COMMUNITY
May 9, 2023

RELATIONSHIPS & COMMUNITY

Groups are the heartbeat of church where large services on a Sunday are paired with authentic connection during the week.

Our three focuses of Groups at Life are, 1. Spiritual Friends – peoples who company you enjoy as you follow Jesus together, 2. Sharing Sacred Moments – When you gather, sacred moments are fostered via meals, exploring the Bible, or praying together, and 3. For a Divine Purpose – A unique purpose that extends beyond the group, this might include serving in at community kitchen or simply praying for friends and family that need God in their lives.

 

REFLECT

Q. What stood out to you from Sunday’s panel message ‘Relationships & Community’, and why?

 

DISCUSSION

Q. How important is healthy community in your world?

  • Share an example of how your community has shaped who you are today.
  • ‘The quality of life is determined by the quality of our relationships.’ How does this look outworked in your life? How can we foster the right relationships, at the right time to grow and thrive?
  • There’s so much value in surrounding yourself with people in the same season and people that are ahead of you. How can we surround ourselves with a healthy generational community?

 

 Q. Today one of our biggest challenges can be business. Sometimes we can prioritise what’s not healthy and leave no room for what is healthy. How can we prioritise relationships?

  • We all have the same amount of time! We need to be intentional with how we spend it and who we spend it with. A great way is to include people in our everyday activities. If we’re heading out, who can. I invite along. If we’re working out, who can be a workout partner, if I’m going for coffee, who can I have coffee with. What are some areas you can implement this suggestion?
  • Know what Gods asked of you in a season. Have regular audits of what you have given your time to, and make sure they line up with what is most important and what God has planned for you. When was the last time you did an audit of how you spend your time? What do you think needs to change?
  • We need to take authority over our time, otherwise someone or something else will! How well disciplined are we with our yes and our no? Do we set scheduled amounts of time for things like social media etc… or do we find ourselves stillscrolling hours later?!
  • ASK! Ask to connect with people. Invite people out and arrange catch ups with others!

 

 Q. Jesus being our cornerstone, how important is it to have God relationships VS any other relationships?

  • When we surround ourselves with Godly peers, we become the best version of ourselves. We point each other towards Gods plans, His word and way for our life.
  • Invite others to come on our God journey.  

 

Q. With any relationship there will be tension. How can we deal with this to build our relationship?

  • Every relationship with have pain, discomfort, and misunderstanding. We need to have realistic expectations; it’s always going to happen! When we find ourselves in a difficult situation, we can, 1. Pray first – allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us, 2. Set up a safe conversation to talk about it, 3. Consider the timing – don’t have a cafe conversation in the hallway, 4. If you hit a roadblock don’t stay there – invite another trusted person into the conversation.

 

Q. How do we fight for unity and stand strong in our truth & faith?

  • Be humble and patient with one another. We need to work through stuff with each other and make every effort to keep unity. Let’s keep the main thing the main thing and continue to know that our shared common denominator is our love for God and others.
  • How have you navigated unity, diversity, truth, and faith?

 

Q. How do we do Spiritual Friends, Creating Sacred Moments for Divine Purpose with churched and unchurched people?

  • We first consecrate our own hearts, being quicky to the awareness of what the Holy Spirit is saying and how He is guiding us in moments. Our natural flow of relationship will flow through us in a real and authentic way. It’s just who we are! Doesn’t need to be put on or strived for.
  • Make time to connect with unchurched people, show interest and authentically follow up conversations.

 

PRAYER & ACTION

  • Have time as a group to share life, pray for each other and encourage each other with kingdom purpose.
  • Pray for spiritual friendships, sacred moments, and divine purposes to be outworked in each other’s life.