Monday, April 28, 2008

Serving God's People



Opening:

If you have access to a computer, watch the video of the girl in the yellow dress at makepovertyhistory.com and take the time to feel it.

Start by sharing in the group any experiences you've had in serving other people- volunteering, mission trips, things you've done for family or friends. Share how these experiences made you feel or how they challenged you.

Digging Deeper:

Read the parable of "The Good Samaritan," in Luke 10.

First, examine the situation. What all does the experts question imply about our lives and eternity? What does Jesus say? What is his answer? Where have we seen this before (check out Deut. 6:4-5 and Lev. 19:18)? What does, "…he wanted to justify himself" mean?

Now look at the story itself and break it down a bit- it's really a simply story, but part of the power is in understanding the people groups: who were priests, Levites and Samaritans? How is this a brilliant answer to a rather dumb question?


25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?

26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'[c]; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[d]"

28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."


Closing:

"Go and do likewise." How can you do service- in and through our church, as a Connections Group, and a family or individual?
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Connection Group Covenant

Connecting with God. Connecting with people. Connecting with the world.

Connection Groups target the second part of our mission- to connect with people. We believe that being in relationships, in the body of Christ, is an essential part of every Christ-followers life.

In the days of the early Church the first Christ followers gathered the first day of the week (Sunday) for worship. In addition, they meet throughout the week, daily in fact, in homes (Acts 2:46; Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15). We believe that being a part of a Connection Group is not something we do in addition to “going to church,” it is essential to “be the church.”

We gather around the following values:

Common Purpose: To become more Christ-like in everything.
Common Place: To become more a part of our community.
Common Possessions: To become more generous in supporting one another.

Therefore,
• We agree to meet for the duration of this semester.
• We will try to make every Group meeting.
• We will discuss the topic/text of worship services.
• We will make worshiping at Connections a priority. If we cannot be at worship we will listen or read the message online.
• We will support our facilitators and hosts and respect their role.
• We will be respecters of persons.
• We will practice confidentiality.
• We will seek to deepen relationships within the group.
• We will play together.
• We will serve together.

When: _________________________________________________

Where: _________________________________________________

Other: