Legacy Groups Podcast

Praying for others? Why not pray scripture!

Ephesians 1:17-18 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Ephesians 3:16-19 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 1:3-6 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

As leaders (you guys reading this!)  we’re walking around with buckets of gas or water. As we are doing life and discipling others, we can either pour a bucket of gas on someone's fire and make it bigger, or pour a bucket of water on their fire and put it out.

The Like Know and Trust Factor.

Hello everyone,

It is such a privilege to bring you this week’s Friday 5.  Thank you so much Kari  for the opportunity.

In this weeks post, I would like to emphasize the importance of exercising the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our groups.

We all have spiritual gifts that the Lord has put in our lives, not just for our personal growth, but also for the benefit of others.

In 1 Corinthians 12: 7 Paul says “but the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all” NKJV

The same verse in the NLT puts it very simply, “A spiritual gift is given to each one of us so we can help each other”

Romans 1: 11-12  reads,  “I long to see you so that I can impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong, that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” NIV.

It’s amazing to me that Paul, the apostle, needed to be encouraged by their faith and the gifts of the Spirit in them.

This really is the heart of the Father for the body of Christ, that we are all strengthened and encouraged by one another.

When we allow the gifts of the Holy Spirit to flow through us, the body is edified, and God is glorified!

One more passage of scripture on this topic  is in 1 Peter 4:8-10.

“ ...and above all things have fervent love for one another

For love covers a multitude of sins.  As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

So God intends for us to be good stewards of the grace or gift that he has given us, it is up to us to manage them.

So how do we steward the gifts of Holy Spirit?

First of all, in 1 Tim. 4:14 Paul says to Timothy, “do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the elders.”

The word neglect, in the Greek, is defined as, to “make light of,”;or to “not regard”.   This reminds me of a time when I was invited to speak at a women’s aglow meeting.  I was extremely nervous about it.  As I was pacing the floor and anxiously asking the Lord what I was suppose to do, He spoke  to me clearly, and He said “regard the work of the Holy Spirit in your life and regard the deposit of the word I have put in you.”

I repented immediately,  and I was able to prepare the message.  God blessed the meeting and the gifts of the Holy Spirit flowed.  Praise God for His abundant grace!

Allowing the gifts of the Spirit to flow through us can be quite intimidating and sometimes even scary especially if we have our eyes  on ourselves, like I did at the time.

Remember what Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:6-7,

“ Therefore,  I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

To stir up the gift that is in you literally means to fan the flame or to rekindle the fire.  How do we do that?  I personally believe that this will happen as we intentionally spend time in His presence through worship, praying in the Spirit and time spent in the Word of God.

It’s also important that we remind ourselves that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are His to give as He wills.  We just need to humble ourselves before God and allow Him to flow in and through us as He  chooses.

I leave you with the following scripture that I think brings it all into perspective.

1 Peter 4:11

“If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God, if anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever.  Amen.”

1. Our Group Discussions are: unifying

Unifying: Agreeing with other believers on the foundational principles of our salvation and that our calling in life is to love God and love others

2. Our Group Discussions are: unifying, 

Edifying/Encouraging: -Sharing the scriptures that tell the Truth of our identity in Christ and the promises we have in Christ to lift up and encourage others.

3. Our Group Discussions are: unifying, 

Equipping - teaching others how to apply the Word to their life so they can live a victorious life. AKA Becoming doers of the word

1. Read body language to gauge interest

2. Know when to stay on subject or move one

3. Turn your mouth off and your spiritual ears on

James 1:22-25

“22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

We Set the Tone For Our Growth Groups by:

How we start each meeting (sharing expectations)

Asking Questions Like Jesus

What we share 

Welcome to the Growth Group podcast for leaders and hosts at Legacy Chapel. Each week I'll be sharing a Friday 5 with you! These are 5 minute devos to encourage and empower each of you in your growth groups! Thanks for joining us each week!