Week 5 - MISSION (Part 1)
WORSHIP
At your meal, celebrate The Meal (the Lord’s Supper).
Take bread and say, “The body of Christ, given for you.”
Take a cup and say, “The blood of Christ, shed for you.”
And have someone pray a prayer of thanksgiving for the sacrifice of Jesus.
What can you/we praise or thank God for? (You could sing this or pray this to the Lord.)
What do you/we need to repent of? (This can be a time of silent or public confession.)
Review
We’re working through the four key relationships and crucial priorities of a church family. We’ve looked at:
WORSHIP - Our Relationship to Jesus
Devote yourselves to pursuing and prioritizing Jesus in everything
DISCOVERY - Our Relationship to the Bible
Devote yourselves to taking in and living out God’s Word
COMMUNITY - Our Relationship to Each Other
Devote yourselves to loving one another as a family of brothers and sisters in Christ
Today, let’s look at:
MISSION - Our Relationship to Others
We’ll divide our consideration of the church’s MISSION into two parts. This week, we’ll look at how to live a missional lifestyle and next week, we’ll look at how to make disciples.
DISCOVERY & MISSION
Check In
How did your “I will …” statement from last week go?
How did your sharing goal from last week go?
Dig In
Ask God to speak to you as you read His Word.
Colossians 4:2-6 (NIV)
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Have someone retell this passage in their own words.
What stands out to you in this passage?
What does this passage say about God (The Father, His Son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit)?
What does this passage say about people, including ourselves?
What does this passage say about the life God invites us to live?
Living a Missional Lifestyle
Here’s The Way’s mission statement:
Our mission is to Join Jesus in making disciples of those around us by living a Prayer > Care > Share > Dare lifestyle.
PRAYER — Pray for others to encounter Jesus.
CARE — Care for others’ needs.
SHARE — Share each others’ stories and Jesus’ Story.
DARE — Dare others to be disciples of Jesus.
Missional Questions
Why is Join Jesus at the center of our mission?
Why is the order of Prayer > Care > Share > Dare important?
As you read through Acts 3:1-19, where do you see the missional components of Join Jesus, Prayer, Care, Share and Dare?
Acts 3:1-19 (NLT)
1 Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.
4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”
7 Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.
9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.
12 Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? 13 For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. 14 You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!
16 “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.
17 “Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. 18 But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. 19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.”
How did you join Jesus in mission last week?
How did you resist joining Jesus in mission last week?
How is Jesus leading you/us to join Him in mission this week?
Say YES to the Holy Spirit
The Way is a MicroChurch ministry of the Vineyard. The Vineyard is a global family of churches that seeks to say YES to the Holy Spirit.
Watch this video — SAY YES TO THE HOLY SPIRIT (3:00).
What are your reactions to this video? What challenges does it raise? What hopes does it inspire?
For Now
Start using these two missional prayers.
For Yourself
Start your day and regularly pray throughout your day (especially as you transition from one activity to another or one location to another) …
Jesus, how can I join You in mission? Give me eyes to see and ears to hear and courage to do what You show me.
Stay attentive and be ready to follow the Lord’s leading.
For Others
Regularly pray this prayer for the people in your circle of influence or natural network.
Father, I pray for _______'s salvation. Help me to live a consistent and attractive Christlike life around _______. Show me _______’s needs so that I can serve him/her with Your love. Do something in _______’s life that can only be explained by Your presence and power. Deepen our relationship together. Open doors for me to have spiritual conversations with _______ and help me to share the Good News of Jesus with him/her. Overcome Satan's blinding of _______'s heart and mind so that he/she will turn from sin, trust in Jesus as Savior, follow Him as Lord and join a community of believers.
What strikes you from these two missional prayers?
What might you add to these prayers?
What would happen if you began to regularly pray the second prayer for a few people in your circle of influence or natural network?
Spend some time right now praying for them.
For Later
Here are some ideas for mission that your MicroChurch could try at a later time:
Paint a neighbor’s house.
Host a Matthew Party. Matthew Parties are named for the party Matthew threw for his tax collector and sinner friends on the evening he met Jesus. Matthew held this party so his friends could meet the Lord in a safe, hospitable setting (Matthew 9:9-13). Matthew Parties give your MicroChurch an opportunity to invite their friends to a gathering with your spiritual family. That way, unbelievers and spiritual seekers can discover that Christians are “normal” and this networking could lead to further connections, conversations and invitations to your MicroChurch. The sky’s the limit on what a Matthew Party could be. How about hosting a Thanksgiving dinner or going to a football game together or having a karaoke night or organizing a weekend camping trip? (Adapted from The Effective Church Group.)
Adopt a missionary to support with prayer and finances.
Volunteer together at a local ministry.
Go to the mall and ask people how you can pray for them.
Work through Follow The Way - FRUIT (Online / Kindle). 9-weeks on how to Join Jesus in living a Prayer > Care > Share > Dare lifestyle.
Check out Contact4Impact.com on how to live a Prayer > Care > Share > Dare lifestyle with a fellow follower where you live, learn, work or play.
In Summary
The church’s four key relationships and crucial priorities are:
WORSHIP - Our Relationship to Jesus
Devote yourselves to pursuing and prioritizing Jesus in everything
DISCOVERY - Our Relationship to the Bible
Devote yourselves to taking in and living out God’s Word
COMMUNITY - Our Relationship to Each Other
Devote yourselves to loving one another as a family of brothers and sisters in Christ
MISSION - Our Relationship to Others
Devote yourselves to making disciples by living a Prayer > Care > Share > Dare lifestyle
Reflect On
For the sake of time, or more importantly, to encourage deeper sharing, you could divide into groups of 2 to answer the following questions.
Ask these pairs to connect midweek to see how their “I will …” statements and sharing goals are coming along and how they can continue to support and pray for each other.
If you don’t divide into pairs, record each other’s “I will …” statements and sharing goals and remind each other of them during the week through a text or an email.
What truth have you discovered from today’s Bible passage(s) and conversation?
What would stop you from believing and obeying this truth?
Live Out
How will you live out this truth this coming week? Finish this statement: “I will ….”
Who else needs to hear this truth? How could you share it with them?
COMMUNITY
How has God been answering our prayer for you from last week?
How can we pray for you this week?
CLOSING
When will we meet again.
Who will facilitate that gathering? (See FOR THE FACILITATOR for help in leading a gathering.)
Gather in a “football huddle” arm to arm and have someone pray you out.
You’re encouraged to share a meal together.
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