Connection Group Discussion Guide | Week 1 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
Connect (5 to 10 minutes) Come together to build relationships through fellowship and sharing about this week’s worship. • Take a few minutes to share your thoughts about worship this week. What aspects of worship did or did not connect with you? What story or illustration made an impact on you? • Icebreaker: Share your favorite thing that you did over the summer.
Context (30 to 40 minutes) Dig deeper into the videos and scripture for this week through questions and discussion. • Read Exodus 34:6-7. What are your immediate thoughts on this passage? • Exodus says that God ultimately has shown loyalty and compassion to humanity despite our sinfulness. What does this say about God’s desire for humanity? • God is at work in the world, providing forgiveness and love to all. What do you think God’s mission is? • If you had to write a mission statement for the entire Christian church, what would it be and why? Watch the video for this session on your Connection Group DVD or online. • Take a few minutes to read the Great Commission in your Bible (Matthew 28:16-20). Choose one or two words or phrases that stick out to you. Share these with the group, and why they stuck out. • Jesus trusted each of us with living out the Great Commission. How does that make you feel? Brave? Intimidated? Why? • The Great Commission is the very last statement in the book of Matthew. What do you think it means for that to be the last statement of this Gospel? What does that mean for each of us? • What does the word reconciliation mean to you? Why is this a difficult task for us?
Read Luke 15:11-32 • Who do you typically relate to in this story of the prodigal son? Why? • Where do you see reconciliation happening in this story? Who is being reconciled to whom? • How do you respond to the idea that as Christians, we are also called to act as the father, creating reconciliation in the world?
Notice that in this story, the father seems to be waiting and watching for the prodigal son to come home. He spots him from a long way off, and immediately runs to him, rather than passively waiting for his son to return to him. This active seeking of those who need reconciliation and grace teaches us, as Christians, that we cannot passively wait for others to come to us. The Greek word for compassion used in this passage is the same word to describe the compassion that Jesus feels as he heals people in the gospels. We must also notice there are two different relationships in need of reconciliation in this story: the relationship between father and son, and the relationship between brothers.
In many of Jesus’ instructions, he does not specifically instruct those listening about how to interpret the story. Instead, parables serve as stories that can be understood from many different perspectives, and thus continuously take on new meaning each time we hear them. • When have you ever felt like the younger son in this story? What was that experience like? What about the older son? • Have you ever had to be the father in this story? What was that like? • Do you feel that we can have the same compassion as Christ did when he sacrificed himself for us? How do you think we begin to develop that kind of compassion for people? • The father seems to love both sons equally; where do you struggle to love people in this way? Do you think this is an important part of creating reconciliation? Why or why not? • How do you think this story, the passage in Exodus, and the Great Commission connect at all? How do you think reconciliation is a part of making disciples of all nations?
Call (10 minutes) We believe that God not only shows us who God is but invites us to participate in God’s ministry by answering unique calls in our own lives. Join together in discovering how we can respond to scripture and God’s presence as a church and as individuals. • Read 2 Corinthians 5:17-21. • Do you have any gifts to use in bringing the gospel to others? How might you use those gifts for the mission of the Christian Church? • How can we respond in tragedies like Hurricane Harvey with the Great Commission in mind?
Closing (5 minutes) God calls us into community by sharing our joys and concerns together in prayer and supporting one another in our walks with Christ. As we share testimony and stories of our lives, let us listen to where God is working within our community and how we can build each other up in Christian love. • Share joys and concerns with one another. • Close in prayer, either by inviting a group member to pray or by using the prayer provided below. Closing Prayer Loving God, you have entrusted us with the mission of making disciples. Help us to realize that making disciples is not a simple or easy task, but one that invites us to form relationships and inspire reconciliation in the world. We admit that it can be intimidating and even scary to speak up for reconciliation in a broken world; empower us to follow the example of the father in the story of the prodigal son, that we may show love and compassion to everyone we encounter. Amen.