Teach Us to Pray
As you prepare for group, here are some ideas for how you may want to pray together this week:
Consider reading Jesus’ prayer from Matthew 6:9-13 in your prayer time. Pause after each verse, and pray about what Jesus talks about in that verse.
If you don’t usually pray with men and women together, consider praying all together this week.
Consider breaking into smaller prayer groups of 2 or 3.
Pair up group members to call each other during the week to pray together.
Consider meeting up an additional time during the week to pray (breakfast, coffee, before church, after church, dinner together, at a park, at the beach).
We’d also love to share ideas from other groups of what has worked well to pray with and for each other. Can you share your thoughts in the survey below?
The Necessity of Prayer
This is week 2 of our 6-week series on prayer.
While we want our groups to talk about prayer and learn from the Scriptures how to pray, we want to do more than just talk about praying. We’d love to spend more time praying together.
Consider abbreviating discussion time so you can spend more time praying with your group. Or consider spending a whole meeting praying and skipping sermon discussion.
Here are some ideas for prayer together:
Pick prayer partners.
Do extemporaneous prayers (no one assigned, not in a circle). As someone to start and someone to close.
Pray one sentence long prayers, thanking God for something:
“Thank you for friendships.”
“Thank you for listening to us.”
“Thank you for dying for us and rising again.”
Pray one sentence long prayers asking God for something:
“Please forgive our sins.”
“Please heal my wife’s body.”
“Please save my neighbor.”
Pray the Bible by reading one passage at a time and then praying about what you read.
Share your requests as you pray instead of talking first and then praying.
Call each other during the week and pray with each other.
What else would you add?
My Problems With Prayer
This is week 1 of our 6 week series on prayer. This is a great opportunity to spend more focused time in prayer with your group.
You may want to break into smaller prayer groups of 2 or 3 so people can spend more time sharing and praying.
You may also consider having everyone write down their prayer requests on a 3x5 card and then trade cards with your group members. This makes it easy for people who are newer to or uncomfortable with prayer; all they need to do is read the prayer off of the card.
One other idea for your prayer time would be to share your prayer requests as you pray. This will save time as everyone will hear what you would like prayer for by listening to your prayers.
Baptism - What Are You Waiting For?
This Sunday was our open baptism service.
Did any of your group members get baptized?
If so, take some time to celebrate with them in your Community Group meeting.
Sign a card, make a cake or dessert, buy some balloons, and celebrate what God is doing in their lives.
You could have group members share something they love or are encouraged by from this person’s life. You could also spend time praying for each person who got baptized.
Overflow
This weeks discussion focuses on the story of the woman at the well from John 4.
As Christians, our lives are centered around the story of Jesus as told in the scriptures. This is a great opportunity to read a long portion of scripture and reflect on it together.
To accompany your reading of scripture, one idea to change up group this week, would be to also watch this story imagined through the TV Mini-Series The Chosen.
Your group could read the passage together, and watch this clip of that scene or the whole episode, and then discuss the passage together.
How to Share Your Faith
Do you have group members who are considering baptism?
Our Open Baptism Service is in 2 weeks, on February 11th.
Encourage them to take that step and register for our Open Baptism service.
Sunday’s message was all about sharing our faith and a big part of that is prayer.
Not only should we share the names of people in group that we are praying would come to know Christ, but make sure to take time in group to specifically pray for each of those people.
What Makes Christianity Compelling?
If You didn’t get a chance last week to cast vision for your group by talking about the purpose of groups (Apply the Bible, Build Relationships, Care for Each other), vision (to invite others and multiply in the future), volunteer schedules, and the group agreement, you’ll find those included in this weeks discussion questions.
If you didn’t get a chance to set growth goals last week, be sure to take some time in your group to do that this week.
Does Your Heart Break?
Included below are Week 1 details to cover with your group, like the group agreement, volunteer schedules, growth goal ideas, and an overview of how groups work to help new people get acquainted with group. The notes also include the sermon discussion questions for this week.
This is a great time to remind your group of why we do groups (Apply the Bible, Build Relationships, Care for Each Other) and that we are not just meeting for ourselves, but we want to invite others into our Community Groups.
You may also want to just spend this week catching up and discussing your groups plans for this trimester, especially if your group plans will look different than a typical trimester.
When Your Faith Is Stale
This is the last week of the Winter Community Group Break.
Groups begin meeting agains January 14th.
As you prepare for the new Community Group Trimester, make sure to do these 6 things to prepare for a healthy start to a new groups year.
Rest for the Weary
Prince of Peace
Wonderful Counselor
God With Us
Name Above All Names
The Prisoner Set Free
Never Too Far Gone - Paul's Conversion
This is the first week of our Winter Community Group break.
As we enter this season of celebration, enjoy your time with family and friends!
Our new Community Group Trimester begins January 14th.
Persecution and Christianity
This week’s discussion is about persecution and Christianity.
While we face certain types of persecution in America, there are also many Christians around the world who are suffering greatly for Christ.
As you spend time in prayer with your group this week, spend some time also praying for presecuted Christian’s around the world.
It may be helpful to read the prayer guide below with your group about 5 ways to pray for persecuted Christians.
This is the last week of the Fall Community Group Trimester.
Make sure to take time this week to discuss what’s next for your group:
Holiday gathering dates/plans
Start date for next trimester (January 14th)
Multiplication plans
Prayer/encouragement partners for staying connected during the holiday break
Church Problems
We have 2 weeks of the fall trimester left of group.
What’s next for your group?
Make sure to take time this week and next discussing your plans for next trimester, new leaders, multiplication details, holiday social plans, reviewing growth goals.
What Every Church Must Look Like
This week’s sermon focused on core practices of the early church, including:
eating together
celebrating communion together
meeting each others needs
praying together
In addition to or instead of group discussion, your group might consider:
sharing a meal together
celebrating communion
asking each other if there are any needs you can help each other meet
spending extended time praying together
