January 20, 2019 -FLOURISH - Making Space

January 20, 2019 The smaller groups in our church community are inside our homes where we go deeper, build friendships, and walk out the Christian life with each other. HOME CHURCH GUIDE + “Breaking the Ice” question (group facilitator) + CHECK-INS: Introduce yourself if new/new people in group, check-in with each other. What’s been happening in your week(s) since we last met? + CARE: Needs in the group; name these needs and have sentence prayers (just short sentences/open ended, not long-winded) at end of the gathering time + COMPASSION: What compassion work is the group planning? Are you inviting your neighbors to join in? + GROUP ANNOUNCEMENTS (church-wide and group-only) + DIG IN: Any reflections, discernments, disagreements from last week’s teaching (or since you last met)? Look at the Bible passage(s) again and read some of them out loud in the group (and other verses that may have been mentioned). What jumps out at you? Discuss some of the questions as a group. + End and Homework: Final questions, prayer huddles for personal requests. Consider breaking into small groups (huddles) of 2-4, by gender, if large enough. DISCUSSION questions: 1. In terms of making space for others in your life how would you rank yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 and why? 2. Can you think of someone who made space for you in their life and how it has impacted you? REVIEW: We exist to love our city and to invite our neighbours to flourish by rooting our lives in the outrageous love and life of Jesus. TEXT: Jeremiah 29:7, 1 John 4:7-8, Ephesians 3:17, Col 1:17, Col. 1:28-29, John 13:34-35, John 3:16-17 THREE CIRCLES AND SEVEN PRACTICES: “Our task then as Christians could be summarized in one short sentence: Be present to his presence”. “Having been restored to relationship with God through Jesus Christ, let us open space for his presence in our lives and for the people we encounter all around us. In all our relationships, let us discern his presence and cooperate with what he is doing.” -David Fitch Open up space for the peace/presence of God to be welcomed and at work. 3. Read 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. As it’s being read, listen for what jumps out to you in the passage. What is the opening up we must pursue? 4. Read Luke 24:30-32 and do the same thing. PRAYER 5. What do you think of the idea of being agents of God’s presence in the “three circles”? THE THREE CIRCLES 6. We looked at extending the table of the Lord from the close circle where Jesus is host, our homes where we are host, then into the community where we are guests. How does this change how we are the church? 7. How can our home churches work at developing the practices of the Lord’s Table? Make a plan. Other thoughts? Prayer Requests: “The Church is to move from gospel presentation to kingdom presence”. This emphasis on “faithful presence” as seen in Luke 10, the sending of the 72, gives us a poignant image of “eucharist on the move, extending the presence of Christ into the world.” + The First Circle is the “CLOSE” CIRCLE Presence of Jesus among those of us who are committed followers of Jesus in the church, We are the receivers. + The Second Circle is the “DOTTED CIRCLE” Presence of Jesus among us as we’re with neighbours and strangers in our homes, we are the hosts. + The Third Circle is the “HALF CIRCLE” Presence of Jesus as we interact with other in our world, we are the guests. If we only focus on the close circle, ourselves, and the building, or see the building as the blessing instead of the presence of the Lord, we enter into a “maintenance mode” To be a people fully making space for God’s work, flourish, and function we need to be moving in-between all three circles. Fitch, “Faithful presence names the reality that God is present in the world and that (God) uses a people faithful to (God’s) presence to make (God) concrete and real amid the world’s struggles and pain... (But) it doesn’t just happen. We need practices that shape us to be a community of faithful presence.” THE SEVEN PRACTICES + The Lord’s Table + Reconciliation + Proclaiming the Gospel + Being with “The Least of These” + Being with Children + Fivefold Gifting/Ministry + Kingdom Prayer If we turn the church solely toward social justice, feeding, and other such programs, we become drained and lose our centre. This is exhaustion mode. THE TABLE + Luke 24:30-32 + Close Circle + Dotted + Half/Open Circle TAKE AWAYS