In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul gives the followers of Jesus at the heart of the Empire an incredible gift: the Good News of Jesus that can transform people and form communities into a whole new kind of people who are marked by love and forgiveness and generosity. It’s a stunning vision that makes us want to sit back and take it all in for a while.

Before we can get comfortable, however, Paul in chapter 15 gives us his version of the classic, “But wait, there’s more!”

He makes it clear that this Good News not only transforms people and forms communities around the Jewish homeland or in the Roman capital city… this Good News is destined by God to go to the farthest reaches of the globe.

Nearly 2,000 years have passed since Paul shared his desire to go to “those who have never been told” on the Spanish edges of the Empire (Rom. 15:21-24), but even in our day, the frontier remains. Does God’s Spirit continue to press to the edges? And what does it look like when he does?

This week, we’ll have a very special opportunity to celebrate fresh frontier testimonies and taste the future of every tribe, nation, and tongue worshipping God together.

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SEE IT // BE IT

(WEEKLY COMMUNITY GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE)

Title: The Limits of Love // Scripture: Romans 14:1–15:13

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 Romans, apostle Paul gives the followers of Jesus in the heart of the Roman Empire an incredible gift: the good news of Jesus that can transform people and form communities who are marked by love, forgiveness and generosity. It’s a stunning vision that makes us want to sit back and take it all in for a while. In Romans 15, Paul makes it clear that this good news not only transforms people and forms communities around the Jewish homeland and in the Roman capital city, but it is also destined by God to go to the farthest reaches of the globe. Nearly 2,000 years have passed since Paul shared his desire to go to “those who have never been told” on the Spanish edges of the empire (Romans 15:21-24), yet even in our day, the frontier remains. Does God’s Spirit continue to press to the edges? And what does it look like when he does?

THE MAIN THOUGHT keep this in mind as you facilitate discussion.
We go and send support to all nations so that those who haven’t heard can hear the name of Jesus and understand his kingdom.

SEE IT – Questions 10-15 minutes
Picture (What is the story saying?): Paul’s personal calling was to preach to what kind of people groups? What was Paul’s strategy while he traveled from urban center to urban center? How did those local churches support his mission?

Mirror (Where am I in the story?): Where have you encountered someone who hasn’t heard the name of Jesus? How about someone who doesn’t know someone who has heard the name of Jesus? Paul identifies his personal calling and the calling of the church to make sure all nations hear the gospel. Do you see yourself being called to participate personally or as part of a local church? How have you been living out that calling?

Window (How does the story change how I see those around me?): What made you most uncomfortable about seeing the map of unreached people groups? What brings you hope as you hear stories of how God is moving through international workers sent out by Grace? How will you begin to engage or increase your engagement with unreached people groups?

BE IT – Practice Which of these areas is God speaking to you about this week?
Change UP // Pray
Pray for God to share his heart for the nations with you. Pray for the international workers that have been sent out from Grace to make disciples among unreached people groups. Pray for God’s protection and favor upon them and their families. Pray for dreams and visions among people where there are steep language barriers and other obstacles to being open to hearing about Jesus. Pray for local churches to be established in urban centers as well as remote villages. Email for a list of names of our international workers.

Change IN // Pay
Pay attention to those in your life who are personally called to go to unreached people groups. Pay attention to those around you who step out of their comfort zone to worship in a way that is comfortable to you. Spend some of your time to be with brothers and sisters who express worship a little differently than you. Look for ways to pay for the expenses of those who make great sacrifices to personally go to hard places to preach the name of Jesus. To give by text, send a dollar amount to (770) 809-6177. For other giving options, go to gfc.tv/snellville/resources/give.

Change OUT // Play
Attend a Grace 360 event and learn some basic ways to engage with people from other nations who live and work near us. Email for information about those events or anything missions related. Prayerfully bring Jesus into a conversation with someone you feel God is nudging you to speak with 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.