Doing Life Together - Sample by Lifetogether Ministries

DOING

LIFE together GRACE PLACE CHURCH

PAS TO R C L AY P E C K

DOING LIFE

together GRACE PLACE CHURCH

PAS TO R C L AY P E C K

Copyright 2016 by Grace Place ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published by Grace Place Copyright and use of the curriculum template is retained by Brett Eastman. Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 and 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. ISBN Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS Endorsements 4 Foreword 6 Welcome 8 Using This Workbook (Read This First)

Outline for Each Session

SESSI ONS Session One: Connecting with Jesus

Session Two: Connecting with One Another

Session Three: Connecting in Community

Session Four: Connecting Deeper

Session Five: Connecting as the Body

Session Six: Connecting in Unity

A PPENDI C ES Frequently Asked Questions

Community Group Agreement

Community Group Calendar

Community Group Roster

Memory Verse Cards (Clip and Review)

Prayer and Praise Report

C OMM UNI TY GR OU P HOSTS Hosting an Open House

Hosting for the First Time

Host Training 101

ENDORSEMENTS Researchers are calling today the “age of loneliness”, we have more connections through social media than ever and have never been more lonely. We need each other and God wired us that way. Few people I know have a bigger heart for people connecting with God and then connecting—really connecting— with each other than Clay. This new series will bless you, challenge you, encourage you to real connection that will grab your heart! R IC K R U SAW | PASTOR LIFEB R ID GE C H R IST IA N C H U R C H “Throughout the six week journey called “Doing Life Together,” Pastor Clay Peck invites people just like you and me to pursue meaningful and intentional connections with both God and other people. Don’t do life alone another day. Start Doing Life Together instead.” JONAT H A N WIGGINS | PASTOR R ESU R R EC T ION FELLOWSH IP The isolated person is the vulnerable person, God has designed us to need others. That’s why it’s impossible to understand Christianity apart from community. Just as the cross has both a vertical dimension pointing us upward, it also has a horizontal dimension prompting us to reach outward. Pastor Clay is a great example of a man who does both. His life is an on-going illustration of a man seeking a growing relationship with God through Christ and with others in the Name of Christ! A LA N A H LGR IM | FOU ND ING PASTOR OF R M CC & D IR EC TOR OF PASTOR CA R E B LESSING R A NC H M INIST R IES I know very few people as qualified to speak to the beauty and power of community as my friend, Clay! He not only leads a church focused on great community, he leads his own life committed to doing life together with others! B R A D M . JENSEN | LEA D PASTOR FA IT H EVA NGELICA L FR EE C H U R C H

I believe with all my heart that the church is the hope of the world. In order for us to be that hope, we must be connected to each other in vital relationships. I urge you to be a part of the upcoming “Doing Life Together” series at Grace Place, where you will learn how to experience relational community the way God designed! A LA N K R A FT | AU T H OR A ND LEA D PASTOR C H R IST C OM M U NIT Y C H U R C H Clay is one of the most authentic pastors I know. He lives and breathes what it means to love like Jesus. I love seeing all the great things happening at Grace Place! SH A N M OYER S | LEA D PASTOR R OC KY M OU NTA IN C H R IST IA N C H U R C H It is amazing that the simplest command in all the Bible Christians so easily lose touch with. Jesus said life is about two things; loving God and loving people. Including your enemies! I’ve been a Christian for over 30 years and I still get foggy on this. In Doing Life Together Clay Peck combines clear biblical teaching and practical twenty-first century application for loving the people God loves so outrageously—which is everyone. Doing Life Together is as important a series as any series a church could engage in. JOH N SM IT H | SENIOR PASTOR C R OSSR OA D S C H U R C H I am deeply grateful for Clay Peck’s friendship, keen insights, and heart for people. Doing Life Together paints a beautiful picture of the grace filled community God designed us to enjoy. If you are facing relationship challenges or simply want to find greater joy in Doing Life Together this resource will provide hope and practical encouragement while reminding each of us that we are valuable to God and to each other. TA M M Y SWA NSON-D R A H EIM | SU P ER INT EN DE N T EVA NGELICA L C OV ENA NT M IDWEST C ONFE R E N CE

