Bluffton Community

Primary Scripture:

Acts 4:33

Primary Topic:

Jesus’ resurrection IS the good news we share. Without His resurrection, there is nothing to share. Telling other people about who Jesus is and what He has accomplished seems to be the natural outflow of a life saved and changed by Jesus. Our response is EVANGELISM.

Prompting Questions:

What is the message the early church shared again and again? What is evangelism?
Why do some seem to easily share their faith while others deeply struggle? What are some ways I can share the gospel with others?

Cross References:

Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:14–18; Luke 24:44–49; John 20:19-23; Acts 1:4–8

Primary Scripture:

Romans 6:4; 1 Peter 1:3-5
Primary Topic:

When Jesus was raised to life, He was both the same and different at the same time. His body had new abilities that His old body did not seem to have. The disciples both struggled to recognize Him and yet knew Him instantly. In the same way, through salvation, we are raised to a new kind of living, now and for eternity. The response is CONTINUING FAITH AND DISCIPLESHIP

Prompting Questions:

How would you describe the old life without Christ? How would you describe your new life in Christ? When does eternal life begin? Why does a believer display the character of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in this life? How does a believer continue to grow in their new life?

Cross References:

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Primary Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:54-57

Primary Topic:

Freedom from sin is one of the first implications of Jesus’ resurrection. Because Jesus has conquered sin and death, through faith, I can be set free from sin and death, too. This is a reality in an instance (through justification) and an ongoing transformation (sanctification). The invitation is to CONFESSION and REPENTANCE.

Prompting Questions:

How are Jesus’ resurrection, sin, and death tied together? What is sin? What does freedom from sin look like? Will everyone experience resurrection or only believers? What is confession? Repentance? How does God transform me through confession and repentance?

Cross References:

Ephesians 2:1-5; 1 Corinthians 15:17; Colossians 2:13-15

Primary Scripture:

Romans 1:1-4

Primary Topic:

When Jesus was raised from the dead, it was an explicit declaration: I am God. Paul wrote that Jesus was shown to “be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead...” After His resurrection, Jesus said, “All authority has been given to me.” Jesus even said He had the authority to lay down His life and take it up again. The response to Jesus is God is WORSHIP.

Prompting Questions:

Why is it significant that Jesus is God? How does the resurrection reveal the reality that Jesus is God? Shortly after Jesus' resurrection, people had a problem believing He was a man (Gnosticism). Now, people have a problem believing He is God. Why the shift? What place does doubt have in the church, if any?

Cross References:

Matthew 28:17; John 10:17-18

Primary Scripture: Ac 2:1-4, 33

Primary Topic: Jesus’ resurrection delivered the One Who Comes Alongside: the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit: awakens, empowers, guides, causes all the implications of Jesus’ resurrection: faith to see Jesus as God, freedom from sin, empowering to live a new life, desire to share the gospel, etc. Our response to the Holy Spirit in our lives is a close relationship with God.

NOTE: We have a series on the Holy Spirit launching in May.

Prompting Questions: Who is the Holy Spirit? Why is He absolutely necessary for every believer? How does a believer recognize His ministry in their lives and become more open to His empowering?

Cross References: John 16:7-11; Romans 8:9-11

Primary Scripture:

John 13:31-14:4

Primary Topic:

Jesus is speaking to his disciples during an intimate time together before he is taken from them to be crucified. Surely he wanted to convey the lessons and instructions that were most important to them before he left. In verses 34 and 35, he gives the disciples a “new” command: to love one another as he loved them.
This isn’t the first time Jesus has spoken about love, however He puts the command as if it had the same level of authority as one of the Ten Commandments. By doing this, he calls his disciples to
reconsider the religious laws and acts they have been raised in. Jesus calls them beyond religious works to humble themselves by serving one another as he had shown them, as God in the flesh humbled himself for us. (Phil 2:1-8) Jesus points to this new command as more than mere religion. Instead, He is showing that this is how to depend on Him, follow Him, and lead others to trust Him in the same way.

