Spending Time with Others
(for the week of September 27, 2020)
​(PDF at the bottom of lesson)
 
Note to Group Leaders: More than anyone else, you are aware of the size of your group, time constraints, the needs of your group, etc. Please read through the Scripture and material below and use whatever you believe will be most helpful to your group.
 
This Week’s Scripture: Acts 9:19b-31 and Mark 2:1-12
 
Pastor Phillip’s Key Idea
 
“Learning, Loving, and Living Jesus involves influencing others for the sake of Jesus. Be the kind of person who brings others to Jesus.”
 
Discussing the Scripture
 

1. Read Acts 9:19b-31. What had Saul (soon to be “Paul”) been doing in verses 19b-22 that had gotten him into trouble with the Jews in Damascus? What were they planning on doing to Saul (v. 23)?
2. What did Saul’s new fellow disciples do to help him out of this dangerous situation (v. 25)?
3. Two or three year later Paul traveled to Jerusalem (he refers to this visit in Galatians 1:18-20) to join the disciples there. But because of his past, the disciples were afraid of him. Who intervened on behalf of Saul and how did he do so (v. 27)?
4. What did this intervention allow Saul to do in the name of Jesus (v. 28-29)?
5. What did fellow believers in Jesus do to help Saul once it was learned that people wanted to kill him (vv. 29-30)?
6. Read Mark 2:1-12. Describe the scene in verses 1-2.
7. Who helped the paralyzed man in verses 3-4? What did they do on his behalf?
8. What were the results of the efforts of these friends (vv. 5-12)?

 
Applying the Scripture
 

1. Summarize what the people in both stories did. What were the risks? What did it cost them?
2. Who are the people in your life who need to be “brought to Jesus?” What risks are there for you to do so? What might it cost you?
3. In your group, discuss ways you can help other Christians for the sake of Jesus (like Saul’s story). Discuss ways you can help bring those who need Jesus to him (like Mark’s story).
4. What personal obstacles will you have to overcome to do those things?
5. Spend some personal time this week, as well as in your group, praying for God to reveal to you the people who make up your personal mission field. Pray for God to give you the grace, wisdom, courage, and opportunities you need to help introduce others to Jesus.

 
ACTS (A prayer guide for this lesson)
 

• A – Adoration (What did you learn about Jesus in this lesson? Offer some words of praise and adoration for what you learned about our Lord.)

 

• C – Confession (Was there a sin or struggle this lesson helped you see in yourself more clearly. Confess this to God and ask him to help you turn from it and toward greater spiritual growth. Read 1 John 1:9)

 

• T – Thanksgiving (What spiritual truth did you learn in this lesson? Spend time thanking God for revealing it to you.)

 

• S – Supplication (Pray for any needs of the members of your group, including their spiritual needs.)

 
John Wesley’s Questions for Self-Examination
 

• Morning
  • Was God my last thought before sleeping and my first thought upon waking?

 

• Evening
  • Have I done anything today without considering how it might advance God’s purposes, whether in small or large ways?
  • Have I been quick and eager to do what good I could do this day?

Spending Time with God
(for the week of September 20, 2020)
(PDF file at bottom)
 
 
This Week’s Scripture: Luke 10:38-42
 
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
 

Pastor Phillip’s Key Idea
 
“Mary wanted to take advantage of Jesus' presence and for that reason sat at his feet to hear his teaching. We get to go into God’s presence!”
 

Discussing the Scripture

1. Describe what’s going on in the story (setting, people, etc.). 
2. What is Martha doing? What concern does she share with Jesus? Why? 
3. What is Mary doing? What appears to be her main focus? Explain.
4. How does Jesus reply to Martha? Why do you think Jesus responded in this way?
5. What sorts of things do you think Martha was “anxious and troubled” about? What are the things you are anxious and troubled about?
6. Which sister do you more closely identify with? Why?
7. We know there will always be work, chores, errands, etc., that need to be done. These are often important. Therefore, why do you think Jesus said that what Mary’s had chosen was better and would not be taken away from her? (What made it better?)
8. What are ways you have rationalized your time spent pursuing “the urgent” to the exclusion of pursuing the truly important?
9. What are some ways you can cultivate your relationship with God by spending time with him throughout an ordinary day? (Also, see “Next Steps” below.)
10. How can developing these spiritual habits bless you during those days that aren’t so “ordinary.”
11. How can prioritizing regular time spent with God help you when you are feeling anxious and troubled?
12. What are other thoughts or questions you had as you read through this Scripture? Discuss them with your group.

