Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us at the next Sunday worship service:
In-Person
9:00am & 10:45am,
Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Week 1 Sermon Questions For Groups

Life On Mission 

Introduction:

As His followers, Jesus calls us to be witnesses, to tell our stories. We don’t have to be experts in theology or know all the answers about the Bible. We do have to be willing to tell people why we believe, and how we have been changed by the hope that is in us. Really, that’s what it means to live life on mission. To see opportunities right in front of us: opportunities to tell our stories in a way that will change someone’s destiny. This is your Life On Mission. 

Bottom Line: You were created to be part of something big.  

Something To Talk About:

God’s purpose for our lives is to transcend our self-oriented existence and to be part of something bigger than just our own survival and our own little definition of happiness. In each of us, God has created a desire to live for more than ourselves and to be a part of God’s kingdom of glory. When our lives are connected to God’s transcendent glories, our lives have purpose and will make a difference.

  1. Transcendence:  To live for transcendence means that what you think, desire, say, and do is driven by something bigger than personal wants, needs, and feelings.  Ultimately, it means living for the glory of God and the success of His agenda for the world He made. The concept of transcendence is where “the rubber meets the road of daily life.”  And though our journey to God’s kingdom begins by determining a purpose for our lives, reaching our destination demands so much more. Transcendence is about “seeking first His kingdom” and living within God’s kingdom each and every day. We can live a purposeful life, but also a life that is bound for glory.  By overcoming the lure of the “kingdom of self,” we can connect all that is fully human in our lives with the holy, infinite, and eternal “kingdom of God.” God has chosen us for glory.  Our task is to accept His great gift.  
  2. The quest for more: We tend to shrink our life down to the size of our own wants, needs, and feelings.  A quest for more begins by asking the question, “Have you ever wanted to invest yourself in something worthwhile?  Something truly great?”  What are the large, meaningful issues in which you have invested, and how does a quest for more fit into that work? Such a quest does not lay out a plan for doing a list of better, more important things.  Rather, what living for God’s kingdom is really about is doing the things we do every day with a bigger, better purpose in view and, because of that, doing these things in a very different way.   
  3. God wants more for your life: The more God wants for your life is beyond comprehension. Ephesians 3:20‑21, tells us, “God can do anything, you know — far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” God can do anything. And not just a little bit more than we dream of. Far more. I wonder if God looks down and says, “Is that all? Is that all she wants? Is that all he can dream up?” The amazing truth is, God can take every limitation that’s been put on your life — by you or by others — and expand your heart and purpose in a way that’s way bigger, way higher, way more effective than anything you could imagine.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you tend to see your life more as meaningful or meaningless? When do you experience times of meaningfulness?
  2. Do you believe you were created to be part of something big? What might be the greatest thing you have accomplished in life so far? What made it so great?
  3. In what ways do you believe you make a difference?
  4. Give some reasons why we, as humans, desire transcendence. For what kind of transcendence did God not make us? For what kind were we made?
  5. How is it possible to live a “Christian life” while settling for “below and less” instead of living for “above and more?”
  6. What does God invite us to that is more than a better marriage, a better relationship with our children, or better success at work?
  7. If you had no financial or physical obstacles, what great feat would you want to accomplish?
  8. What is the difference between someone who lives a purposeful life apart from God and one who lives a purposeful life connected to seeking God’s transcendent glories? Which most characterizes you?
  9. What will you change this week as a result of this message? 

Take one thing home with you

The immediate, mundane details of life can tempt us to settle for less than God’s glory by leading our focus away from God’s kingdom and God’s transcendent glories toward our own kingdoms. Living for God’s glories does not mean abandoning the immediate, mundane details of life, but rather living for God’s glories where He has placed you in the immediate, mundane details of life. It is in this way that our lives will have purpose.