A. Jesus on the Father, the Holy Spirit, and us

1. Jesus and the Father - John10:38; John 14:10-11;20

2. Jesus and the Holy Spirit – John 14:16‐21; John 16:7;13‐16

B. Perichoresis

1. A Greek term adopted by the early church fathers to describe the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (the Triune God) 2. Peri – “around”; chorein – “choreograph, dance”

3. A divine dance in which all three persons permeate one another

A. The Holy Spirit is indeed the Spirit of Jesus 1. John 14:16‐17

2. “…another Helper”

• Allos – “of the same kind” as opposed to heteros – “of a different kind”

B. To what end?

1. To connect us to the divine dance; a new identity

2. Empower us to announce, embody/demonstrate the rule of Jesus, our KING!

C. The Jesus‐centered church then and now…

1. What does Luke tell us about the Spirit of Jesus in the Book of Acts?

2. What about the Jesus‐centered church today?

• In your opinion and from your experience, what misconceptions have Christians had regarding the person of the Holy Spirit?

• Why do you think there was such an emphasis on the Holy Spirit being the spirit of Jesus in this talk?

• What should our expectation of the Holy Spirit be today? What does that look like in everyday life?

• How is it that the Holy Spirit keeps us Christ‐centered? What can we do to avoid getting into the ditches of distraction when it comes to the Holy Spirit?

by Jack Levinson

by Dan Smith

by N.T. Wright

A. His first teaching on the church centered on the church’s foundation

1. “…you are Peter”; petros (Gk.)

2. “…and on this rock”; petra (Gk.)

3. “…I will build my church”; ekklesia (Gk.)

B. What is the rock Jesus will build on?

1. The massive rock of revelation that He is God’s Messiah

2. 1 Corinthians 3:11

C. The one true, universal church is built on Jesus, by Jesus, and for Jesus 1. Ephesians 4:4-6

2. Why does it appear that there are thousands of different churches?

• All beliefs are not equally important

D. Jesus is the main and the plain…the center of the church

A. Paul’s central theme is Jesus (1:1-10)

B. The central problem was the tendency to elevate things and people above Christ

C. Paul’s central message was the main and the plain of the gospel

1. “…Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (2:2)

D. The central response to the gospel

1. Faith in the center!

NOTE: Please do not name or bash specific churches in your discussion. Have honest dialogue that will be helpful to you but not hurtful to others.

• What happens when a church is not centered on Jesus? What kinds of things get elevated above Christ?

• Have you ever experienced a church out of focus or off center? What did it look like/feel like?

• What are you making of the concentric circle diagram we have been displaying? (Jesus, dogma, doctrine, and opinion)

• What can you do as a member of Christ’s body to insure that the church remains centered on Jesus? What can you/we do to help preserve the unity of the one true church?

A. What are your expectations of life?

B. What are your expectations of life in your church community?

C. What should our expectations be as followers of Jesus?

II. The Parable of the Sower | Mark 4:1-8 (NIV)

A. The sower gets mixed results.

B. The sower is extravagant in sowing seed.

A. The seed is under attack and opposition.

B. Some of the seed falls on good soil and produces a harvest.

C. Mark 4:26-32 (NIV)

D. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (NIV)

 V. What is the secret to the kingdom expectation? How do we respond?

A. Mark 4:9-11 (NIV)

B. Mark 4:13-20 (NIV)

C. Are we cultivating the soil of our soul and the soil of our church to receive seeds of the kingdom?

• How can you cultivate the soil of your soul to receive seeds of the kingdom?

• How can you cultivate the soil of your church community to receive seeds of the kingdom?

• Reflect on one area or situation where you need to have an "already/not yet" expectation.

by Rich Nathan

A. Mercy: an act of kindness, compassion or favor

B. Justice: the administering of deserved punishment or reward

A. Mercy: giving to others with a heart of kindness or compassion

• Matthew 25

B. Justice: working to right what is wrong in the world

A. The Holy Trinity is our model and leader in the ways of mercy and justice.

B. Jesus came to bring justice by building the kingdom society here on earth.

• Luke 4:16-21; Isaiah 58

• How have you defined the words mercy and justice in the past?

• What has your experience been of showing mercy and working for justice in the world?

• In what ways do you sense God challenging or re-enforcing your previously held thoughts and ideas about social justice and the role you are called to play as a Christian?

