Verses Used:

• Matthew 16:24-26
• Matthew 28:18-20
• Mark 5:35-37
• Mark 9:33-37
• Hebrews 10:24-25

Takeaways:

The What 

• We need a bigger understanding of discipleship than books or classes.
• Here is what we use as a church to define discipleship: “Moving from unbelief to belief in every area of life in light of the gospel.” 
• Jesus can be trusted with every part of our lives.
• True discipleship is surrendering to Jesus, and helping others do the same.
• To effectively make disciples, it has to be done in the context of relationships.
• Jesus’ way of discipleship was not a classroom, but teaching as he lived life with his disciples.
• The best spiritual growth happens in the context of relationships. This was Jesus’ approach to making disciples.

The How

• There are three vehicles of discipleship that we focus on as a church: The Gathering, Missional Communities, DNA Groups.
• The Gathering gets the family together once a week for worship, teaching, prayer, and serving. Think of this like a school bus.
• Missional Communities is living life and following Jesus together as a family of servant missionaries. Think of this like a conversion van.
• DNA stands for Discover, Nurture, and Act. It’s  great for talking, getting to know each other, and really opening up. Think of this like a sedan.

The Why

• Love for Jesus and love for others.
• It does cost something to be a disciple who makes disciples.

Discussion Questions:

• Why do you think we sometimes think of discipleship as a classroom exercise instead of a relational process?
• How does using the right discipleship vehicle for the right purpose make a difference in the transformational process?
• What questions do you have about MC’s or DNAs?

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Verses Used:

• 1 Kings 16:29-17:24; 18:20-40; 19:1-4
• Romans 8:37-39

Takeaways:

Bigger than Death

• God holds the power of life and death. He decides who lives when they are born and when they will die.
• My life is completely in God’s hands.

Bigger than Baal

• Sometimes we need God to remind us of who he is. We sometimes lose perspective and don’t believe that God is truly powerful. We need to turn from false Gods.

Bigger than Fear

• Even Elijah had a touch of “Tiny God Syndrome” when it came to Jezebel

Discussion Questions:

• What kind of idols have you seen people worship? What do they promise?
• Who is behind the temptation to worship idols rather than God? Why does he do it?
• What happened to Elijah’s faith when he found out Jezebel wanted to kill him?
• Have you ever trusted God in one area of your life but struggled to have faith in another area? What was it?

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Verses Used:

• Ruth 1-5
• Hebrews 11:6
• Deuteronomy 24:19

Takeaways:

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Before you do anything, you need faith. Trusting God is the single most important thing you can do today.

A Reason to Be Bitter

• It’s really difficult to have faith when life is bitter.
• Bitterness clouds our perspective and robs us of faith. Our feelings tell us that God is not loving, or that he doesn’t care, or that he has checked out on us.

Formed Through Struggles

• Ruth made a statement to Naomi, “Your God will be my God and where you die, I die.”
• We don’t get to Christlike character on the road with no suffering or challenges.

The Redeemer

• Jesus is the one who is responsible for your provision and protection.
• Don’t let bitterness rob you of your faith.

Discussion Questions:

• What kind of good character traits do you see in Ruth?
• What are some of the ways challenge and struggle develop Godly character in us?
• How do you see God’s faithfulness to Naomi in spite of her bitterness?
• How does Jesus redeem our lives and situations?

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Verses Used:

• Esther 1-10
• Daniel 3:17-18
• Psalm 118:6
• Romans 8:31

Takeaways:

Courage does not mean that someone is without fear. Courage is when we do what needs to be done in the face of fear.

Esther Did Not Choose Her Circumstances.

• We cannot control our circumstances, but we can control how we respond to them. Sometimes the best response is courage.

Esther Chose Courage

• Esther’s courage was knowing the severity of the situation, even feeling some fear but taking action anyway. She says “If I perish, I perish.”

Esther’s Faith Impacted Others

• Because of Esther’s faith, many people were saved.
• Esther was a woman who trusted God, she acted in faith - courageously and many other people were impacted by her faith.

Discussion Questions:

• How would you respond in this scenario (guy robbing old man)?
• Why would confronting the young man require courage?
• What are some of the common responses to fear? What does fear do to us?
• What did Esther and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s response to fear have in common?

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Verses Used:

• 2 Samuel 11:1-27; 12:1-14
• 1 Samuel 16:7-12; 17:33-51
• Acts 13:22
• 1 Kings 2:1-4

Takeaways:

David’s Heart

• God chose David because of his heart
• God uses those with a heart for him to do important things in the kingdom.

David’s Adventures 

• David knew the God who delivered him from the lions and bears will deliver him from the Philistine before him.
• He had confident humility.
• A person of faith relies on the power of God, not on their abilities

David’s Mistakes

• Sin has consequences.

