August 2009

There are two elements that are necessary for when people try to deal with real life. Maybe right now we have a question about something we need to know or to do in our life right now. This kind of question arises every week. What do I do when I cannot get along with my boss? What do I tell those people who knock on my door on Saturday mornings when I am trying to sleep in? It seems like almost all of us learn better when we have a question from life.

Those two elements are the Bible and other Christians. We need the Bible because it speaks to an incredible variety of subjects that we deal with every day. And we need other Christians to help us with our knowledge and will support us in hard times.

If that sounds like a small group Bible Study then that is because small groups are the best way we have come up with to help people grow spiritually. I would want to make the case that the curriculum is less important than that it is based on the Word of God combined with walking through life together.

In order to encourage more involvement in small groups, I make the following offer for this fall. If you have taken one of our 2:7 discipleship courses and would be willing to lead a small group, I will come and help you get started.
Here is what I would ask you to do. Find 8-10 people who will commit to at least four times of meeting together. My offer is that I will come and lead for those first four times. My preference would be to meet on Monday evenings. I will use material from the sheet for Home Study that we hand out every Sunday that I preach. That will provide the Bible Study that will follow up the message from the previous Sunday. Then we will seek to have a share time of prayer requests and then a prayer time where the main focus will be on praying for each other individually and as a group. We will do life together based on God's Word.

I believe that when God's people commit to each other around his word, honest sharing and prayer that the result will be growth, individually and as a group. So if you are interested in doing this or learning more about it, let me know. I will work with you to find some other people and we will see what God will do!