• How might you (your group) work to cooperate with the Spirit in righting what is wrong in the world?

by Richard Stearns

by Scot McKnight

by Rich Nathan

A. It can be an issue...

1. When the motivation is wrong

2. When the method is wrong

3. When the target is wrong

B. It can be an issue…

1. When we are complacent

2. When we are content with the status quo

3. When we ignore biblical injunctions

C. Why should a church grow?

1. It is the natural result of fulfilling our mission | Matthew 28:19-20

2. The needs of people

3. Jesus seems to think it is important | Luke 14

4. The nature of the church itself | Colossians 2:19

5. The New Testament models/demonstrates growth

6. The fulfillment of prophecy

A. It is obviously both quality and quantity…

B. Why wouldn’t a church want to grow?

1. The assumption that God doesn’t care about numbers

2. The assumption that we must sacrifice quality for quantity

3. The assumption that larger churches are impersonal and ineffective

C. What can we do to see it happen?

1. Take responsibility and own it...it is your church and your mission!

• Has your attitude toward church growth been positive, negative, or neutral? Why do you think you feel that way?

• Do you agree/disagree that church growth should be a concern for us/you? Why or why not?

• Besides personal preferences, what reasons would you consider justification for a church remaining small?

• What are your thoughts on having to sacrifice quality for quantity? Are there other examples outside of church that seem to make that case?

• What would it look like to take responsibility for church growth in quality? What about in quantity?

A. “All flesh…” | Acts 2

B. Men and women, Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free

A. Striving for unity – It does not come naturally. It is a spiritual discipline.

B. Humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love

A. Jesus – the center, the foundation, the point of scriptures, the lens through which we read the Bible, the source of our unity with others in the church

B. Dogma – the essential beliefs common to the church throughout the ages

C. Doctrine

D. Opinion

E. The further we move from the center the lighter we hold to our beliefs.

A. Centered set

B. God is at work in everyone’s life

C. What do we see God doing?

D. Affirming the goodness of God wherever we find it

E. Pointing people towards Jesus

For further discussion:

• Consider a few areas in your life where you find it difficult to be in relationship with others that have differing opinions. How might you be able to incorporate the spiritual discipline of striving for the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace in these relationships?

• How have you experienced bounded set faith either personally or around others? How do you feel challenged personally concerning a centered set approach to faith?

• In what ways do you feel God calling you greater humility, patience, and gentleness in your relationships with others?

• So what do we do? We go to the wide open places but also to the places that everyone else is running from.

• So we have orthodox doctrine, which means we will be thoroughly biblical and faithful to the Bible.

• We want people to connect and hear God in a way they understand.

• Acts 2:1-13

• The debate is about different ways of looking at the world.

• Separatists - withdraw as much as possible from society so they don’t get dirty

• Conformists - totally fit into the culture without ever challenging it

• Being willing to live on the fine line of embracing faith AND culture

The ongoing task of a church is to recreate in 21st Century people the miracle of Pentecost - hearing God’s voice in their own native language. Do we love people enough to try to speak to them about God in their own language?

• What do you think the mission of Jesus to bring good news into every crack and corner of this world looks like in our community?

• Do you identify more with the separatist or conformist mentality? What do you think of the third way of transforming culture by being willing to live on the fine line of embracing faith and culture?

• What hobby or interest should you fine-tune so you are more efficient at speaking the language of our culture?

Both-And: 

Living the Christ-Centered Life in an Either-Or World

by Rich Nathan with Insoo Kim

A. Proverbs 4: 1-7

A. The power of discipline

A. A counter cultural approach to life

B. A pattern of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction for growth in holiness “The spiritual life is not something we add onto an already busy life…it is [instead], to infiltrate and control what we already do with an atttude of service to God.” ‐ Henri Nouwen

• Describe your experience with seeking God’s will and/or hearing God’s voice.

• What emotions or thoughts fill you when you hear the word discipline?

• How have you experienced spiritual disciplines in your life? Were they life giving, life draining, legalistic, empowering, etc.?

• How might you as an individual begin to build sacred rhythms into your life?

• How might you as a missional community build sacred rhythms into your group?

by Henri Nouwen

by Henri Nouwen

 by Tony Jones

A. Prayer as an indispensable activity | Colossians 1:9-10; 4:2-4

1. A vital channel of communication

2. A sense of imminent expectation

3. The activity that changes the outcome of events

B. Behavior that reflects God’s pattern for new humanity (Colossians 4:5)

1. Living wisely as an ambassador of God’s kingdom and community

2. Making the most of every opportunity

3. Evangelism for Dummies…

C. Speech that is winsome | Colossians 4:6)

1. Personal and friendly not ideological and obnoxious

D. Celebrating what is right; fixing what is wrong | Acts 17:22-23

• If prayer was so important for Paul, why does it seem so hard or irrelevant to many modern Christians?

• What is the relationship between the sovereignty of God and our prayers?

• What can we do to remind ourselves to continue this vital discipline?

• How did you view evangelism before this talk? Did anything change in your thinking?

• Do you intentionally engage or avoid non-believers? Do you feel any responsibility for sharing your life and faith with others? Why or why not?

• How might we/you go about showing people Jesus before ever talking to them about Jesus?

by Jay Pathak & Dave Runyon