Restored! Our Story (PREVIEW) by Lifetogether Ministries

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Published by LifeTogether Ministries. Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW LIVING TRANSLATION®. Copyright 1996, 2004, and 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois, 60188. All rights reserved worldwide. ISBN Printed in the United States of America

Introduction by Steve Reeves Using this Workbook Session Outline

4 6 8

SESSIONS Session One: Restored Identity Session Two: Restored Unity Session Three: Restored Plan Session Four: Restored Life Session Five: Restored Families Session Six: Restored Victory

10 34 56 78 98 120

APPENDICES Frequently Asked Questions Small Group Agreement Small Group Calendar Spiritual Partners Memory Verse Cards

144 146 148 149 150

SMALL GROUP LEADERS Prayer & Praise Report Small Group Roster Hosting an Open House Leading for the First Time Leadership Training

154 155 156 157 158

INTRODUCTION Welcome to Restored! Our Story. There’s something very appealing about the word restoration. Think of the popularity of TV shows that depict amazing renovation projects of houses that look like they are about to fall down and turn out to be wonderful dwelling places under the careful work of people who know what they are doing. If you’ve never read the letter to the Ephesians in the New Testament, the next six weeks will hopefully convince you it is a book worth knowing well. Because in that letter, the Apostle Paul tells us all about the kind of restoration God is doing in our lives. Just like an old, worn-out house, we cannot restore ourselves. But who better than the craftsman who first designed and created us to breathe new life into our lifeless structure? And that’s just what God is about, as we will see. He takes what is dead, broken, lost, abandoned and restores it as only He can. He knows what He is doing! Ephesians 2:20 says, “We are His house.” Then, a few verses later it says we are “being made part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit” (v.22). The kind of spiritual restoration we are thinking of these weeks is real and life-long. There are definite places and moments when aspects of life are restored. Those remind us that God is at work on the over-all project and the big reveal of that ultimate restoration will happen on His timetable. We’re living the story of God’s restoring work. I’m delighted you have joined us and am looking forward to all the ways we will discover the truth of restoration in places of our lives we might have given up. God is not done with His work in your life and mine. And He will not be done until we are fully restored. Philippians 1:6 puts this truth in a great way: “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Let’s discover together what He has done so far and what He is working on right now!

STEVE REEVES

Retired Lead Pastor Connection Pointe Christian Church

USING THIS WORKBOOK Tools to help you have a great small group experience.

• In the Table of Contents, there are three sections: (1) Sessions; (2) Appendices; and (3) Small Group Leaders. Familiarize yourself with the Appendices. Some of them will be used in the sessions themselves. • If you are leading or co-leading a small group, the section Small Group Leaders will give you tips for effective leadership, encourage you, and help you avoid a few common obstacles. • Use this workbook as a guide, not a straitjacket. 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 one in the lesson, ask it. Take to heart the insights included in the Frequently Asked Questions pages and the Small Group Leaders section. • Enjoy your small group experience. • Pray before each session—for your group members, for your time together, and for wisdom and insights. • Read the Outline for Each Session on the next pages so you understand how the sessions will flow.

SESSION OUTLINE

FOR ADDITIONAL STUDY

A typical group session for the Restored! 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 memorizing Scripture is a powerful way to grow spiritually. We encourage you to give this important habit a try. The verses for each session 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 that week’s topic. 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 choose.

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 watch a short teaching segment on video. You’ll then have an opportunity to read a passage of Scripture and discuss both the teaching and the text. The goal isn’t to accumulate information, but to apply the insights from the Scripture to your daily life.

STUDY NOTES

This brief section provides additional commentary, background, and insights on the passage you’ve studied or on some aspect of the video teaching.

CREATE A NEW STORY

In this section, you’ll have an opportunity to go beyond Bible study into 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, or worshiping God.