Prompting Questions:

What is the significance of the timing of Jesus giving them a new commandment?
This commandment is new, but is it different? How is it possible to love each other the same way that Jesus
has? What does that kind of love look like in our context today?

Cross References:

Phil 2:1-12, Mark 10:42-45, Galatians 6:2, Ephesians 4:2-3

Primary Scripture:

John 13:12-30

Primary Topic:

God’s love has no limit, his grace has no measure. Jesus was humble and gracious enough to wash his disciples’ feet, giving us an example to follow. He then predicts his betrayal by giving Judas a piece of bread dipped in the bowl. Jesus gave Judas every opportunity to turn from his sin, and showed him every kindness (John 6:70; Mt 26:24; John 13:10). He even showed him special honor by giving him the morsel dipped in bitter herbs.

Jesus was not a victim of Judas’ betrayal, he was an obedient and submissive son to the Father’s will. He didn’t have to give Judas every chance to repent. He didn’t have to wash the feet of traitors and deserters.
But he did, because his extravagant love does not depend on our response to him. We face the same choice Judas did: we can either humbly accept his gift of salvation from our sins and wash each other’s feet, or we can refuse his love and maintain the face of hypocrisy by appearing to do things His way while we are really following our own dreams and desires and seeking our own honor.

Prompting Questions:

What does it mean to wash each other’s feet (is this literal, figurative, or both)? How does Judas’s betrayal demonstrate that one cannot truly receive the blessings of fellowship with Christ without fully relying on Him and being submissive to His will? As a church, when we put limits on love, generosity, patience and forgiveness, what does that reveal about our own pride and level of trust in our
Savior? Do we see ourselves as betrayers of Jesus who found grace, love and forgiveness in Him, or do we see Jesus as a way to get what we want and still maintain leadership of our own lives?

Cross References:

Romans 5:8; Matthew 5:43-48

Primary Scripture: John 13:1-17

Primary Topic: “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will” is how Jesus responds to Peter’s question. Jesus alone understood fully what He was doing. He knew the ultimate authority and power that He had as God and creator. The perfect relationship that He had with the Father and the Holy
Spirit. He alone knew the level of betrayal that He was about to experience, and He knew the ultimate punishment He would suffer for sin that was not His. Jesus’ love outweighed all of this. Every part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit was present in Jesus as He humbled Himself and washed their feet. He substituted Himself for us. He became the servant that none of us could be so that we could be made clean and love others, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

We can only show true selfless love toward others by first receiving it completely by grace. We are blessed to look from the other side and understand what Jesus was doing. He is the context for, and the power to, love others.

In the same way that Jesus is inviting His disciples to grow in spiritual maturity, He is inviting us to look at what he has done through the gospel and be transformed. Genuine faith and spiritual maturity cannot be manufactured. They are not works we do. They are products of what He has done. Jesus invites us to look so deeply at what He has done for us and the love He showed us while we were his betrayers that we would be irreversibly changed. We would grow in our love for Him and others, both inside and outside God’s family. Real spiritual maturity is selfless love toward others that points them to dependence on Jesus.

Prompting Questions:

What is the significance of 1-3, and how does that give context to Jesus’ actions? Why is the idea of being washed by Jesus hard to accept? What does it mean to be made clean? How does Jesus’ example and invitation to humility lead us today?

Cross References: John 2:4, Luke 7:38, 1 Peter 5:1-5,  John 1:12-13, Romans 8:15-17

Steamed from LightHouse Community

Primary Scripture: Col. 2:8-15
Primary Topic: Baptism is a physical image of a spiritual reality.
Every believer should be baptized: 1) Jesus Commanded it, 2) Normal practice of the church, 3) Celebrate with other JESUS followers, 4) Be a witness to others.

Prompting Questions: Who should be baptized? When should someone be baptized? What about infant Baptism? What is the best way to be baptized? Do I need to be baptized to be saved?
Cross References: John 14:8, Deut. 30:6, Romans 2:28-29,

TRUTH FROM THE BIBLE

APPLYING THIS TRUTH TO HOW WE APPROACH POLITICS

V. CONCLUSION