Grow Group Questions • March 27, 2022
Announcement
- We will have Baptisms on Easter Sunday. Has everyone been obedient in Baptism in the group? We would love to help those that haven’t taken that step! If anyone is interested, we have several ways of letting us know: register online or through the Church Center app, fill out a Connection Card indicating interest, contact the church office or Pastor David.
Conversation Starter (If Needed)
- Can you think of a crazy expectation you had at one point in your life for a friendship, relationship or job that was totally blown away as being way off?
Sermon Discussion (Read John 15:18-16:4)
Key Statement This Week To Keep Coming Back To:
Where do your expectations of what the Christian life should be like come from?
- When you think about the Christian Life, what were some of your honest expectations?
- Where do some of your non-Bible based expectations of the Christain life come from?
- What do you think about the expectations Jesus shared in these verses? (Being hated, being persecuted, being banished, being killed)
- Are these your expectations? Why or why not?
- (Read these verses to add to discussion: Matthew 10:25, Acts 14:21-22, 2 Timothy 1:11-12 & 3:12, 1 Peter 1:1-2 & 12-14, Luke 14:27)
- What do they tell us about what to expect and why?
- What are the differences that you see between “American Christianity” and the Christianity Jesus is describing in these verses?
- Why is it important to not only know the differences but talk about them? (Go back to John 16:1)
- How have you seen wrong expectations about the Christain life cause yourself or others to stumble?
Going Deeper/Application
- What’s the difference between being persecuted for righteous living and being persecuted for being self-righteous in the name of Jesus? (Aka, a “Jerk for Jesus”)
- How can we help each other know the difference?
- How have you seen both lived out in your church experiences AND in your own life?
- Pastor David said that we often make compromises in our Christian lives to avoid persecution by building earthly systems, organizations, and kingdoms to protect us from what Jesus says we should expect
- What are some ways that you compromised your life to avoid persecution?
- What “kingdoms” or “systems” have you helped to build or relied on?
Final Challenge
- Come back to and reflect on the Key Statement:
Where do your expectations of what the Christian life should be like come from?
- Come back to and reflect on the Key Statement:
Prayer Time
Consider: Instead of taking prayer requests, spend timing praying for each other based on what is shared in the “Final Challenge” (Either as a whole or after breaking up into genders)