Begin with silence and prayer
5 min
Gather together as a LifeGroup, as a family or find time alone in a comfortable setting (around a table, on the couch, the floor of the living room, etc.). Invite the Holy Spirit to lead and guide your time. Then spend a few minutes in silence.
Why silence, even while together? Because we live in a busy, noisy world, under a non-stop assault of distraction. In the midst of all the chaos, it’s hard at times to hear the voice of God, and that of our brothers and sisters. As we gather together as a family, we want to hear what the Father is saying to and through each of us, and respond in turn. A great way to do that is to begin each time with silence and prayer.
Discuss last week’s Practice (15-20 minutes)
If you are in a LifeGroup of seven or more, divide into small groups of 3–4 people each (ideally same gender).
Spend a few minutes catching up on life…
Then talk through the following debrief questions:
What was your experience over the last week of setting your mind on things that bring you joy?
What was the impact this had during those days in which that was an intentional practice?
What was the impact on your relationship with the Lord and with others in your life?
Transition back to one large group (15-20 minutes)
Have a conversation around the following questions:
Any stories from the last week’s practice that you would like to encourage the whole group with?
Did you listen to this week’s sermon, The Family of God? What did you think?
How has or hasn’t your experience in the church been that of a family?
How did the sermon challenge or encourage you?
Open the Bible together
15-20 min
Have somebody read Matthew 12:46-50 and 1 John 2:28 - 3:3
Discuss the following questions:
1. What does John mean that we are children of God?
2. What is John saying as he says in verse 2, “the reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him”?
3. When reading the 2 passages, what does this say about our life as followers of Jesus?
4. How is this similar and different from the way you currently see and view the church?
Read over this coming week’s Practice before you call it a night (10 minutes)
Here’s the Practice for the coming week:
Share life together. Share a meal with someone outside of the regular rhythms of life.
Be in relationships. Take time to spend with someone
Be real and vulnerable. Take the step to really allow someone to get to know you and vice versa. This is not easy and can be quite scary but part of our identity as family calls us to beyond pleasantries and really walk through life together.
Work through these discussion questions (10-15 minutes)
How does your own family experience influence and shape your reaction to this identity as the family of God?
What would change about your view, prioritizing, and interaction with the church if you truly saw the church as family the way Jesus describes it?
What excites you about this? What is your hesitation or what makes this difficult?
Close in prayer
5-10 min
Share prayer requests and pray for one another the way we would pray for a family that is our number 1 relational priority after our relationship with God. Ask the Holy Spirit to move in your heart in a way that draws us all together as the children of God.