Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

Big Idea: Our purpose is to partner in bringing glory to God by glowing in the dark.

1. You are the light of the world- Know it!     

2. Our light is meant to be visible- don’t hide it!

What’s dimming your light? 

a. Fear of man

b. Hypocrisy

c. Ignorance

d. Pride

3. Our light reveals God’s glory- let people see it!

Do you have any intentional ways of letting your light shine? 

a. Hospitality

b. Compassion/Service/Generosity

c. Invitation

d. Proclamation

Preacher: Chris Ritter

Ephesians 4

V. 1-16:  God’s definition of a good church

1. Good churches are united about Jesus as Lord (v. 3-7, 13)

2. Good churches are driven by the Gospel (v. 1-3)

3. Good churches see everyone involved in ministry (v. 11-12)

4. Good churches speak the truth in love (v. 15)

V. 17-32:  A portrait of growing disciples in healthy church relationships

1. Growing disciples put off the old self and put on the new self (v. 17-24)

2. Growing disciples speak the truth while giving grace (v. 25, 29)

3. Growing disciples live out the Gospel together (v. 32)

What is a Harvest Small Group?

a. Discipleship in Community

b. Soul Care

What does a Harvest Small Group Do?

- Small Group Meetings:

a. Large Group Discussion

b. Small Group Questions

c. Pre-Approved Curriculum

d. Prayer

e. Men’s/Women’s Breakout

Small Group Life:

- Stay connected

- Participate in outreach

- Serve one another

- Serve together

Who can be a Small Group Leader?

- Any member of Harvest who completes basic training can become a Small Group Leader

Basic Training consists of 4 parts:

1. Brief Online Application

2. Attend one 3-hour “Becoming a Small Group Leader” Class

3. Receive a Small Groups Coach

4. Recruit at least 4 other people and launch your group

Where do we need groups?

- West Roseville

- Rocklin

- Orangevale

- Loomis

- Auburn

- Sacramento

What do we do about kids in small groups?

- Harvest has 5 different “types” of groups as it pertains to children

Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

What made their fellowship so compelling?   

1. They were devoted

a. To Biblical preaching

b. To loving partnership 

c. To hospitable community 

d. To persistent prayer

2. They were connected 

- Observations: 

a. The sharing was occasional

b. The sharing was by need

c. The sharing was voluntary, not enforced 

d. The sharing didn’t do away with private property 

4. They were thriving

a. In their gatherings

- Corporate gathering

- Small group gathering 

b. In their worship

c. In their witness

Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

Where does Biblical community start?

Big Idea: True Biblical community starts with grasping your relationship with God

1. Union with Christ

John 15:4-5 -- "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in you, he it is that bears much fruit for apart from Me you can do nothing."

2. Communion with Christ

Jerry Bridges -- “living continually in the presence of God, whether we are in the classroom, at the office, in the shop, or driving down a busy freeway."

Matthew Henry -- “It’s to set God always before us, and to act as those that are always under his eye. It is to live a life of communion with God both in ordinances and providences. It is to make God’s word our rule and his glory our end in all our actions.” 

J.I. Packer -- “Fellowship with God, then, is the source from which fellowship among Christians springs; and fellowship with God is the end to which Christian fellowship is a means.”  

Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

A Gospel-centered life...

1. Boasts not in any human effort before God (vv.12-13)

3 reasons this boasting appeals to us:

a. Show off how spiritual you are

b. Avoid persecution

c. Divert the attention from your own sin 

Melbourne daily paper after a Billy Graham crusade -- “...I am heartily sick of the type of religion that insists my soul and everyone else’s needs saving, whatever that means. I have never felt that I was lost nor do I feel that I daily wallow in the mire of sin although repetitive preaching insists that I do...If in order to save my soul I must accept such a philosophy as I have recently heard preached, I prefer to remain forever damned. Sincerely yours.” 

2. Boasts only in the cross of Jesus Christ (vv.14-16) 

3 reasons why we boast in the cross:

a. Severs you from the world’s power

b. Frees you from your old self

c. Places you under God’s blessing

4. Bears the marks of Jesus (v.17) 

5. Basks in God’s grace (v.18)

Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

You reap what you sow:  

- To reap you must sow

- The harvest corresponds to what is planted 

- You will reap what you sow

How can we expect to reap the fruit of the Spirit if we don’t sow faithfully in the field of the Spirit? So let’s sow to please the Spirit, which requires..   

1. Sharing from the blessings of God’s word (v.6)

a. Responsibility of the teacher

b. Responsibility of the receiver

1 Corinthians 9:11 -- If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?

1 Corinthians 9:14 -- In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the Gospel should get their living by the Gospel. 

2. Sowing a pattern of personal holiness 

“People do not drift towards holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.” -- D.A. Carson  

3. Persisting in doing good 

a. A word of encouragement

b. A call to action

Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

Big Idea: The Spirit’s work ought to be seen in our humble burden bearing

1. A word to the restorer

Observations:

a. Notice it assumes there will be sin in the body

b. It’s a Spirit-led loving endeavor to restore the wayward

c. The warning isn’t to the one who’s sinned but to the restorer

3 descriptions of the restorer: 

a. Spiritual 

b. Gentle

c. Careful

2. Bear others burdens 

Observations: 

a. Paul’s assuming Christians will have burdens

b. God does not intend for us to carry these ‘burdens’ alone- insert spiritual spotter picture

3. Burden bearing makes us like Jesus

Are you a burden bearer?         

3. Test your own work

Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

1. Life in the flesh (vv.19-21)

Observations: 

a. This list covers the religious and irreligious.  

b. These traits aren't necessarily all manifest in every person, nor to the same degree. 

c. Paul’s list is not exhaustive. 

- Sex

- Religion

- Relationships

- Indulgences 

2. Life in the Spirit (vv.22-23)

Observations: 

a. ‘Works’ to ‘Fruit’

b. Fruit not Fruits 

c. Good root good fruit

d. Grows like fruit

3. Walk by the Spirit (vv.24-26)

- Starts with your identity

- Crucify the flesh

- Keep in step with the Spirit

Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

What is freedom?

1. Christian freedom is freedom from sin, not freedom to sin

2. Christian freedom is freedom for service, not freedom for selfishness

3. Christian freedom is freedom to obey, not freedom to disobey

Romans 8:3-4 -- ... By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

How do I exercise freedom?

1. Walk by the Spirit

2. Wage war

Win the battles by confronting the problems: 

1. Lack of a wartime mentality

2. Lack of an understanding of where the battle is fought

3. Lack of an understanding of how to fight

4. Lack of an understanding of the outcome

Preacher: Chris Ritter

1. How does a wandering church return to freedom?

"For all of you who get riled up when I mention God and you want to know which God I am talking about, I'm talking about the same one you're talking about.  The Alpha and the Omega, the omniscient, omnipresent, ultimate consciousness, source, force, the all of everything there is, the one and only G-O-D." -- Oprah Winfrey

a. Obey the truth of the Gospel

b.  Listen to the One who calls you

c.  Submit to the Word

d.  Allow the Cross to offend

2. What is the offense of the Cross?

The offense of the Cross is God's declaration that the only way of salvation is faith in Christ's death in your place, for your sin.

3. How does the Cross offend? 

a.  The Cross opposes your self-righteousness

"You may cut the evil weed of self-righteousness up; but when you think you have got the last root of it, it will be shooting up again before you can sharpen your knife to cut it up once more.  The evil thing is bred in man's nature.  When you preach against it, see how men will roar at you; they cannot bear that doctrine... so, you see, this is the "offense of the cross", that we do not let men trust in their own merits." -- Charles Spurgeon

b. The Cross exposes your utter depravity

c. The Cross removes your glory

d. The Cross receives only those who come by faith alone