Elevate

Archive for April, 2010

Just ask Amber, Karli, Hannah, and Phil.

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Hey Families, don’t forget about the Vamos! Road Trip to St. Louis happening Saturday May 22nd. It’s pretty much the coolest road trip ever, and there are 20 spots left.

Here’s the discussion from Sunday, Love Risks.

Main Idea

Love requires sacrifice . . . and maybe cleaning up camel dung.

• What is one of the grossest jobs you’ve ever heard of?

• What is one of the grossest jobs you’ve ever done?

• On a scale of 1-10, how gross do you think Jesus’ foot-washing job was in the passage from the Bible that Doug taught on?

• Imagine you were one of the disciples that night. They all would have known someone needed to wash everyone’s feet but a) that was the job of a servant and b) it was really gross. This actually would have probably been an awkward social moment. Be completely honest: would you have gotten up and washed everyone’s feet?

• How do you think the disciples felt when Jesus – the revered leader of their group – got up and started washing people’s feet?

• Have you ever had someone do a job that you were supposed to do, but you just slacked off on? How did THAT make you feel?

• Why do you think Jesus did what He did?

Read Philippians 2:3-11

³Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

⁵You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁶Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

⁷Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, ⁸he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

⁹Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

• What does v. 3 say are the two things that get in the way of being humble?

• Do you think that’s true or not true? Why? Are there any other reasons you can think of?

• What is the last thing v. 3 tells us to do?

• Why is it so hard to put other people’s needs before ours?
• We spend a lot of our lives trying to prove how smart, funny, good-looking, and generally worthwhile we are. We try to “cling” to our worth. According to vs. 6-7, what did Jesus do?

• We said before that there are two big stumbling blocks to humility and service: selfishness and the need to impress others (insecurity). Which one of these two is your bigger struggle right now? How does that keep you from serving others?

• This series, “Love Out Loud,” is based on the idea that Christians have to “put their love into practice” in order for the world to take notice. Do you think serving really do this? What examples have you seen?

• What are some ways you could radically serve your school?

• How could this small group radically serve the community?

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If you want to go on a road trip to St. Louis, sign up at www.shoalcreek.org/vamos.

This is one of the things we’ll be doing.

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Here you go families, this past Sunday’s Buya discussion:

Main Idea

Loving isn’t a SAFE thing to do.

• What was the last SUPER-awkward, “I’d rather be anywhere but here” social moment you’ve experienced? (Group leader: have a story of your own ready to lead off the discussion.)  How did you deal with it?

• In awkward situations are you an ostrich (bury your head in the sand), a monkey (you just keep chattering away, hoping no one notices how awkward things are), a baboon (you just kinda sit there with a dazed look on your face), or a roadrunner (you run away at 60 miles an hour)?

• In the video Doug said that Jesus’ run-in with the woman at the well would have been really awkward. Why was that?

• There are probably only a few Jews, and more than likely NO Samaritans, at your school, but there are still groups of people who won’t talk to each other. Can you think of any groups that are like that?

Read Matthew 5:43-48

⁴³“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. ⁴⁴But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. ⁴⁶If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. ⁴⁷If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. ⁴⁸But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

• What is the “old rule” given in v. 43?

• What is the “new rule” given in v. 44?

• Read vs. 46-47. What does Jesus say about people who only love people who love them? (Basically He says that EVERYONE does that.)

• Who are some of the people in your life who are easy to get along with?

• Who are some of the people who are hard to get along with?

• Why do you think Jesus makes such a big deal about loving people who aren’t easy to love? Why is that so important? (It might be helpful, after some discussion on this question, to go back to the theme verse for this series, 1 John 3:18.)

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

• On a scale of 1-10, how “risky” are you when it comes to showing God’s love to other people?

• What are some ways you could be “riskier” at your school?
• What are some ways your small group could be “risky”?

What is one thing you can do differently tomorrow to be a love risk-taker?

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Hey Parents, here’s this past Sunday’s discussion from our new series Love Out Loud

Main Idea

The world’s too noisy to hear Christians talk about love. They’ll only notice if they see it.

• What are some of the different things people say they “love”? (If you want, make a list of all these on butcher paper, or a white board.)

• For each of these, what does the word “love” actually mean? Try to use other words to describe what’s being communicated. (You can write these definitions next to each word.)

• What do you think the true definition of love is?

Read John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

• What does the Bible say is the true definition of love?

• If you were to describe what this verse says about love in one word, what would it be?

• What are some good examples of this kind of love that you see in the world around you? What are some bad examples?

• Do you think it’s easy or hard to live out the Bible’s definition of love? Why do you feel that way?

Read 1 John 4:12

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

• What does the first part of this verse say about God?

• How does it say that people can see Him?

• Doug says in the video that “There are people less than a mile from our church dying without Jesus, but the church huddles up inside its four holy walls and expects them to come to us. Our world is in need of hope and love, and the church is often so busy yelling at sinners and saying what we’re against.” Do you think that’s true in the world around your church?

• How about your life specifically? Do you think it’s easy or hard for the world to see Jesus’ love when they look at you?

• This series is called “love out loud.” What do you think that phrase means?

Read 1 John 3:18

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

• According to this verse, what’s the difference between saying you love someone, and actually loving them?

• What are some ways you could love out loud at your school?

• What about with your family?

• What about with your friends?

• In terms of loving the surrounding world, what are some practical ways this small group could go from saying to doing? How can you love out loud together?

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