Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to be part of something big with my life. I’ve wanted to see God do something significant—not just in the world somewhere—but in my life and in those I was doing life with. Some people call it revival. Others just call it “vival”—because to “revive” something it had to be alive to begin with. Still others call it a “move” of God and others simply a “movement”.
The truth is, whatever you call it, it was happening in the book of Acts. God was working. His Spirit was moving. The world was changing. The Living God was actively working through a people that were living God. And it is this living reality that became known as the church.
Unfortunately, what we see happening in the book of Acts, fewer and fewer people today associate with the institution of the church and the religion that bears Christ’s name. Today the church is often more bent on keeping things from changing then being a force of change in the world. We’ve lost our sense of movement, our sense of “vival”—our sense of life.
But what if we wanted to gain back that sense of life? What if we wanted to become that movement again? What if instead of simply trying to keep things from changing, we actually desired to be a force of change in the world? How would we do that?
Well, this is exactly the conversation we will dive into headfirst this Sunday. And the answer we will find in the book of Acts might actually surprise us. It might not actually be as complicated as we sometimes think it is. So join us this Sunday—a Sunday that marks 15 years from that tragic morning on September 11th when none of us could deny that there was something broken in our world. And together lets journey toward the beauty that lies just beyond all broken things as we learn to be the people who step into that brokenness and make it beautiful again.
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(Weekly Community Group Discussion Guide)
Date: September 11, 2016 // Title: Ordinary Rhythms, Extraordinary Impact
Scripture: Acts 2:42-3:21
ARRIVAL / SOCIAL TIME 15-20 minutes
Spend the first 15 minutes or so of your time together catching up and socializing with one another. Also find time to catch up together on how the assignments from last week turned out.
SERMON REVIEW 5-10 minutes
In the book of Acts God was working. His Spirit was moving. The world was changing. The Living God was actively working through a people that were “living”God; it is this living reality that became known as the church. Today the church is often more bent on keeping things from changing than being a force of change in the world. Let us journey together toward the beauty that lies just beyond all broken things, and we learn to be the people who step into the brokenness around us and make it beautiful again.
THE MAIN THOUGHT Keep this in mind as you facilitate discussion.
Extraordinary impact comes from living a life devoted to what seem like ordinary rhythms.
SEE IT – Questions 10-15 minutes
Picture (What is the story saying?): At the end of Acts 2, what was the church’s rhythm together? What were the two places (spheres) where the early church functioned? (v.46) In chapter 3 the church looks outward and becomes expectant, and what happens?
Mirror (Where am I in the story?): Where are the areas in my life that I’m living blind—unaware of what God is doing in the world and my part in it?
Window (How does the story change how I see those around me?): Are there broken situations or people around you that have become normal to you? You may not have silver or gold, but what do you have? What did Peter and John have that they gave? (3:1-10)
BE IT – Practice
Change UP // Exercise 15 minutes
Read Psalm 31. Be still and ask the Lord to show you areas of your life where you have not been strong or faithful. Take those and lay them at His feet. Praise Him that He is strong and faithful. Give yourself time to take that in! Release your weakness into His strength and your doubts and failings into His faithfulness. He is great and He is good: run toward His goodness!
Change IN // Group Activity 5 minutes
Give each person a piece of paper. Have them write down two needs that they have. After you’ve collected all the papers, assemble one big list on a poster board (or something that you can keep all season long). Pray about how you can, as a group, meet each other’s needs like the church in Acts. Keep track of the list so that you can celebrate how little things make big impact!
Change OUT // Life Application Assignment 5 minutes
Revisit the Window questions above. Within your group, is there overlap on what you thought of? If so, make an action plan to bring beauty into an area of brokenness around you.
CLOSING PRAYER 5 minutes
Take a few minutes to gather any prayer requests and pray for each other to SEE IT and BE IT this week.