we read in LG, some people will believe in Jediism to give them some type of higher power.  But they will not find security.

Be intentional.

Travis

Weekly Challenge -2 Thessalonians 2:6-12

Life Group Community:

In our passage and discussion this week, Paul was reminding the young Thessalonian church (and us) to be patient, live with hope, and trust in God. 

There is evil and wickedness in the world and there will be a future climax of lawlessness which will follow the removal of the restrainer.  However, it is still in God's control.  If fact, the evil and wickedness will be removed by the breath of God when it is time. 

This knowledge should give the church hope.  The challenge for the week is to focus on living with hope.  To accomplish this challenge, you need to know the source of hope.  Use this prescription for patience and hope found in Isaiah 41:10 to meet the challenge for the week.

Prescription for Patience and Hope (Isaiah 41:10)
Sunday	“Do not be afraid”
Monday	“I am with you”
Tuesday	“Do not be dismayed”
Wednesday	“I am your God”
Thursday	“I will strengthen you”
Friday	“I will help you”
Saturday	“I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”

Be intentional.

Travis

Weekly Challenge - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Life Group,
What happens to believers when they die?  When is Jesus coming back?  When will we be caught up, raptus, or raptured?  How will we know it has happened?  What will happen to all the believers who have died before the rapture?  Is it ok for me to grieve or mourn when a believer dies?

These are some of the questions the new Thessalonian believers had for Paul.  Paul was telling all believers that we have hope which non-followers do not have.  This hope should bring joy and encouragement.  Then we should encourage others with this truth.

One way to find hope is to seek it in God's word.  It was encouraging to me to listen to our LG community read passage after passage about hope in the bible!

My challenge to you this week is to ask God to provide you opportunities to encourage someone this week because of the hope which you have.  This is not a wish type of hope.  It is anticipation, expectation, confidence type f hope.

Be intentional this week.
Travis

Here are a couple images from the lesson prep regarding the timing of the rapture:

Weekly Challenge -1 Thessalonians 2:1-4

Life Group Community:

Our discussion of 1 Thessalonians 2:1-4 included 2 main topics.  First, why can it be hard for us to speak with boldness?  Second, how do we define success as Christians?

For the first topic of boldness, we saw that Paul spoke boldly and we know that the young believers in Thessalonica spoke with boldness.  Both parties were suffering for the cause.  We viewed a clip from God’s Not Dead where only one student spoke boldly because he knew it was the right thing to do.  I am sure he was not the only believer in that class.

The second topic of defining success as a Christian was enjoyable as well.  Some Christ followers might say we cannot talk about being successful because we will never “arrive” as a Christian.  While it is true that we don’t achieve a special perfect status, Paul said that he was successful.   The other end of the spectrum is the home of the Christians who look at their actions and life status as success.  I have been on 20 mission trips, I have not been divorced, my children know all the books of the bible, my kids have never been on a date, the pastor finds me to shake my hand, etc. (you get the point). 

We decided as a class that success comes back to the heart.  We know there has to be enough evidence to convict you if you were arrested for being a Christian.  Jesus said in Matthew 7, that by their fruits you will know them.  But your serving, mission trips, parenting, loving your spouse, and being in community have to come from a heart of love and thanksgiving.   Then you will be changed, your family will be changed, your community will be changed.  That sounds successful to me!

My challenge to you this week is to ask God the Spirit to show you how to adjust your heart.  Maybe you need to stop judging other parents, or couples who have been divorced.  Maybe you need to evaluate why you are doing activities.  Is it to check the Christian box, or is it so your heart will produce the fruits?

Be intentional this week.

Travis

Weekly Challenge -HOPE

Life Group Community:

We had a great start to our new study of 1 and 2 Thessalonians.  Aaron and I are both excited about the opportunity to teach through these 2 letters. 
During LG, we spent a lot of time on Saturday reviewing the introduction to the new church in Thessalonica and the purpose, places, people, and dates. 

Our study would make a great movie. We have a story of HOPE which includes Jewish/Christian converts, Greek converts, mobs, Jason hiding people, Paul and Silas having to escape out of town, Timothy meeting with the new believers and reporting to Paul, and locations such as Thessalonica, Corinth, Lystra, and Philippi.

We have the same hope as these new followers of God the Son.  We get to live with hope (anticipation, expectation, and confidence) and be linked by community.

The challenge for the week is to read 1 Thessalonians again, but think about the hope the new followers have even through the trials, confusion, persecution, being made fun of, taken to jail, and losing contact with their leader.

Think about this quote from Martin Luther King, Jr (and possibly others before him):

I may not be the man I want to be;

I may not be the man I ought to be;
I may not be the man I could be;
I may not be the man I one day will be;
but praise God, I’m not the man I once was . . .
and that makes all the difference.
 

Be intentional this week.

 

Travis

Life Group Weekly Challenge -Revenge???

Life Group community:

During LG on Saturday we learned what God’s word says about revenge, payback, evil for good, evil for evil, and good for evil.  Our main passages included Proverbs 17:13, Proverbs 20:22, and Proverbs 25:21-22. 

