Living by Faith

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SEE IT // BE IT

(WEEKLY COMMUNITY GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE)

Title: Living By Faith // Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-3

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

This week we continued our series By Faith. In this series we are journeying through Hebrews 10 and 11, taking time to think through what it means for us as Christians to live by faith. In Hebrews 11:1–3, the author invites us to live our lives both being sure about the things we hope for and confident about the things that remain unseen. Through this passage Jon eloquently encouraged us to set the foundation of our faith on the two realities of God’s Promise and God’s Presence. Living life based on God’s Promise means that we are never stuck. It roots our lives in the confidence that in the end it will be ok—that God is working all things for good. Living life based on God’s Presence means believing that we are never alone. It grounds us in the assurance that God is with us—working in us, beside us and through us even when things are dangerous and difficult. The key to living our lives in this posture is surrounding ourselves with both the Word and Witness of God—reading the Scripture and sharing our Stories of Faith.

THE MAIN THOUGHT keep this in mind as you facilitate discussion.
Living by faith means living like you are never stuck and as if you are never alone.

SEE IT – Questions 10-15 minutes

Picture (What is the story saying?): Jon shared that the words from Hebrews 11:1–3 were anchored in the words of Habakkuk which were written 600 years before the life of Christ —“my Righteous ones will live by faith.” What was the setting in which Habakkuk wrote these words? (Assyrian and Babylonian domination) How does this setting apply to the first readers of Hebrews? (they were facing their own persecution) What do the words “assurance” and “conviction” mean? (“to stand under” and “evidence”) What is the nature of this faith? (intellectual, relational, experiential and practical) What two realities are the nature of this faith based on? (the Promise and Presence of God)

Mirror (Where am I in the story?): What makes up the foundation of your faith? How has intellect, relationship, experience and practice informed your faith? Who do you know that best embodies the kind of faith we see in Hebrews 11:1–3? How have you seen this worked out in their lives? Which reality of faith is hardest for you to believe—God’s Promise (that you are never stuck) or God’s Presence (that you are never alone)? Why?

Window (How does the story change how I see those around me?): Jon placed a matrix on the screen that helped us see what life looks like living in the two realities of God’s Promise and God’s Presence and what it looks like when we live with just one or neither of these realities (Disbelief, Deism, Delusion and Faith). Which quadrant, besides the quadrant of Faith, do you find yourself living in most? Why? What might it look like to bring more of your life into the quadrant of Faith?

BE IT – Practice

Change UP // Signature Scripture or Story of Faith
Jon challenged us this week to live our lives in Word and Witness by grounding ourselves in scripture and sharing our stories. Take some time this week to share the Signature Scriptures or Stories of Faith that have shaped your lives as a group. Invite your participants to share a life verse or passage of scripture that has shaped each of their lives or a story of faith that has and is shaping them. Have the individuals read this scripture or share this story with the group.

Change IN // Sing Along
Worship songs often combine scripture and story to give us words that become the lyrics of our lives. Take some time this week to worship together by either playing some of your favorite worship songs or singing them together.

Change OUT // Something to Share
Take a few moments this week to encourage your group to pray for people in their lives who may feel stuck or like they are alone. Name these people together as a group and encourage each person in your group to find one way that he or she can share their Word or Witness with one of these people this week.

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.