Vision Sunday: Week 31 (June 5-11)
Vision Sunday Takeaways: June 5, 2022
Communities @ Grace
Goal for Week: Discuss, pray about and identify practical ways each person can be a part of the vision of Grace Community Church.
45 minutes: Welcome, Pray, Eat + Mingle
Why did you come to Grace?
Why did you decide to stay?
How are you currently practicing the mission of Grace? (Love God, Love People, Reach People, Develop People)
15 Minutes : Review of last week’s practice experience
Review:
● Daily Prayer for taming your tongue:
Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
● Think of someone that you can support this week and take the opportunity to reach out and encourage them.
● Spend time asking God to help with the areas of your heart that needs His guidance, so that you may speak with a tamed tongue
● Reflect on situations where you’ve potentially hurt people with your words (spoken or typed). Ask God to help you identify the situations that trigger an emotional and potentially hurtful response – pray that the spirit will help you practice restraint, pausing and thinking before responding.
How did this practice go for you? What is the Holy Spirit doing in your heart as a result of practicing this last week?
If nobody in your group has completed the practice from the previous week talk through these questions:
What is hindering you from practicing during the week?
How can we support each other?
How was your connection with Jesus this week?
45 Minutes : Introduction of Practice + Discussion Questions
Read John 17 together
John 17:3 says “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
Do you know Him? What is the difference between knowing someone and knowing about them?
What does knowing Jesus look like in your life?
What difference does knowing Jesus make?
Jesus prays for all future believers, including us. What did He pray for us?
What was the vision He had for us individually and as His church?
(He prays we would have his glory, his unity and his community)
Jesus displayed his glory (greatness) through sacrifice, suffering, service and humility.
How can you live these qualities out in your life? At home, work, school, church and neighborhood?
Describe the difference between unity and uniformity.
What do you think some of the greatest threats to the unity of those who follow Jesus are?
How can you personally help protect our unity as a church community? As a small group?
Take some time to read and discuss the practices for the months ahead. Talk together as a community about how you can encourage each other to live out the practices.
This Practice is different, rather than practice for a week, please consider how you can grow in these areas over the summer months.
Knowing God- How do you spend time and energy to grow in knowing God more? Are there some new practices you can incorporate into your life that can help you grow in this area? Possibly something from our time together this year? Growing in relationships takes intentionality, how can you be more intentional?
Living like Jesus- Does your life reflect the attributes of humility, service and sacrifice? What areas are strengths and which ones are weaknesses? How can you practically grow in these areas? Choose one to focus on each month over the summer. Ideas:June- Humility (Freedom from pride or arrogance) In what situations do you struggle to be humble? Pick an area of pride or arrogance and ask God to make you more aware when this rises up. Practice confessing your pride and arrogance when you become aware of it and ask God to replace it with humility. July- Sacrifice (to suffer loss or give something up for the sake of something else) Is there something in your life God is asking you to give up for the sake of someone else? Time, resources, personal freedoms? Can you make a personal sacrifice for the mission of Grace? Financially, time, personal preferences? August- Service (an act of helpful activity) How can you be of service? To your family, your neighbor, your church, the greater community? Can you participate in Serve East County, help in children’s ministry, cook a neighbor a meal? The possibilities are endless.
Protecting Unity- How can you help protect the unity of Grace Community Church? Are there areas you have put personal opinion or preference above unity? Are there apologies to be made for ways you have not protected unity? How can you encourage the church family? Pray togetherThank God for the time you have had together this year.Praise Him for the ways you have grown as individuals and as a community. Ask God to speak to show each of you about what He wants you to take away from today’s lesson.