I really enjoyed the discussion on society responses, biblical examples, and why it is tough not to seek revenge.

To close, we read Romans 12:17-21 and Matthew 5:38-48.

My challenge to you this week is to read these verses again and meditate on the following questions:

If you adopted Jesus’ attitude, how would your life be different?

If you embraced Jesus’ teaching, how would you be different at home? At work?  During your commute?

If you followed Paul’s instructions, how would your life be different?

Be intentional and have a thankful heart.

Travis

 

Weekly Challenge -Spiritually Naive

I felt very humbled and honored to teach Life Group this week. We discussed “spiritually Naïve” and how this can be a time of growth and humbling ourselves to learn more about who God is! If we don’t keep this in check it could also be a time of great hurt and destruction.

The word of God is alive, and god wants to ignite a fresh passion, a growth, and a revelation of who HE is daily. Allow HIM to do this. Remember, we all are spiritually naïve and we need HIS word to penetrate our soul and be changed by it. Don’t feel frustrated, angry or jealous of others in their walk; because each of us have a path God has mapped out for us, we just need to obey HIM (Sounds easier than it is) So how do we do this?

1.    Pray!! God reveals areas HE wants to work on with us when we are in relationship and communication with Him.

2.    Obey what He tells you to do.

3.    Study Gods word alone (James 1:5) , Mark 1:35-37 (Jesus’s Example)

4.    Attend LG, women’s bible study, and men’s study, meet with an accountability partner; be involved in a Growth Group (Lead your own GG). You don’t have to do ALL of these but remember meeting with like-minded Christians who are growing in their faith can spur us on! (Proverbs 27:17, Hebrews 10:24-25)

5.    If you hear something in service, LG or a friend you know is growing and producing fruit and what they say doesn’t “sit” right, PRAY about it, talk to God, talk to them.

 

I’m thankful for my LG and all of you that spur me on to grow deeper in HIS word.

In Christ,

Bridgette

Weekly Challenge -Making Decisions

Life Group Community:

Class was wonderful on Saturday.  25 minutes of fellowship and laughing, awesome reminder of community by the Scott family, followed by good discussion on how we make decisions as Christians in every area of our lives.  I love being a part of this group.

We referenced over 20 scripture on how to make decisions as believers.  Some of the key phrases were:

Trust God, not your own understanding.

Ask for wisdom.
Seek counsel from other believers.
Learn from past experiences.
God knows our future and gives us hope.
Do everything (small and big) for God’s glory.
Know the facts, 2 sides to every story.
Study the word.  Is there a biblical truth or principle?
God will hear you and reveal to you.

The challenge for the week is related to our discussion on Jeremiah 33:3 “ Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known”.

Every day this week, all members of our LG should ask God the Father to reveal things to you that are unknown.  Then listen.  When we get to class on Saturday, we can spend time sharing what was revealed. 

Be intentional.

Travis

Weekly Challenge -Emilie Quisenberry

Great job by Emilie on Saturday night.  God has provided us with many unique ways to encourage each other, build each other up, and challenge each other to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10 and 1 Thessalonians 5).  But one of my favorite channels of these actions is when we have members of our LG community teach and share with our group.

Go through the challenge from Emilie and be intentional in your purpose and in your roles.

Travis

___________________________________________

The weekly challenge from Emilie: 

1.  Make husband/wife relationship the priority relationship - commit to "couch time"- 15 - 20 minutes where you connect & the kids may not interrupt.  

2.  Prayerfully commit to reading either in marriage or parenting to gain new ideas to strengthen these relationships 

3.  Commit to a 90 day family spiritual plan - attached.   

Book recommendations 

For Marriage: 

How We Love by Milan & Kay Yerkovich

The 5 Love Languages by Gary Smalley

The 5 Love Needs or The 5 Sex Needs by Gary & Barb Rosberg

For Parenting: 

Gary & Anne Marie Ezzo - www.gfi.org or www.growingfamiliesUSA.com 

Growing Kid's God's Way 

Parenting the Middle Years

Reaching the Heart of Your Teen 

Dennis & Barbara Rainey - www.familylife.com 

So You're About to Be a Teenager

Parenting Today's Adolescent

Sexual Purity 

Preparing Your Son for Every Young Man's Battle by Stephen Arterburn & Fred Stoeker

Every Young Man's Battle by Arterburn & Stoeker

Every Young Woman's Battle by Shannon Ethridge & Stephen Arterburn 

Weekly Challenge -Replace Anger with Peace

Life Group Community:

Thank you for participating in discussion and reading scripture during LG on Saturday.  Our topic was how to replace the Anger in our life with Wisdom and Peace.  The verses in Proverbs remind us of the difference between a wise person and the reaction of the foolish.  Being wise could include: making a choice to control your words, be like-minded, bearing with each other in love, being empathetic, not causing dissension, not being quick to anger, seeking the good for one another, being patient, being kind, etc.

One commentary stated the cause of rage, anger, and hot-temperedness, is a failure to let God be God and to trust that He is in control of all aspects of our lives.  The only exception is righteous anger, which agrees with God’s anger. 