Discussion Questions:

• What comes more naturally to you, relying on God or your abilities? Why?
• Why do you think the heart is so important to God?
• What consequence of sin have you observed? In your life? Others?
• How is God gracious with us when we lack faith?

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with Guest Speaker Arlen Lundberg

Verses:

Hebrew 11

Verses Used:

• Genesis 25:19-24
• Genesis 18:13-15
• Genesis 32:22-31
• Hebrews 11:21

Takeaways:

Creation: Jacob’s Origin

• God had chosen Jacob to be the continuation of the promise to Abraham and Isaac
• Jacob swindled Esau out of his birthright for a bowl of soup.
• Instead of Esau having the first born birth rights, God told Rebekah that it would be reversed and that Jacob would have it.

Fall: The Deceiver

• Jacob’s name means deceiver
•  He lied because he thought it gave him power or control over situations
• Jacob didn’t need to lie to deceive his father and get a blessing. God had already told his parents that the older would serve the younger

Redemption: Wrestling Match

• Jacob will no longer be called Trickster. Heel-Grabber. His new name is Israel.
• Esau and Jacob make amends and Esau doesn’t kill Jacob like he feared.

Restoration

• Jacob finished better than he started.
• How you finish is far more important than how you started.

Discussion Questions:

• Who were some of the people in Jacob's life that were hurt by the lies? How were they affected?
• Why does lying come so easily to us? Why is it harder to tell the truth or do the right thing?
• Why do you think God stopped Jacob from running away from Esau in the middle of the night?
• Why do you think an encounter with God could change our perspective?

Verses Used:

• Genesis 12:1; 15:1-6
• Genesis 17:1-5
• Genesis 17:17-22 
• Genesis 22:16-18

Takeaways:

Act I - The Call

• Sometimes God has a way of moving people into new surroundings to build their faith, or test their faith. This was the case for Abram.
• What might God be calling you to do today that requires faith?

Act II - The Promise

• Promises require waiting.
• God reaffirms his promises when his people forget, this is what a loving God does.
• Abram’s Righteousness means God declares him righteous, he’s in a right relationship with God, and he’s rightly used by God.

Act III - The Bad Idea

• When people don’t trust God’s promises, they take matters into their own hands.

Act IV - The Name Change

• Abram’s name meant “exalted father”. Abraham meant “father of many nations”.
• Sarai meant “my lady or my princess”. Sarah meant “mother of nations”

Discussion Questions:

• Where did we see Abram struggle to believe the promise of God?
• God declared Abram righteous because of his faith. What do you think it means to be “righteous”? Was Abram without sin?
• Why is it easier to take matters into our own hands than to trust God’s promises?
• How might Abraham and Sarah’s name change have impacted them and the people around them?

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Verses Used:

• Genesis 6:1-22
• Matthew 22:30
• 2 Peter 2:5
• Genesis 8:20-22
• Genesis 9:10-13

Takeaways:

 Man’s Sin and God’s Heart

• Sin didn’t break God’s heart because he was mad people wouldn’t obey him; it broke his heart because he loves the people he created and knows what sin will do to us. Sin destroys us, causes us pain, and causes us problems.
• In the midst of God judging the world, we see his heart.

Noah and the Ark

• Noah found favor with the Lord.
• God spared Noah and his family because of his relationship with him. Because of Noah’s faith in God. And because of God’s grace.
• The ark in the story was actually symbolic of Jesus.

God’s Covenant

• God made a covenant, a promise to us.
• When we see the rainbow in the sky, this is a reminder of this covenant that God will never destroy everything again like he did. 
• God then gives Noah the same directive he gave to Adam. Be fruitful, multiply, rule over my creation. Steward it well.

Discussion Questions:

• Do you have a hard time seeing God as gracious in the story of Noah? Why or why not?
• What does being righteous mean to you? How does faith fit into that?
• Why do you think God was pleased with the aroma of Noah’s sacrifice?
• Why is the rainbow a symbol of good news for us?

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Verses Used:

• Matthew 28:1-10
• Isaiah 53:3-6
• John 3:16
• Ecclesiastes 3:11
• 2 Thessalonians 1:9
• Revelation 21:8

Takeaways:

 Forgiveness of Sin

• Sin is anything that does not reflect what God is like. Sin is anything we think, say or do that goes contrary to God’s nature
• Our sin has to be dealt with. Either Jesus pays for it, or we pay for it.
• Because of the resurrection of Jesus you can be free from sin.
• The resurrection means we are forgiven, if we trust Jesus to forgive us.

Eternal Life

• Jesus invites us into the kingdom of Heaven. He makes this possible, because of the resurrection.

Purpose

• Pastor Josh said “I don’t know everyone in this room and all of our stories. But I know the longings of the human heart to be forgiven, loved, and to have purpose.”
• He continues to say, “The reality is we can’t claw out of a grave by ourselves, but God has the power to raise the dead. That is why Easter matters for you and me.

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