If you have time and want to dig deeper into more Bible passages about the topic, we’ve provided additional passages and questions. You can use them during the meeting or as homework. Your group may choose to read and prepare before each meeting in order to cover more biblical material. Or, group members can use the additional study section during the week after the meeting. If you prefer not to do study homework, this section will provide you with plenty to discuss within the group. These options allow individuals or the whole group to expand their study while still accommodating those who can’t do homework or are new to your group.

DAILY DEVOTIONS

Each week on the Daily Devotions pages, we provide Scriptures to reflect on between sessions. This provides you with a chance to slow down, read just a small portion of Scripture each day, 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. During this time, begin and end your Daily Devotion with prayer. Don’t rush this process; take your time to hear from God and talk to Him!

RESTORED IDENTITY Identity has to do with who we are and how we see ourselves. Most of this happens as we are growing up and begin to realize who are parents are, the personalities in the rest of our family, the culture we live in and many other factors that shape us long before we realize we are being shaped. This verse informs us that in some way we are orphans. This is part of the spiritual reality of our connection with God. We spend a lot of life wandering around like the chick in the children’s story, Are You My Mother? We ask over and over, “Are you my God?” At some point along the way we discover that God has actually been looking for us, already having decided to adopt us in His family. What amazing news!

God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ

EPHESIANS 1:5 10

LEADER NOTES

• If your group is new, welcome newcomers. Introduce everyone. You may want to have name tags for this first meeting. • Open your group with a brief prayer asking God for 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 discussion. • Before you start this first meeting, get contact information for every participant. Take time to pass around a copy of the Small Group Roster on page 118 or a blank sheet of paper. Ask someone to make copies or type up a list with everyone’s information and email it to the group during the week. • Whether your group is new or ongoing, it’s always important to review your values. On page 111 is a Small Group Agreement with important values for sustaining healthy, balanced groups. Choose one or two of these values— ones you haven’t previously focused on or those you have room to grow in— to emphasize during this study. • The Small Group Calendar on page 112 is a took for planning who will host and lead each meeting. Consider rotating hosts and leaders, and take a few minutes to plan future meetings.

SHARE YOUR STORY

Each of us has a story. The events of our life—good, bad, wonderful or challenging—have shaped who we are. God knows your story, and He intends to redeem it—to use every struggle and every joy to ultimately bring you to Himself. When we share our stories with others, we give them the opportunity to see God at work. When we share our stories, we also realize we are not alone—that we have common experiences and thoughts, and that others can understand what we are going through. Your story can encourage someone else, and telling it can lead to a path of freedom for you and for those you share it with. 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 Small Group Roster on page __, a sheet of paper, or one of you pass your Study Guide, opened to the Small 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? • What experiences have you had with any kind of restoration projects? • How would you describe the main challenges of a restoration project? • Whether your group is new or ongoing, it’s always important to reflect on and review your values together. On page ___ is a Small 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 6:3044). Look at the FAQs in the Appendix for additional information about hosting or leading the group. • The Small Group Calendar on page __ is a tool for planning who will host and lead each meeting. Take a few minutes to plan hosts and leaders for your remaining meetings. Don’t skip this important step! It will revolutionize your group.

WATCH THE VIDEO Use the Notes space provided below to record key thoughts, questions and things you want to remember or follow up on. After 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 EPHESIANS 1:3-8

THINK ABOUT IT

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

• Based on what we just read from the Bible and what you heard from Pastor Reeves, what does spiritual adoption mean to you?

• How does verse 7 hint at our situation before adoption takes place? • When Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15), was He trying to figure out who He was or giving His disciples a chance to recognize Him? (You may want to look at Matthew 16:13-20 if group members are unfamiliar with this event in Jesus’ life). • Pastor Reeves quoted Ephesians 1:13 during his teaching: “And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago.” How does the word identified answer our deepest identity questions, and what is our role in the process of adoption? • How does all of this offer us hope for a restored identity?