In LG, we provided a hand-out called Replacing Rage with Peace.  My challenge for you this week is to work through some of the 4 steps on the handout.  If you are like me, you may find it difficult to get past the first step this week.  However, it is necessary to go through all steps, no matter how long it takes. 

Be Intentional.
Travis 

REPLACING RAGE WITH PEACE

Step 1              Evaluate yourself

A.    What do I do (or not do) at home that irritates my wife and children or my parents, my brothers and sisters or apartment-mate.

B.    What do I do (or not do) at church that irritates my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ?

C.    What do I do (or not do) at work that irritates my fellow employees?

D.    What do I do (or not do) that irritates my friends?

Step 2              Evaluate your weaknesses in light of your attitudes and actions toward other Christians

1.          Do I expect more from others than I do from myself?

2.          Do I criticize others in the areas of my own weaknesses?

Step 3              Make a list of Christians you have difficulty relating to

·       If you have a list ask yourself, why am I so angry with them?

·       Are my feelings justified?

·       Are they aware of how I feel?

·       Am I upset with them because they remind me of myself?

Step 4              Consciously and deliberately forgive every person who has ever done anything to hurt you

Talk to each person to ask their forgiveness and make things right

Caution:  Do not base your forgiveness on the condition that they offer an apology. Take care of your own attitudes and eventually God will take care of theirs.

Weekly Challenge -Study God's Word

Life Group Community:

Fantastic discussion on Saturday about the need for studying the bible and the things which keep us from a consistent craving of God’s word.

Romans12:1-2 teaches us to be living sacrifices and to be different from the world.  Trust that God’s will is perfect and pleasing. 

I Peter 2:2 challenges us to crave and desire the word of God so that we might grow.

The challenge for the week is to spend 15 to 30 minutes daily, Monday – Friday, of this week in the bible.   We hope for 100% participation.

At the beginning of Life Group, we made a list of advice we give our children on how to study: schedule the time and place, be consistent, have your resources ready, remove distractions, don’t wait till the last minute, etc.

Use this same advice to accomplish the challenge this week.  Ask God to teach you how to train (John Ortberg reference to book Training vs. Trying) in the spiritual discipline of study.  Ask Him what is keeping you from craving and desiring His word.  Then we can spend time at the beginning of Life Group sharing what we learned.

Be intentional.

Travis

Weekly Challenge -Community

Life Group Family & Friends:

Our lesson on Saturday focused on how to be a community of unity.  We spent time reading and discussing Acts 2:42-47, Acts 4:32-35, and Ephesians 4.

We made a list of words and phrases which described community.  We are unified and have all things in common because of the grace of God.  When I read the descriptive words, it fills my heart with joy.  It is a beautiful picture of Christ's love through relationships.

Don't go it alone.  Relationships can be messy, so "bear with one another in love".  Focus on using your gifts to lift up and encourage the body.  Keep your eyes open for unmet needs.  There is security in the unified community.  Satan wants you out of the community.

My challenge to you this week is to pray for our LG community every day.  Read the description of community and ask God the Spirit for His power to fulfill your role in our community.  When you read the words above, don't you want to be a part of that community?  So do I!

Be intentional.
Travis

Weekly Challenge -Focused Fasting

Crossfit week 6 - Fasting

Thanks to everyone for participating in the class discussion on fasting and letting me learn from your experiences.

A few reminders of what we went over for the challenge this week-

-  The purpose of fasting is ultimately God himself. We are looking to align our heart directly to Him.

- Some of the reasons we might fast are:  to seek God's guidance, to strengthen prayer, to express grief, to seek deliverance, to express repentance, to humble ourselves, to minister to the needs of others, to overcome temptation, to express love and worship to God

- In fasting we:  pray more intently, become more receptive, lean more on scripture, demonstrate repentance, physically declare we need God to survive, sense the spiritual more than the physical, and prepare to love others more than ourselves.

---------------------------------------

Question-  If you haven't ever fasted, would you consider trying now?  If you've previously fasted, would you look at it differently or do anything different?

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Challenge-  Focused Fasting

Develop a strategy for fasting in the next several weeks.

Step 1- Determine what is the focus of your fast (food, tv, computer, internet, etc)

Step 2- Develop a plan for how you will focus on God (scripture, journal, worship, etc)

Step 3- Decide how you will keep this between you and God (schedule, routine, timing)

Step 4- Deploy your plan (how long, when, where, why)

Thanks and have a great week,

Michael

"Fasting helps us remember the true source of our utmost joy.  Most people would agree that food is a good thing. All good things come from God, but the human heart is inclined to worship God's gifts rather than God himself. Fasting helps our hearts to look past the good gifts to the Good God, who blesses us despite ourselves."  Mars Hill

"Food is life-giving, life-sustaining, essential for our survival. Is it any wonder that the giving up of this earthly essential ultimately declares our complete dependence on God the Father, our heavenly essential".  MC

RIghtNow Media

Our current 4-week series is giving our Life Group the chance to use the free resource we have been given at RightNow Media.
Bridgette and I are enjoying The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.  4 video sessions that average 22 minutes.
What is in your Bible Study Library queue????
Send it out by twitter or FB.

Be Intentional.
Travis