Here are a few questions you might want to work through with your Groups this week, if you are discussing the current series:

1. This week, Kenny talked about the mistake of "running out ahead" of where God is. He talked, confessionally, about himself, and his own tendency to "do stuff God would like," even if it wasn't what he felt called or directed or equipped to do. Is this something you can relate to? Have you ever found yourself doing Christian things, even though you weren't sure if it was what God was calling you to? Discuss these experiences: what problems did you encounter? What did you learn? What ended up happening?

2. One of the major points Kenny reiterated--over and over again!--was that the salvation of the Israelites happened before God gave them the Law. Why was this such an important point? How does the Truth of this impact our own lives? Have you wrestled with getting the "order" of these two things confused in your own life? 

3. The big lesson Moses finally learns on Mt. Sinai is that if God isn't going with him, he shouldn't go. This a huge deal for Moses and the Israelites...but does it make a different in your life, too? How can you apply this revelation to yourself? 

4. The reason Moses has to wait on God isn't because God is indecisive or slow-to-act, but because Moses (and the Israelites) simply cannot keep the covenant without God's help. In order to be effective, they learn that they must be vessels--and not emissaries--of God. What is the difference between those two things, in your view? Have you ever felt like you were a "vessel" of God's word or love or presence? When? Why? How has that event shaped your own thoughts about God?

5. The big question this week was about whether or not you are bearing the image of God that is already in you? How do you feel about this question? What is easy/hard to accept about it? Why?

6. There were 3 "action questions" at the end of the sermon: 

• Do you know the God whose image you bear?
• Are you being God to others?
• Are you running out in front of where God wants you to be? 

Discuss each of these questions as a Group: what do they mean to each of you? What examples of "success" have you seen before in your life?

This week, Clare follows up on our previous discussions about the gentleness of God by talking about practical ways that we can 1) invest in presence, 2) commit to patience, and 3) push one another towards Truth, within the context of committed relationships!

**The audio link below is missing a portion of the beginning of the sermon from this week. If you would like to read the sermon in its entirety, you can find the full text HERE. **

This week, Kenny discusses the essential, gentle nature of God on display in both the Old and New Testaments. He argues for a God who responds to our withdrawal from Him by pursuing us, assuring us of His commitment to us, patiently waiting for us, and when we open ourselves up to HIm, bringing light into the darkest corners of who we are. Kenny makes the case that we, as individuals and as a church, have a clear calling to love gently, in imitation of how God has loved us. This means that we must commit to: patience with one another, presence (even when we disagree), and pushes towards Truth...while also committing to be there for other people, no matter what. 

February 18, 2018

February 11, 2018

This week, Kenny walks through Jesus's closing instructions to His followers in the days leading up to His arrest and death, focusing on His reminders that 1) He plans to save the world, 2) He is a servant, 3) He wants us to love one another, 4) the Holy Spirit is coming, and 5) the goal of everything is repair the relationships between us and God. As He heads to the cross, Jesus again reminds us of the "nehushtan" (from the Old Testament story) and tells everyone one more time that He is God...and God is love.