Journey to Joy: Week One

Hope

This week, while you meet with your Faith Formation Group you may want to reflect on our Scripture passage by reading Isaiah 7:14 (printed below) and discuss the questions from the Scripture and Sermon as a way to begin a conversation. 

All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). Isaiah 7:14

Questions for Consideration:

1. Take time to examine your past year, where have you struggled and where have you found victory?
2. Think about a best friend other than your spouse (for most of us our spouse is our best friend). Share with the group something that is special about this friend and what it feels like when you are hanging out with this friend? 
3. Isaiah in his great prophetic message of hope is telling the people that God is coming to “hang out with them.” What are the implications of having God walking with you at your side?

As you meet this week, we encourage you to also take time to open yourselves up as a group and dialog on the following Wesley Challenge question: Am I enjoying prayer? (Pages 23-27 in The Wesley Challenge)

Walking With God: Past - Present - Future Week Five

Crossing The River

This week, while you meet with your Faith Formation Group you may want to reflect on our Scripture passage by reading Joshua 1:1-9 (printed below) and discuss the questions from the Scripture and Sermon as a way to begin a conversation. 

Josh. 1:1    After the death of Moses the LORD’s servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, ² “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. ³ I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you— ⁴ from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ ⁵ No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. 

Josh. 1:6    “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. ⁷ Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸ Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹ This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Questions for Consideration:

1. As you read this passage of God preparing Israel to enter into the promised land, what sticks out as important and what causes you to have a question? 
2. What is key to the success of Israel when they inhabit the new land? How can that translate into our day?
3. Look at the very last line of the passage, God’s promise to be with the people of Israel and then turn in your bibles to Matthew 28:18-20. What hope does this give you as you follow God’s new covenant to love one another?

As you meet this week, we encourage you to also take time to open yourselves up as a group and dialog on the following Wesley Challenge question: Am I defeated in any part of my life? (Pages 63-66 in The Wesley Challenge)

Walking With God: Past - Present - Future Week Four

Bridging the Gap, Week Two

This week, while you meet with your Faith Formation Group you may want to reflect on our Scripture passage by reading Acts 2:42-47(printed below) and discuss the questions from the Scripture and Sermon as a way to begin a conversation. 

Acts 2:42    All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

Acts 2:43    A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. ⁴⁴ And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. ⁴⁵ They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. ⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— ⁴⁷ all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

Questions for Consideration:

1. What sticks out to you about the community of believers as is shared in Acts 2? 
2. What could we do to live into such a community today with the differences of our culture and time period?
3. How would it be hard to live into this type of community today?

As you meet this week, we encourage you to also take time to open yourselves up as a group and dialog on the following Wesley Challenge question: Am I honest in all my actions and words, or do I exaggerate? (Pages 113-116 in The Wesley Challenge)

Walking With God: Past - Present - Future Week Three

Bridging the Gap

This week, while you meet with your Faith Formation Group you may want to reflect on our Scripture passage by reading Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Leviticus 19:18, and Mark 12:29-31 (printed below) and discuss the questions from the Scripture and Sermon as a way to begin a conversation. 

Deut. 6:4    “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. ⁵ And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. ⁶ And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. ⁷ Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. ⁸ Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Lev. 19:18    “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Mark 12:29    Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. ³⁰ And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Questions for Consideration:

1. Why do you think God is so intent on his people loving him with our whole heart, soul and mind?
2. How does our love for God effect our love for others? How does our love for others effect our love of God?
3. How did Jesus reflect his love? What does that mean for us?

As you meet this week, we encourage you to also take time to open yourselves up as a group and dialog on the following Wesley Challenge question: Is Jesus real to me? (Pages 19-22 in The Wesley Challenge)

Walking With God: Past - Present - Future Week Two

A Day To Remember

This week, while you meet with your Faith Formation Group you may want to reflect on our Scripture passage by reading Exodus 12:14 (printed below) and discuss the questions from the Scripture and Sermon as a way to begin a conversation. 

Exodus 12:14

“This day will be a day of remembering for you. You will observe it as a festival to the LORD. You will observe it in every generation as a regulation for all time.

Questions for Consideration:

1. Exodus 12:14 comes in the middle of the story of the passover––the night that God would pass over the homes of those who had the blood of the lamb brushed over the top and the sides of their doorframe––the night when God would liberate the nation of Israel. Can you remember a time when God came and did a miraculous work in your life or family? Take time to share this story with your group.
2. Why do you think it is important to remember our stories? What does your story tell you about yourself today?
3. The Jewish calendar revolves around special holidays where their story is told over and over again. Why do you think it is important to hear over and over the story of God’s work within His people? Can you tell the story of God’s work in your life? Take time to share some highlights with your group.

As you meet this week, we encourage you to also take time to open yourselves up as a group and dialog on the following Wesley Challenge question: Do I give time for the Bible to speak to me every day? (Pages 49-52 in The Wesley Challenge)

Walking With God: Past, Present, Future

This week, while you meet with your Faith Formation Group you may want to reflect on our Scripture passage by reading Deuteronomy 1:6-8 (printed below) and discuss the questions from the Scripture and Sermon as a way to begin a conversation. 

Deut. 1:6    “When we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough. ⁷ It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River. ⁸ Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’”

Questions for Consideration:

1. We have been blessed to be in the Eisenhower Recreation Center for the past four years. Name something that has blessed you during our time together in that place?
2. This Scripture implies that there are times to stay put and then times to move to the next place. This applies to both our physical locations as well as our spiritual and personal being. Describe a time when God has kept you still for a period and how then God directed you that it was time to move on?
3. As you look at your past what are the foundational things God has done in your life to prepare you for the moment you are now living in?
   

As you meet this week, we encourage you to also take time to open yourselves up as a group and dialog on the following Wesley Challenge question: How do I spend my spare time? (Pages 79-84 in The Wesley Challenge)

Made for Shalom: A Heart at War

This week, while you meet with your Faith Formation Group you may want to reflect on our Scripture passage by reading Psalm 34:14 and Luke 18:9-14 (printed below) and discuss the questions from the Scripture and Sermon as a way to begin a conversation. 

Psalm 34:14

Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

Luke 18:9-14

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: ¹⁰ “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer^a: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! ¹² I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Questions for Consideration:

1. When have you found yourself stuck in a box?
2. Which box(es) do you struggle with most?
3. How does the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (scripture above) teach about getting out of the box and begin to live with a heart of peace? 

As you meet this week, we encourage you to also take time to open yourselves up as a group and dialog on the following Wesley Challenge question: Am I Proud? (Pages 57-62 in The Wesley Challenge)