Easter Sunday

John 20:1-18 was our text for Easter Sunday. Here's the podcast. Here are the discussion points that we used:

We view the story of Easter from the back side. Does this help us have more or less joy than the original disciples must have felt?

Jesus left the disciples a message that He was coming back. How do you think this message helped them? What does it say to us today?

Grief veiled Mary’s vision, but it was the voice of Jesus that gave her clarity. Are we in tune with our Shepherd that we know His voice? If not, how do we get there?

Where else is God speaking to you today?

Another nugget that Ryan caught and we talked about was this thought, "Mary was so focused on looking where Jesus wasn't, that she failed to look where Jesus was." Is that like us in any way?

Thoughts?

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is the celebration of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. He was declared King and celebrated. One week later he was killed. Ugly.

Tonight we finished our study of Philippians 4 with a short walk through and discussion. Then we took some time to walk through Mark 11:1-10 in observance of Palm Sunday. So we've posted two podcasts, one for each of those teachings.

Here are the discussion points for Philippians 4:

What is the difference between your personal praying style and praying as Paul describes in vs. 6, 7?

Paul teaches the church that their gifts to support his ministry work are actually gifts to God. This is much like giving to the church. How, if at all, does this change your perspective on giving?

What thoughts or insights have you gained from our study of Philippians? How has it impacted you?

Chime in. Ready...go!

Philippians 3

We continue our walk through Philippians. This chapter definitely has a different flavor than the first two chapters. Here's the podcast. Here are the discussion points:

Paul lists his resume of accomplishments that would typically give him status. He called it all garbage. Have you been stockpiling spiritual accomplishments in order to raise your status? What in your life “needs to go”?

In what ways are you impacted by Paul’s view of his personal pursuit of God and his encouragement of us to do the same? How does it alter your personal pursuit of God? How should it impact the way you share Jesus with others?

What other questions does this raise?

Thoughts? Other Questions? Comments? Snide remarks?

Philippians 2

We continued our walk through a short but impactful book. Philippians 2 reminds us of the example of Jesus and encourages us to unity in the church. Here's the podcast. Here are the discussion points that we had:

It’s easy to look at this passage in terms of our own personal lives, and indeed we must work on these character traits as followers of Jesus. But how do we live these out in the context of community?

In what ways was Jesus counter-cultural in His approach to reaching the world? What does His example mean for you?

Timothy and Epaphroditus were immediate examples of what Paul was talking about. What step can you take toward living out these teachings more fully?

What other questions does this text raise?

Please join in our conversation here...