Week 2 Sermon Questions For Groups

Miraculous Movements – Message 2

Introduction:

Miraculous movements of God are happening all over the world. This week’s message gives us insight into how each of us can be a part of what God is doing right where we are.

Bottom Line: God is moving in miraculous ways around the world. Let’s pray that we could be a part of a movement of God in our country.

Something To Talk About:

We should focus on obedience to Jesus, not just knowledge about Jesus: Learning good biblical information is important. But the point of God’s truth is to bring life transformation, which comes when you apply what you’re learning to everyday life. Knowing stories and verses from the Bible isn’t nearly as impactful as doing what God’s Word says. When we take steps of faith, we discover how much we know as well as how much we don’t yet understand. Knowing something in principle and seeing it in practice are vastly different things. One of the many ways to worship and glorify God is through obedience. Living in obedience to God in all things, even the mundane, is a great way to show your love and respect for Him. Obedience is also an effective way to draw near to Him and grow in your relationship with Him.
Followers of Jesus become intercessors to Jesus: The definition is basic: an intercessor is someone who prays, petitions, or begs God in favor of another person. It’s a Biblical concept that appears often. Jesus often prayed for His people. He desired people to know the one true God and to trust Him. When someone prays for another, they’re called intercessors and they practice intercessory prayer. Oswald Chambers spoke about intercessory prayer and the need for intercessors in My Utmost for His Highest. “Worship and intercession must go together; one is impossible without the other. Intercession means raising ourselves up to the point of getting the mind of Christ regarding the person for whom we are praying.” One way of understanding intercession is to imagine “standing in the gap,” between a person and God. Jesus, of course, is the one who stood in that gap and connected people with God by His death on the cross. He and the Holy Spirit intercede on our behalf before God. In other words, the Holy Spirit gives us insight into another’s life and our task as an intercessor is to pray for that individual within the will of God.
Getting trained by people who are successful at making disciples and planting churches: The priority of disciple making is undeniable in the Bible. Jesus made it abundantly clear that we are to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). Christ devoted a major part of His ministry to training the disciples to do the Father’s work and reflect His righteous nature. His strategy for winning the world was simple: win a few men and women to Christ, train them well, and release them to repeat the process over again. We can learn much about discipleship by studying how Jesus trained the Twelve. Christ, the teacher, formed His disciples in His way of life, passing on His character. Faith, hope, love, joy, peace, and so on were the goals of His training. Jesus made disciples out of the Twelve. He developed mature character and leadership in them. He trained them to do signs and wonders. Our challenge for training today is no different from, or less critical than, it was for the twelve in the first century. We too are called to be like Christ and to do His Father’s works. Unlike the twelve, we cannot live and work with the incarnate Christ. Somehow, though, the twelve trained many more like themselves, and they in turn trained those that carried on Christ’s work up to today. We must carry on that tradition.
You don’t even have to be able to read and write or even be able to see, to be a successful disciple maker and church planter. The Church is a multiplying movement of disciples. Mostly ordinary people serving an extraordinary God. The book of Acts is not about the extraordinary lives of a few Christians but about ordinary Christian life. And ordinary Christian life is about making disciples. The beginning of a disciple-making culture is in each one of us. The beginning of a disciple-making culture is you. But it isn’t about getting more skills. God created us as unique individuals and placed us in the exact place He wants us to grow our faith and make disciples. Discipleship includes one common factor: relationships. This means we humbly teach, strengthen, and encourage one another to know and follow Jesus more closely. It means we bravely pursue relationships centered on authenticity, intimacy, commitment, vulnerability, and prayer, all the while relying on the power of the Spirit and the Word of God to mature and mold us.

Discussion Questions:

In what areas of your life do you have the most difficulty obeying God?
How current are you in your obedience to God? Is there anything on a waiting list?
What is one thing you’re really struggling to trust God with? How could you give that part of your heart to Him?
What hard things are happening to you that could be an opportunity to grow closer to God?
How is knowledge different from experience?
How and when does knowledge turn into action?
What does intercessory prayer mean to you?
Do you pray for other people? Do these prayers work? Think of one person in your life that you can intentionally start praying for this week. Read Colossians 1:9-12, Ephesians 1:15-19 and Romans 8:26-27 and write down things you can pray for that person.
What does it mean to make disciples? What skills are needed for discipling others?
What did you think or find interesting about today’s message? Did anything that was said in the message particularly speak to you or surprise you? What is your biggest take away from the message?
What will you do? How will you or your group put into practice what you’ve learned this week?

Take one thing home with you:

The true health of a church is not the number of satellite locations, the size of the budget and staff, the technology, the facility, or the worship band. The real mark of a church is winning people to Jesus Christ and then equipping them to be disciples. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus says, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Jesus is not singling out those who went to seminary or those who have large portions of the Bible mesmerized. He is talking to everyone. Jesus calls all His followers to act and share the good news of salvation. It could be in Lithuania, it could be in Lynn Haven. The places and people who need to hear the Gospel are everywhere.