FOREWORD D R . R IC H A R D FR ED ER IC K S

I have known Dr. Clay Peck, the Lead and Founding Pastor of Grace Place for almost a quarter of a century. Each year my admiration for his thoughtful scholarship and pastoral heart grows. Clay does theology from and for the vibrant Christian community he leads with a servant’s heart. I recommend his studies on life in community to you with this dual assurance: • These six studies will be deeply and intelligently Scriptural. The development of his theme of life together, its benefits and its challenges, will walk you step by step toward this ultimate goal of the triune God (who is and always has been eternal Community). • These six studies will be deeply practical—because Scripture is, and because Clay gets the Bible’s great trajectory of redemption for every individual—out of the isolation and fear of being a man or woman totally wrapped up in myself as my own frail center; and into the joy and fulfillment of being men and women formed into a community of diversity and unity that reflects the very heart of God. Ephesians 1:9-10 say that God’s ultimate, end-game will and purpose is to bring all things in heaven and on earth back together in Christ; until the church reaches the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way (1:2223). It is a goal can only be realized when “the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love—as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16). That means you and me. We are ALL vital parts of Jesus’ ecclesia—the gathered community around Christ. So I encourage you. Commit six weeks. Dive in! You will find out who you were created to be…together. D R . R I CHAR D FR E D ER I C K S | SENIOR A ND FOU ND ING PASTOR DAMASCU S R OAD COM M U NIT Y C H U R C H

GOD HAS NOW REVEALED TO US HIS MYSTERIOUS W I L L R E G A R D I N G C H R I ST— W H I C H I S TO F U L F I L L H I S O W N G O O D P L A N . A N D T H I S I S T H E P L A N : AT T H E RIGHT TIME HE WILL BRING EVERYTHING TOGETHER U N D E R T H E AU T H O R I T Y O F C H R I ST— E V E RY T H I N G I N H E AV E N A N D O N E A R T H . E P H E S I A N S 1 : 9 - 1 0 ( N LT )

WELCOME When we started Grace Place in 1996 we targeted the “burned, bored, and by-passed.” Of course, we hoped and trusted that people would not stay burned, but get healed; not stay bored, but get energized; not stay by-passed, but get connected! We have always desired to be a place of love, acceptance, and forgiveness, a safe place where you can belong before you believe, a community of people together on a spiritual journey. During the next six weeks you’ll have the chance to explore what the Bible says about community and do it together with others. You will also have opportunities to share your own ideas and experiences, watch a short video teaching on that weeks theme, discuss scriptures and determine how you will apply what God is teaching you. The early church, alive with the Spirit, was devoted to meeting together for prayer, fellowship, and Bible study—growing spiritually while loving and caring for each other. They chose to avoid isolation and press together. The word “together” is found three times in just two verses: “All the believers were together and had everything in common… they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:44,46). At the end of each chapter you will find Daily Devotions where we provide scriptures to read and reflect on between sessions. This provides you with a chance to slow down, read just a small portion of scripture each day, and reflect and pray through it. You’ll then have a chance to journal your response to what you’ve read. Use this section to seek God on your own throughout the week. This time at home should begin and end with prayer. Don’t get in a hurry; take enough time to hear God’s direction. Doing Life Together is about living a life of purpose and meaning by connecting with God and others. It is about living as God has intended us to live. It’s about the Great Commandment, loving one another; and the Great Commission, sharing that love with those in our lives who don’t know Jesus. Lets have some fun as we do life together! BL ESSI NG S, PASTO R CLAY AND SE LENE

USING THIS WORKBOOK tools to help you have a great community group experience!

• Notice in the Table of Contents there are three sections: (1) Sessions; (2) Appendices; and (3) Community Group Hosts. Familiarize yourself with the Appendices. Some of them will be used in the sessions themselves. • If you are facilitating/hosting or co-hosting a community group, the section Community Group Hosts will give you some experiences of others that will encourage you and help you avoid many common obstacles to effective community group leadership. • Use this workbook as a guide, not a straightjacket. If the group responds to the lesson in an unexpected but honest way, go with that. If you think of a better question than the next one in the lesson, ask it. Take to heart the insights included in the Frequently Asked Questions pages and the Community Group Hosts section. • Enjoy your Community Group experience. • Pray before each session—for your group members, for your time together, or wisdom and insights. • Read the Outline for Each Session on the next pages so that you understand how the sessions will flow.

