Week 1 - CREATION
Thank you for continuing with Follow The Way Discipleship Journey. If you haven’t worked through FOLLOW yet, please take a week to do that first before proceeding with FAITH.
DISCOVERY DISCIPLESHIP GROUP
Let’s remind ourselves what we’re up to.
DISCOVERY
Instead of telling you what to believe and how to live, we’ll connect you with the Bible so you can discover that together as a group. Discovery promotes engagement in the process and ownership of the outcomes.
DISCIPLESHIP
Discipleship is a whole life response to Jesus. It’s about following Jesus and His way of life. As you grow in your faith and commitment to Jesus, you’ll learn to live your life as if He were in your shoes. You’ll be with Jesus and become like Jesus.
GROUP
You could go through Follow The Way on your own. You’ll get more out of it, however, if you work through it with 2 or 3 others. Consider finding a guide to coach you. This guide doesn’t have to be an expert in the faith. They just need to be a few steps ahead of you on the journey to point you in the right direction. Here’s a thought. After you have worked through Follow The Way, you’ll be ready to guide others through it.
3/3s FORMAT
In order to learn how to practically follow Jesus, our group will begin using what is called the 3/3s Format (Connect-Discover-Live). We’ll learn it by doing it. So let’s just jump right in.
CONNECT
What are you thankful for?
What challenge are you facing?
Pray for each other.
Did anything stand out to you from the follow-up Bible readings from FOLLOW?
DISCOVER
Ask God to speak to you as you read His Word.
Genesis 1:1-31 (NIV)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Genesis 2:1-3 (NIV)
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Have someone retell the passage in their own words. Just the highlights will do.
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?
Digging Deeper
Does the thought that there is a God, comfort you or concern you? Why?
How could you use this passage to talk with someone who says there is no God? (This is called atheism.)
How could you use this passage to talk with someone who says everything is God or a part of God? (This is called pantheism.)
How could you use this passage to talk with someone who says humans and animals are essentially the same, and therefore, should have equal rights?
Read Genesis 1:26-28 again:
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
What do these verses on the creation of human beings say about our identity, value, purpose and sexuality?
Connection Prompt
As you work through FAITH, some connection prompts will be introduced. These prompts will help you intentionally connect with God.
Because God is our Creator, He is worthy of our worship and praise. Take a moment and use this connection prompt to praise the Lord. Keep using this prompt throughout the coming week.
Lift UP Your Praise - Lord, I praise You for …
LIVE
What truth have you discovered from today’s Bible passage(s) and conversation?
What would stop you from believing and obeying this truth?
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?
When will we meet again?
Who will facilitate that meeting?
Pray for God’s help as you seek to follow Jesus this coming week.
FOLLOW-UP BIBLE READINGS
After each group meeting, there will be 3 Bible readings to help you dig a bit deeper into what we have discussed.
Here are the Bible passages you are encouraged to read this coming week:
Links to YouVersion Bible App with audio readings and passages in full below.
BUDDY SYSTEM
It’s recommended that you set up a buddy system for ongoing encouragement and accountability. Buddy people up and have them contact each other for a midweek check-in. Think of this as a five-minute phone call, rather than an in-person sit-down meeting. Touch base and ask these questions of each other:
How are your readings going?
How’s your “I will …” statement coming along?
How’s your sharing goal coming along?
How can I pray for you?