 
Next Steps

• Take a look at your schedule this week and pray about when, where, and how you can spend more intentional time with God – whether it’s in your favorite chair at home, driving down the road, or doing household chores.

 

• Write down those ideas and start preparing ways to help you follow through. (Examples: making time on your calendar, putting your Bible and favorite devotional next to your chair, finding some online worship music and/or sermons to listen to as you’re driving, mowing the yard, etc. Share ideas with your group.)

 

• Ask a trusted Christian friend to help you “choose what is better.” Pray with and for one another about this.

 
ACTS (A prayer guide for this lesson)

• A – Adoration (What did you learn about Jesus in this lesson? Offer some words of praise and adoration for what you learned about our Lord.)

 

• C – Confession (Was there a sin or struggle this lesson helped you see in yourself more clearly. Confess this to God and ask him to help you turn from it and toward greater spiritual growth. Read 1 John 1:9)

 

• T – Thanksgiving (What spiritual truth did you learn in this lesson? Spend time thanking God for revealing it to you.)

 

• S – Supplication (Pray for any needs of the members of your group, including their spiritual needs.)

 

Focus Points
An Introduction to Southside’s New Discipleship Emphases
(for the week of September 13, 2020)
 
“You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless, until it rests in You.”
St. Augustine
 
This Week’s Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-2
 
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
 
Pastor Phillip’s Key Idea
 
“Our faith will be perfected when we focus on Christ.”
 
Discussing the Scripture
 
1. The Christian faith we embrace today has been, (guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit), passed down from one generation to the next for two thousand years. Those who have gone before us are a “great cloud of witnesses” who have faithfully focused on the Lord Jesus and followed him throughout their lives. Their testimonies, influence, and encouragement surround us even now. 

Who have been those Christians in your life who shared their faith in Christ with you, who sought to influence you for the sake of Christ, and who have encouraged you in your spiritual growth?
 
Describe how they did this and the difference it has made in your life. How did the way they lived their lives match their words?
 
2. To run the race set before us, the writer of Hebrews says we must “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely…” How do we do that? Why is “laying aside” those things so important to running the race of faith well? 

If you feel comfortable, share what weight or sin clings closely to you, something that makes running the race difficult for you. Part of what a Life Group does is prays for one another and, as John Wesley put it, “watches over one another in love.” Take some time at the end of your meeting to pray about these things together.
 
3. One reason we are able to lay aside every weight and sin (and turn from them) is because our Lord Jesus Christ has already run the same race. And because he finished his race by dying on the Cross for our sins and triumphing over death in his Resurrection, we are able to follow him today. Our Scripture reminds us that Christ is now seated at the right hand of God. Romans 8:34 teaches us that while he is at God’s right hand, Jesus is even now interceding for us as we run the race. 

How do the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ empower and encourage you as you run the race of faith?
 
What difference does it make in your life to know that Jesus Christ is alive today and interceding on your behalf?
 
4. Because our race of faith is a marathon and not a sprint, we need to know how to persevere (or endure) to the end. What are some insights and practices that help you keep moving forward in your race with Christ?  Take some time to describe your experiences in which those insights and practices worked well for you, and perhaps even those times when they did not. What did you learn about God? About yourself? 

Next Steps

• Pray about some of the issues that were raised in your time together.
• Who in your life would be a good accountability partner? Ask them to commit to praying for you. Ask them to also check in with you to see how things are going in your race. Maybe you can do the same for them.
• Pray about those “weights and sins” that are clinging to you. How can you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, lay them aside and leave them behind? Spend some time this week reflecting on this. And don’t hesitate to cry out to God for help.

 
Prayer Helps
 
Sometimes we don’t know what to pray about. I have found using the acronym, ACTS, a great help in my own prayer life.

• A – Adoration (Focus on a particular attribute or work of God and praise him for it. Spend some time reflecting on this and how it would impact your life if you lived in light of this praiseworthy truth.)

 

• C – Confession (What is one “weight or sin” you can confess to God? Ask God to forgive you and to help you turn away from it. Read 1 John 1:9)

 

• T – Thanksgiving (Spend some time thanking God for the obvious blessings in your life. But also reflect more deeply on how you might cultivate a more grateful attitude toward God. What are some ways you can start paying better attention to God’s presence and work in your life?)

 

• S – Supplication (Here is where you can bring prayer requests for yourself and for others to God. Our God is a loving Father who has your best interest at heart. He wants you to bring the desires of your heart to him, while at the same time, intentionally seeking to align your desires with his.)