OUTLINE OF EACH SESSION A typical group session for the Doing Life Together study will include the following sections. Read through this to get a clear idea of how each group meeting will be structured: WEEKLY MEMORY VERSES. Each session opens with a Memory Verse that emphasizes an important truth from the session. This is an optional exercise, but we believe that memorizing scripture can be a vital part of filling our minds with God’s will for our lives. We encourage you to give this important habit a try. The verses for our six sessions are also listed in the appendix. INTRODUCTION. Each lesson opens with a brief thought that will help you prepare for the session and get you thinking about the particular subject you will explore with your group. Make it a practice to read these before the session. You may want to have the group read them aloud. SHARE YOUR STORY. The foundation for spiritual growth is an intimate connection with God and his family. You build that connection by sharing your story with a few people who really know you and who earn your trust. This section includes some simple questions to get you talking—letting you share as much or as little of your story as you feel comfortable doing. Each session typically offers you two options. You can get to know your whole group by using the icebreaker question(s), or you can check in with one or two group members, for a deeper connection and encouragement in your spiritual journey. HEAR GOD’S STORY. In this section, you’ll read the Bible and listen to teaching, in order to hear God’s story—and begin to see how his story aligns with yours. When the study directs you to, you’ll pop in the DVD and watch a short teaching segment. You’ll then have an opportunity to read a passage of scripture, and discuss both the teaching and the text. You won’t focus on accumulating information but on how you should live in light of the Word of God. We want to help you apply the insights

from scripture practically and creatively, from your heart as well as your head. At the end of the day, allowing the timeless truths from God’s Word to transform our lives in Christ should be your greatest aim. STUDY NOTES. This brief section provides additional commentary, background or insights on the passage you’ll study in the Hear God’s Story section. CREATE A NEW STORY. God wants you to be a part of his Kingdom—to weave your story into His. That will mean change. It will require you to go his way rather than your own. This won’t happen overnight, but it should happen steadily. By making small, simple choices, we can begin to change our direction. This is where the Bible’s instructions to “be doers of the Word, not just hearers” (James 1:22) comes into play. Many people skip over this aspect of the Christian life because it’s scary, relationally awkward, or simply too much work for their busy schedules. But Jesus wanted all of his disciples to know him personally, carry out his commands, and help outsiders connect with Him. This doesn’t necessarily mean preaching on street corners. It could mean welcoming newcomers, hosting a short-term group in your home, or walking through this study with a friend. In this study, you’ll have an opportunity to go beyond Bible study to biblical living. This section will also have a question or two that will challenge you to live out your faith by serving others, sharing your faith, and worshiping God. DAILY DEVOTIONS. Each week on the Daily Devotions pages, we provide scriptures to read and reflect on between sessions. This provides you with a chance to slow down, read just a small portion of scripture each day, and reflect and pray through it. You’ll then have a chance to journal your response to what you’ve read. Use this section to seek God on your own throughout the week. This time at home should begin and end with prayer. Don’t get in a hurry; take enough time to hear God’s direction.

SESSION ONE

connecting with Jesus

“ F O R I H AV E N OT C O M E TO C A L L T H E R I G H T E O U S , B U T S I N N E R S .” M AT T H E W 9 : 1 3

We are all in need of the grace of God. The amazing thing is, Jesus doesn’t avoid imperfect people—sinners like you and me. Instead, he seeks them out, invites them to the table or into the living room, and welcomes them. Jesus was known for reaching out to the marginalized, the people labeled by his society as “sinners.” When questioned about this, he said that those far from God needed his love and teaching more than those who already knew all of God’s laws and traditions. The first step in connecting with Jesus is understanding that you need him in your life—that you are a sinner who makes mistakes and needs God’s grace. Fortunately, God can use all of us if we are willing to follow him.

