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WEEK 2
Choose your Destination "whatever is true"
WELCOME
1. Think for a moment about heaven. How do you imagine it to be like.
What would you look forward to in heaven?
2. How about hell, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
WORD
Choose your Destination Text. Job 14:1-2 and 14
"1How frail is humanity! How short is life, and how full of trouble! 2Like a flower, we blossom for a moment and then wither. Like the shadow of a passing cloud, we quickly disappear...14If mortals die, can they live again? This thought would give me hope, and through my struggle I would eagerly wait for release."
Like Job, all of us have been challenged by this question. Exactly what happens to us after we die? Do we simply cease to exist? Does everyone go to the same place, or do we go to different places?
Is there really a heaven and hell? This week we are challenged to choose our destiny and believe on the truth. Honestly, heaven and hell is a very wide-ranging topic but is at the same time interestingly enough. In Luke 16:19-31, the Lord Jesus gave us a foretaste or a preview of what it is like and what is happening in the afterlife. (Read this passage together as a group.)
Preview about Hell
1. There is Reaction -In utter torment, he (the rich man) needed water to cool his tongue.
Even though he does not have a body, he is experiencing the sense of touch and is in terrible pain.
2. There is Recognition - he sees Lazarus across a great chasm and Abraham by his side.
How painful to see Paradise and yet know that it is too late, and he will never experience one moment there.
3. There is Response - he can speak; he calls to Abraham and communicates his pain.
And he can hear Abraham's answers.
4. There is Remembrance – he remembered that he has 5 brothers and he wants them to be saved.
This may not be a pleasant subject to deal with but the Lord Jesus talked more about hell than He did about heaven in order to warn men of its reality.
LIFE GROUP DISCUSSION
1. While studying this lesson, what comes to your mind?
2. Have you even made Jesus your Lord and Savior? If not pause for awhile and study the topic of Salvation using our Cross Road Booklet.
3. Do you have in mind any relative who needs Jesus?
MINISTRY TIME
1. Give a thanksgiving prayer that God gave us the truth and the way, through our Lord Jesus Christ, so we can spend eternity with Him.
2. Pray for your unsaved family members that they too will know the truth about Jesus.
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Study and memorize this passage of the week:
John 20:31
31 "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
WORKS
Remind everyone the following THINGS TO DO DURING OUR SERIES
1. Encourage everyone to commit to attend all our Sunday Celebrations.
2. Bring a new friend to be part of your Life Group next week.
3. Read our Newsletter to see what's up for the coming week and be part of it if it relates to your network.
4. Read the Book of Philippians during your quiet time.
5. Record your thoughts in your prayer journal about how this study applies to you.
NOTES:
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WEEK 3 Choose your obedience "whatever is honorable"
WELCOME
1. What is the wildest dream you ever had and that given a chance will do it?
2. Was there a time when you have given in to pressure? What happened?
WORD
Choose to Obey Text: Daniel 1:8
"But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine."
Eric Liddell was Scotland's fastest sprinter,he had won every 100-meter race he had run since early in his running career and this speed earned him a spot on British Olympic team.However, Eric Liddell had announced to his country that he could not run in the Olympic 100-meter race because the finals was scheduled on a Sunday. Sunday was a day of worship and rest for him and he would not run even if he were his country's only hope of winning an Olympic gold medal. This made the Scottish people very upset with him. Some even called him a traitor. But he stood firm. He had never run on Sundays and never would, not even for an Olympic gold medal.
God's call to obey goes against the small pieceof our natural judgment by thinking “What difference does it make?” But God calls us to obey him out of his concern for our best. Sometimes that means we must make hard choices.Eric Liddell chose to obey even when it didn't seem to matter to anyone but God. He had much in common with Daniel. Both were men of integrity who were challenged by difficult decisions of obedience.
Daniel was committed to God and determined to follow him, just as we saw was true of Eric Liddell. Both resolved to obey God whatever the cost, even in something seemingly unimportant.Too often instead of making up our minds to obey God no matter what, as these men did, we choose to compromise when faced with situations where obedience is hard, especially when it seems meaningless from the earthly standpoint.Make up your mind today to obey God, whatever that means in your life. Love him enough to follow him fully and give forth glimpses of godliness to your world.
LIFE GROUP DISCUSSION
1. What do you do when you are faced with a difficult choice to obey God or not, especially when the negative effects of compromise seem insignificant?
2. Have you ever had an experience where after a careful and serious study of your situation you changed your actions and opinion? What happened?
MINISTRY TIME
1. Pray that God will give you strength not to give in to compromise when you are in a difficult situation.
2. Pray that we will always give our best to God no matter what the cost.
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Study and memorize this passage of the week:
Philippians 3:8
“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,
for whose sake I have lost all things.”
WORKS
Remind everyone the following THINGS TO DO DURING OUR SERIES
1. Encourage everyone to commit to attend all our Sunday Celebrations.
2. Bring a new friend to be part of your Life Group next week.
3. Read our Newsletter to see what's up for the coming week and be part of it if it relates to your network.
4. Read the Book of Philippians during your quiet time.
5. Record your thoughts in your prayer journal about how this study applies to you.
NOTES:
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WEEK 4
Choose opportunity "whatever is pure"
WELCOME
1. Share of a time when you wanted something very much, and what you had to do to acquire it.
2. Recall a time when you did something because you knew in your heart it was right. What happened?
WORD
Choose opportunity
Mark 7:20-23 (ESV)
20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
The word pure means "without mixture; separated, therefore "clean"; or spiritually clean and free from the influences of sin.
One of the most helpful things we can learn about the Christian life is that all sin begins in our thoughts, which the Bible often calls “the heart.” The Lord Jesus said, “That which proceeds out of the man that is what defiles the man. No one commits these outward sins without first having committed them in his mind. Our desires fuel and feed our minds. In our hearts, we have desires, emotions, will and motives. Because our hearts powerfully direct our thoughts, attitudes, and behavior, the Bible teaches that above all else, we are to guard our hearts. If we want to grow in godliness, we must win the battle over sin on the thought level.We should not be passive in letting just any thought enter and take root in our minds. We need to be diligent in actively guarding our mind and taking captive every thought that is not in accordance with God's Word.
Life Group Discussion
1. Ask one another if everyone have a time and place for daily Bible reading and prayer?
2. What can you do to not be conformed according to the pattern of this world?
Ministry Time
1. Take a minute and think of how the pattern of this world influences your thinking and then surrender your thought to God in prayer.
2. Thank God for the privilege of using you to touch the lives of others.
3. Close by praying for any requests your group might have.
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Study and memorize this passage of the week:
Romans 12:2
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
WORKS
Remind everyone the following THINGS TO DO DURING OUR SERIES
1. Encourage everyone to commit to attend all our Sunday Celebrations.
2. Bring a new friend to be part of your Life Group next week.
3. Read our Newsletter to see what's up for the coming week and be part of it if it relates to your network.
4. Read the Book of Philippians during your quiet time.
5. Record your thoughts in your prayer journal about how this study applies to you.
NOTES:
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WEEK 5 Choose Whom You Serve"Whatever is lovely and commendable”
WELCOME
1. Did you ever work for a boss? Share your experience.
2. Have you ever thought of resigning from your current job and think of moving to a better job? What happened?
WORD
Choose whom you serve
John 1:35-44
“35 The following day, John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and then declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” 37 Then John's two disciples turned and followed Jesus…40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of these men who had heard what John said and then followed Jesus.
This story focuses on Andrew who chooses to go for the best. Andrew had been part of a very successful religious movement led by John the Baptist. At the time, nobody was bigger news than John. He was wellO-known, influential, and young. There appeared to be no end to his ministry. The men who had chosen to follow him were enjoying God's blessing everyday.Matthew 3:55 “People from Jerusalem and from every section of Judea and from all over the Jordan Valley went out to the wilderness to hear him preach.”