STUDY NOTES

God loved us and chose us in Christ (v.3). As Pastor Reeves tells us, most of the first three chapters of Ephesians focus on all God has done and all that we have in Christ. God is the initiator. His love and His choice of us has nothing to do with our like-ability or qualities. He chooses and He chooses to love. Adopt us into His family (v. 5). God not only does the adopting, but He also places us in His family; weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re connected with others. More on this throughout Ephesians. He purchased our freedomâ&#x20AC;Śforgave our sins (v.7). These terms add depth and seriousness to our condition as orphans. We are also enslaved to sin and need to have our participation in sin forgiven. Adoption is an amazing gift!

CREATE A NEW STORY God wants you to be part of His kingdom—to weave your story into His. That will mean change—to go His way rather than your own. This won’t happen overnight, but it should happen steadily. By starting with small, simple choices, we begin to change our direction. The Holy Spirit helps us along the way—giving us gifts to serve the body, offering us insights into scripture, and challenging us to love not only those around us but those far from God. 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.

• In the verses we read, God not only choses and loves us, He also adopts, buys our freedom, and forgives. How have you responded to these actions on God’s part? • What difference does it make to consider yourself adopted by God? • What are the three parts of God’s post-adoption clean up shower as described in verse 8? In what ways have you experienced the truth of this picture? • At this point, how would you describe your own identity in relation to Jesus Christ? • Take a look at the Circles of Life diagram below and write the names of two or three people you know who need to know Christ. Commit to praying for God’s guidance and an opportunity to share with each of them. Perhaps they would be open to joining the group? Share your lists with the group so you can all be praying for the people you’ve identified.

FAMILY

(Immediate Or Extended)

FAMILIAR

FRIENDS

(Neighbors, Kids’ Sports Teams, School, etc.)

FUN

(Gym, Hobbies, Hangouts)

FIRM

(Work)

• 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 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 __. • Close your meeting with prayer.

FOR ADDITIONAL STUDY

If you feel God nudging you to go deeper, take some time before the next meeting to dig into His Word. Explore the Bible passages related to this session’s theme on your own and jot your reflections in a journal or in this study guide. A great way to gain insight on a passage is to read it in several different translations. You may want to use a Bible app or website to compare translations.

READ MATTHEW 16:13-20

READ EPHESIANS 1:9-14

Jesus told teaching stories and He asked searching questions. In both cases He wanted those with ears to hear. His interaction with the disciples on this occasion was an opportunity to clarify the level of their understanding of His identity as God’s Son.

These five verses restate from a different perspective the truth Paul laid out in verses 3-8. In both cases, we are being given a chance to understand God’s plans and the actions He took based on those plans.

• Who were people comparing Jesus to during His ministry? What do you know about each of those names and why were they mentioned? • Did Peter really understand what he said about Jesus? Explain why or why not. • What are the important points about Jesus’ comments on Peter’s confession? • How does this passage influence your view of the church?

• The “mystery” part of God’s plan has to do with the fact that humans could have never figured out or anticipated what God was going to do. What have been your own “discoveries” about God’s plan for you along the way? • How is the Trinity (God’s unique revelation of Himself as Father/ Son/Holy Spirit—3 in 1) active in these verses. What does each of the Persons in the Trinity do for us? • Besides being God’s indwelling gift to us, what else do the Holy Spirit do for us (v.14). • How do these verses add to your understanding of your identity in Christ?

DAILY DEVOTIONS DAY

DAY

READ EPHESIANS 1:13

READ MATTHEW 16:16

READ EPHESIANS 1:5

READ EPHESIANS 1:14

And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago.

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.

The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him.

Respond: As you memorize and meditate on our theme verse for this week, how does it affect you to think about God’s pleasure in adopting you?

Respond: The Holy Spirit’s presence is a “double guarantee” to us. What two facts are constantly confirmed by Him in us? How are these two facts affecting your life today?

1 2

Respond: If you’re not Jewish, congratulations; you’re a Gentile. How would you summarize the “Good News” that you have received?

Respond: Can you say this about Jesus and what do you mean when you say it?

3 4

DAY

READ EPHESIANS 1:18

REFLECT

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He calledâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance.

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.

5 6

Respond: How has this prayer of Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s already been answered for you?