SHARE YOUR STORY

E AC H OF US HAS A STORY. T H E E V E N TS OF OUR LI F E— G OOD, B AD, WONDER F UL OR C H A L LE N GI NG—HAV E SHA PED WH O WE A R E. GOD K NOWS YOUR STO RY, A ND HE I NTEND S TO R E DE E M I T—TO USE EV ERY ST R UG G LE A ND EV ERY J OY TO ULT I M ATELY BR I NG YOU TO H I M S E L F. WHEN WE SHA R E OUR STOR I E S WI TH OTHER S, WE G I V E T H E M THE OPPORTUNI TY TO S E E G OD AT WOR K . Open your group with prayer. This should be a brief, simple prayer, in which you invite God to give you insight as you study. You can pray for specific requests at the end of the meeting, or stop momentarily to pray if a particular situation comes up during your discussion. Before you start this first meeting, get contact information for every participant. Take time to pass around a copy of the Community Group Roster on page 82, a sheet of paper, or one of you pass your Study Guide, opened to the Community Group Roster. Ask someone to make copies or type up a list with everyone’s information and email it to the group during the week.

THEN, BEGIN YOUR TIME TOGETHER BY USING THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES TO GET PEOPLE TALKING. • What brought you here? What do you hope to get out of this group? • If you’re brave enough (!), share a story about a time you were embarrassed or did something foolish in front of others. • Whether your group is new or ongoing, it’s always important to reflect on and review your values together. On page 79 is a Community Group Agreement with the values we’ve found most useful in sustaining healthy, balanced groups. We recommend that you choose one or two values—ones you haven’t previously focused on or have room to grow in—to emphasize during this study. Choose ones that will take your group to the next stage of intimacy and spiritual health. • If your group is new, welcome newcomers. Introduce everyone—you may even want to have name tags for your first meeting. • We recommend you rotate host homes on a regular basis and let the hosts lead the meeting. Studies show that healthy groups rotate leadership. This helps to develop every member’s ability to shepherd a few people in a safe environment. Even Jesus gave others the opportunity to serve alongside him (Mark 6:30-44). Look at the FAQs in the Appendix for additional information about hosting or leading the group. • The Community Group Calendar on page 81 is a tool for planning who will host and lead each meeting. Take a few minutes to plan hosts and co-hosts for your remaining meetings. Don’t skip this important step! It will revolutionize your group. Share with the group a time when you’ve been very sick or a time when you’ve been in great physical shape. What did you learn about your body through that experience? • Have you ever taken a spiritual gifts assessment? Do you know what your spiritual gift is?

WATCH THE DVD

Watch the DVD for this session now. Use the space below to record key thoughts, questions, and things you want to remember or follow up on. After you finish watching the video, have someone read the discussion questions in the Hear Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Story section and direct the discussion among the group. As you go through each of the subsequent sections, ask someone else to read the questions and direct the discussion.

HEAR GOD’S STORY READ MAT THE W 9:9-13.

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 9

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

•

Why do you think Matthew decided to follow Jesus?

• Matthew was a tax collector, which did not make him popular with his fellow Jews. (See study notes.) What profession or type of person would be equivalent to a tax collector in our culture? Why do you think Jesus chose to hang out with such “sinners”?

• Why do you think the Pharisees questioned Jesus’ disciples instead of Jesus himself?

• In your life, who are the “tax collectors and sinners”? How often do you spend time with them?

STUDY NOTES

Tax collectors and sinners. Jesus made it a point to reach out to people who were outside the religious subculture of his day—the outcasts of his society. Tax collectors were particularly scorned because they were Jews, but they worked for the oppressive government that occupied the land, the Romans. Tax collectors were notorious for cheating—collecting what Rome demanded, then adding whatever profit they could get for themselves, all at the expense of their fellow Jews. We can understand why the Jews saw them as traitors. While all people are “sinners” (see Romans 3:23), those labeled “tax collectors and sinners” by the Pharisees were those who deliberately ignored the law—people who lived a lifestyle of sin, such as money-lenders, tax collectors and prostitutes. Mercy, not sacrifice. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day spent much of their time studying and discussing the Torah, and how to live it out. They would have had most of what we call the Old Testament completely memorized, word for word. So when Jesus quotes just a short phrase from Hosea 6, they would immediately recall the entire passage—just as we might recall a whole pop song when we hear one line from it. In Hosea 6, God accuses his people of not truly loving him, of unfaithfulness to Him, describing them with words like “footprints of blood,” “evildoers,” “wicked,” and worse. The accusations, delivered by the prophet Hosea, conclude ominously and succinctly: “Israel is defiled.” It is not surprising that the Pharisees didn’t like what they heard from Jesus.

CREATE A NEW STORY

GOD WAN TS YOU TO BE PART OF H IS KIN G D OM—TO WE AVE YOU R STORY INTO H IS. T HAT WILL ME AN CHAN GE —TO G O H IS WAY RAT H E R T H AN YOU R OWN . TH IS WON ’T H AP P E N OVE RN IG H T, BU T IT SH O U L D H AP P E N ST E AD ILY. BY START IN G WIT H SMALL, SIMP LE CH OICE S, WE BE G IN TO CH AN GE OU R D IRE CT ION . T H E HOLY SP IRIT H E LPS U S ALON G T H E WAY— GIVIN G US GIFTS TO S E RVE T HE BODY, OFFE RIN G U S INSIGH TS IN TO S CRIP T U RE , AN D CH ALLE N GIN G U S TO LOVE N OT ON LY T H OSE AROU N D U S B U T T HOSE FAR FROM G OD.

In this section, talk about how you will apply the wisdom you’ve learned from the teaching and Bible study. Then think about practical steps you can take in the coming week to live out what you’ve learned. • Jesus saw potential in Matthew. Can you believe that he sees potential in you, too?

• Like Matthew, Jesus invites you to follow Him. How did you feel when you first became aware of this invitation? How did you respond?

• What do you think Jesus meant when he said he desired mercy instead of sacrifice? Why is mercy (the attitude we have toward sinners) more important than sacrifice (the things we do for God)?

• How might reaching out to marginalized or rejected people help you connect with Jesus?

• What do you think of the idea of “belonging before believing”?

TA K E A LO O K AT T H E C I R C L E S O F L I F E D I AG R A M B E LO W A N D W R I T E T H E N A M E S O F T W O O R T H R E E P E O P L E Y O U K N O W W H O N E E D T O K N O W C H R I S T. C O M M I T TO P R AY I N G F O R G O D ’ S G U I DA N C E A N D A N O P P O R T U N I T Y TO S H A R E W I T H EACH OF THEM. PERHAPS THEY WOULD BE OPEN TO JOINING THE GROUP? S H A R E YO U R L I S T S W I T H T H E G R O U P S O YO U C A N A L L B E P R AY I N G F O R T H E PEOPLE YOU’VE IDENTIFIED.

• Also consider someone—in this group or outside it—that you can begin going deeper with in an intentional way. This might be your mom or dad, a cousin, an aunt or uncle, a roommate, a college buddy, or a neighbor. Choose someone who might be open to “doing life” with you at a deeper level and pray about that opportunity. • This week how will you interact with the Bible? Can you commit to spending time in daily prayer or study of God’s Word (use the Daily Devotions section to guide you)? Tell the group how you plan to follow Jesus this week, and then, at your next meeting, talk about your progress and challenges. • Stack your hands just as a sports team does in the huddle and commit to taking a risk and going deeper in your group and in your relationships with each other. • Ask, “How can we pray for you this week?” Invite everyone to share, but don’t force the issue. Be sure to write prayer requests on your Prayer and Praise Report on page 86. • Close your meeting with prayer.

HIDE YOUR FACE FROM MY SINS AND BLOT OUT ALL M Y I N I Q U I T Y. C R E AT E I N M E A P U R E H E A R T, O G O D , AND RENEW A STEADFAST SPIRIT WITHIN ME. PSALM 51:9-10

DAILY DEVOTIONS DAY 1 • R E A D PSA LM 51: 1

DAY 3 • RE AD PSALM 51 :4

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

Respond: Read Psalm 103:12, as well. How does having mercy shown to you soften your heart toward “sinners”?

Respond: What sin do you need to confess to Jesus today? What shame do you need to be set free from?

DAY 2 • R E A D PSA LM 51: 2- 3

DAY 4 • RE AD P SALM 51 :5

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Respond: We all sin at times. We all make mistakes and bad choices. What sin is “always before you”? Can you surrender that to Jesus?

Respond: Take a few minutes to also read 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Romans 7. How does denying our sinful nature keep us from moving forward in our spiritual journey?

DAY 5 â&#x20AC;˘ R E A D PSA LM 51: 9- 10 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Respond: Spend some time thanking God for his amazing gift of forgiveness and grace.

D A Y 6 â&#x20AC;˘ Use the following space to write any thoughts God has put in your heart and mind about the things we have looked at in this session and during your Daily Devotions time this week.