Family Reunions. Family Values. Family Dinner. Family Dysfunction. Family Feud. Family Vacation. Family Meeting. The word “family” can bring up a lot of different ideas and emotions.
But what if the concept of family was central to the very heart of God? From the Garden to Abraham to Moses to Jesus to the early church, God has been in the business of creating for himself a family with whom he can dwell. This Sunday, as we dive into the Scriptures and hear stories from our community, we’ll dig into what it means to live as the Family of God. How different would life be if we truly lived as those with God as our Father and Jesus as our brother?
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(WEEKLY COMMUNITY GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE)
Title: We Are Family // Scripture: Ephesians 2:19–22
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
Family is defined for people in many different ways. The Bible describes family as being something so much bigger than just our similarities. From the Garden, to Abraham, to Moses, to Jesus, to the early church, God has been in the business of creating for himself a family with whom He can dwell. Ephesians 2:18-22 speaks to how, through the blood of Christ, we are no longer strangers, but are now fellow citizens and members of his household. Being joined together through all of our differences, strengths and weaknesses, we bring our beautiful authentic selves to God’s family. We can live in a family that consists of “No weapons, No armor”—a place free of judgement and full of grace.
THE MAIN THOUGHTKeep this in mind as you facilitate discussion.
Connection is the pathway to family.
SEE IT – Questions 10-15 minutes
Picture (What is the story saying?): How does the Bible describe family? What are the three barriers to family?
Mirror (Where am I in the story?): When was the last time you thought about how you view church? What do you spend your time on? What do the things you spend your time on tell you about yourself? What tools tell you what to do?
Window (How does the story change how I see those around me?): When was the last time you, as a family, disconnected from technology? Who are the people in your life that you could be “known by” or who you could invite into that space?
BE IT – Practice
Change UP // Exercise 15 minutes
Ephesians 2 speaks about God building us together to become a dwelling in which He lives, being rooted and established in love. Building family takes predictable rhythms, regular reminders, and grace-filled relationships. What would that mean for you to establish this in your life?
Change IN // Group Activity 5 minutes
Ephesians 3:17 speaks about being rooted and grounded in love. Building family takes being authentic and open to the real you. What is one thing you could do to share more of your real self and less of your false self?
Change OUT // Life Application Assignment 5 minutes
Building family takes time and intentionality. Who do you think about in the “Window” section? Part of family life is eating together. Talk about hosting a dinner. Who would you invite?
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.