The ministry of John was very good and Andrew was part of it, AND THEN CAME Jesus, He was bigger news than John the Baptist. He was unknown at first, but his presence was undeniable. John was doing great work, but there was something more about Jesus. He spoke with authority, walked with determination, and performed with power unlike John's followers had ever seen. Andrew had to choose.
How many times are we challenged to make a choice if we will go for the best or just settle for the good? Andrew had to choose. If he stayed with John, He would have a life of God's blessings. But if he followed Jesus, he will gain more. The Lord Jesus is offering us more than what we consider good, if he can turn the basic things in life like water into the best wine, he can offer us greater things than what we consider normal and good.
Life Group Discussion
1. Think of someone you have viewed as a mentor, or someone you have respected in the past. What characteristics caused you to think of this person?
2. What can you say about Andrew when he made the choice of leaving John the Baptist his leader to follow another one Jesus?
3. Without mentioning the Lord Jesus and John the Baptist, how do you feel about a person who changes from one leader to another?
Ministry Time
1. Take a minute and thank God for His love and grace He has given you and how He touched your life.
2. Thank God for the privilege of using you to touch the lives of others.
3. Close by praying for any requests your group might have.
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Study and memorize this passage of the week:
Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
29 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil,
to give you a future and a hope.”
WORKS
Remind everyone the following THINGS TO DO DURING OUR SERIES
1. Encourage everyone to commit to attend all our Sunday Celebrations.
2. Bring a new friend to be part of your Life Group next week.
3. Read our Newsletter to see what's up for the coming week and be part of it if it relates to your network.
4. Read the Book of Philippians during your quiet time.
5. Record your thoughts in your prayer journal about how this study applies to you.
NOTES:
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WEEK 6
Choose Excellence "Whatever is excellence"
WELCOME
1. Why is it so ordinary for us to tell ourselves of negative/destructive things?
2. Have you given yourself permission to live life to the fullest?
WORD
Choose excellence
Text: Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,”
Paul knows that his list of items to think about is not really that exhaustive or complete so he includes anything that is "excellent or praiseworthy". If your aim is to maximize your potential for God, you must first discipline yourself mentally. Do your part now so that God can honor your faith and empower you to live a life of excellence.
You can achieve excellence at any point in your life, it's in your mind. If you are thinking positively and Biblically that you can do it and you are looking for ways to do it better, you are achieving excellence. Are you renewing your mind by consistently reading and studying God's Word – the Bible? When you find your mind wandering into the trash of this world, turn to this verse, take it to heart, and fill your mind with the "excellent" and "praiseworthy" The result of all this is: "And the God of peace will be with you" (4: 9).
LIFE GROUP DISCUSSION
1. Up to this point, have you been a faithful steward of your mental life? How so, exactly?
2. What would you have to give up tostart thinking more consistently with Philippians 4:8?
3. Can you name some improvements in your life that do not first involve changed thinking?
MINISTRY
End the series with this simple prayer:
“Lord, thank you for all the goodness in our life and the great plans you have for us, for our family, and for our future. We praise you for our healthy mind and the power you have instilled in our thoughts. Thank you Lord, especially for the freedom you have given us to select our thoughts and thereby influence our state of mind and our circumstances.
Help us to accept responsibility for our thinking. Lead us, moment by moment, to choose joyful thoughts that lineup with the vision you have for our life. Protect us from searching for joy in all the wrong places, and inspire usto enjoy the gift of this present moment.”
In Jesus' name, Amen
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Study and memorize this passage of the week:
Philippines 4:8 (ESV)
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
WORKS
Remind everyone the following THINGS TO DO:
1. End the series with a 144 party.
2. Bring your new friends to the party.
3. Prepare a massive CROSSRoads and CROSSOver Day.
4. Enroll NEW Life Group members for the coming LTS
5. Prepare for the NEXT series.
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