Small Groups started this week
Small groups started this week. They last about 90 minutes. After mingling and getting to know each other, we dig into the Bible passages that were preached from on Sunday. The theme of this time is: WRESTLE. We want to wrestle with understanding what the texts mean. We want to wrestle with what they mean to us. How do we live these things out? How is our relationship with Jesus more than just an intellectual exercise or a compartment of our life (or a drawer in our dresser)? We need to wrestle together with Jesus, His Word, and our lives– saying, ok God, you get to manage it all. With these friends and your trustworthy words, I will let you lead my life.
How did the conversations go this week? What did you like best about your small group? Where are you feeling challenged?
January 29, 2009 @ 12:05 pm
Mary Breed gave me food, which was certainly welcome, as I had just arrived from swimming two miles at the W&L pool. Also, I got extra Parmesan cheese (the good stuff from the block, not the powdered stuff). Those Breeds know how to treat you right!
The largest thing for me was the call to “waiting” — which I initially misread as a call to passiveness, even though Titus used words like “zealous” which are hardly passive. This “active waiting” concept is something I don’t fully get, yet.
January 29, 2009 @ 9:36 pm
Our first small group at Chez Breed was fantastic. We got so immersed in the passages and discussion that we almost ran out of time to pray. It was only the first night and already it felt very comfortable and a lot of fun. Logan and Mary were warm and gracious hosts – as always.
January 30, 2009 @ 8:22 am
Jeff, you raise a great question/concern about waiting. There are over 135 hits for a version of ‘wait*’ in the Bible. It gets talked about a lot! One of my current favorites is from Jude– ‘keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.’ It seems to capture this ‘active waiting’, because to keep yourself in the love of God requires diligence, perseverance, and a constant course correction. Am I drifting out of the love of God? How do I tack back, and keep myself there. I don’t think we can do this kind of waiting by ourselves. We need community and friends who know us. We need courageous folks who can speak truthfully, lovingly, and encouragingly– keep waiting!
Anthony, always a good sign when you run out of time to pray… 🙂 means the conversation is good.
Any other stories from the first week?
January 30, 2009 @ 11:28 am
The time at the Chambers was fantastic as well. Gracious hosts and great company. I was particularly struck by the amount of honesty and trust revealed during our discussion and prayer time. Though it was only our first meeting together, folks shared from their hearts and embraced the love and accountability so needed in order to make small groups successful. I can’t wait for next Wednesday.
To add the topic of “waiting”, I love that God knows us so well to build into this “new life” time to realign ourselves with Him. We’ll lose sight of God from time to time and it’s not in our nature to quiet our hearts and minds and return back to him. So he purposely designates a day for us to rest and worship, he provides this thing called prayer, and he creates community in which we can marvel in his glory together. Truly amazing!
January 31, 2009 @ 11:48 am
Small group was great…except for that Daniel guy…he was simply out of control…
Kidding. It was great to have people together. It’s straight weird to feel like I may actually be in community while living in this area…it feels good.