Community Group Questions | Week of Sept 12, 2021 READ 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; 16:13-14 1:1Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, bo...

READ Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV)[6] Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, [7] rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. SERMON SUMMARY Main point: you grow in the Christian life not by what you earn, but by what you learn and apply. Christ is not only to be believed as Savior, but ...

OPENING WORDS Psalm 89:1-4 1I will sing ofthe steadfast love of theLord, forever;with my mouth I will make known yourfaithfulness to all generations.2For I said,"Steadfast love will be built up forever;in the heavensyou will establish yourfaithfulness."3You have said, "I have madea covenant with mychosen one;I havesworn to David my servant:4'I will establish youroffsprin...

OPENING WORDS Psalm 89:5-8 5Letthe heavens praise yourwonders, OLord,your faithfulness in the assembly ofthe holy ones!6Forwho in the skies can be compared to theLord?Who among the heavenly beingsis like theLord,7a God greatlyto be feared in the council ofthe holy ones,and awesome above allwho are around him?8OLordGod of hosts, who is mighty as you are, OLord, with your...

READ Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV):[6] Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, [7] rooted and built up in himand established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. SERMON SUMMARY Foundations are meant to be built upon. Whether it's a skate park or a skyscraper, no one lays a foundation without a plan for the building that is...

OPENING WORDS Psalm 33:1-4, 11-12 1Shout for joy in theLord, O you righteous!Praise befits the upright.2Give thanks to theLordwith thelyre;make melody to him withthe harp often strings!3Sing to hima new song;play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 4For the word of theLordis upright,and all his work is done infaithfulness. 11The counsel of theLordstands foreve...

OPENING WORDS Psalm 33:13-17, 22 13TheLordlooks down from heaven;he sees all the children of man;14fromwhere he sits enthroned helooks outon all the inhabitants of the earth,15he who fashions the hearts of them alland observes all their deeds.16The king is not saved by his great army;a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.17The war horse is a false hope for sal...

READ Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV)[6] Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, [7] rooted and built up in himand established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. SERMON SUMMARY Things with roots grow. In v. 7 we see that being "rooted" is not a command, but something that God has done for the Christian. The mechanism for...

READ Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV):[6] Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, [7] rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. SERMON SUMMARY A person's "walk" (behavior/conduct) flows out of his beliefs. For anyone to walk anywhere (successfully!), they must have ABILITY, DIRECTION, and...

Here are some resources to guide you through the season of Lent....

In the season of Advent*, we celebrate our Lord's coming in the Incarnation and future return in glory. Our celebration of Advent gazes in two directions. In the rear-facing direction, we imagine ourselves to be in the place of those saints who looked forward to the first appearing of the Messiah. A Middle English lyric captures the thrust of this anticipation: Adam la...

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, Discussion Week 4 Chapter 4: Ministry BACKGROUND toLife Together Refer to Discussion Week 1 for background.All quotations taken from: Bonhoeffer, Dietrich.Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community. New York: Harper and Row, 1954. Reprint 2009. QUESTIONS This chapter, "Ministry," is not about "professional" mini...

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, Discussion Week 3 Chapter 3: The Day Alone BACKGROUND toLife Together Refer to Discussion Week 1 for background.All quotations taken from: Bonhoeffer, Dietrich.Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community. New York: Harper and Row, 1954. Reprint 2009. QUESTIONS Icebreaker question: Typically, being an extrovert ...

Dietrich BonhoefferLife Together, Discussion Week 2Chapter 2: The Day with Others BACKGROUND toLife Together Refer to Discussion Week 1 for background.All quotations taken from: Bonhoeffer, Dietrich.Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community. New York: Harper and Row, 1954. Reprint 2009. QUESTIONS Icebreaker question: This chapter discusses the f...

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together Discussion Week 1 Chapter 1: Community BACKGROUND toLife Together Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Feb 4, 1906 Apr 9, 1945) was a German Lutheran theologian and pastor. He was raised in Berlin and studied theology under Adolf Von Harnack and Karl Barth, both of whom served as mentors to the young Bonhoeffer. Met with the rising of the Third Re...

The Gift of the Holy Spirit Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ John 14:15-21, 16:7-15 (ESV) 14:15"If you love me, you willkeep my commandments.16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you anotherHelper,to be with you forever,17event...

Five Types of People (part 1) Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ John 11:45-12:11 (ESV) 11:45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46but some of them went to the Pharisees and told...

Now I See Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ John 9:1-12 (ESV) 1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3Jesus answered, "It was...

Why did we at Trinity not preach on John 7:53-8:11, which covers the famous scene of the woman caught in adultery? The reason is pretty simple: both the external and the internal evidence overwhelming show that this passage was not original to the author John. External Evidence The earliest and best manuscripts, from which modern English bibles are translated, simply do...

Do you know the real Jesus? Rev. Scott Mitchell, Pastor of Community Formation God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ John 7:16-31(ESV) 16So Jesus answered them,"My teaching is not mine, but hiswho sent me.17If anyone's will is to do God'swill,he will know whether the tea...

When Jesus Isn't Your Superman Rev. Scott Mitchell, Pastor of Community Formation God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ John 7:1-19(ESV) 1After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, becausethe Jewswere seeking to kill him.2Nowthe Jews' Feast o...

The Words of Eternal Life Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ John 6:60-71 (ESV) 60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were gr...

The Bread of Life Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ John 6:41-59(ESV) 41So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said,"I am the bread that came down from heaven."42They said,"Is not this Jesus,the son of Joseph, whose father and mothe...

Paradox Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ John 6:35-40(ESV) 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me ...

In the season of Advent*, we celebrate our Lord's coming in the Incarnation and future return in glory. Our celebration of Advent gazes in two directions. In the rear-facing direction, we imagine ourselves to be in the place of those saints who looked forward to the first appearing of the Messiah. A Middle English lyric captures the thrust of this anticipation: Adam la...

Community group leader training is for everyone. I know, you're probably thinking, "But Inever want to lead a community group." And to that I say, that's totally fine! God may never call you to that. But all Christians should desire the skills that a good community group leader has. What are some of those skills? Lead an interesting discussion on a passage of scriptur...

Children Get It Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ Matthew 11:25-30 (ESV) 25 At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them...

Rescuing Gratitude Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ Acts 16:16-34 (ESV) 16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She ...

Steps to Thanks Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ Luke 17:11-19 (ESV) 11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and ...

Finding God's Will: Rediscover Your Calling Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ Acts 10:34-48(ESV) 34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and do...

Finding God's Will: Grow in Community Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ Acts 10:17-48(ESV) 17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having m...

Finding God's Will: Rest in Worship Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ Acts 10:1-16 (ESV) 1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all his hous...

The End and Hope of Grace Rev. Scott Mitchell, Pastor of Community Formation God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ(20minutes) Revelation 21-22 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more....

The Secure, Relentless Grace of God Rev. Scott Mitchell, Pastor of Community Formation God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ Romans 8:28-39 (NASB) 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according...

Grace: Freedom from the Performance Treadmill Rev. Scott Mitchell, Pastor of Community Formation God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ Romans 3:9-24 (ESV) 9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks,...

As we come to Advent's close, let us be reminded of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus from C. S. Lewis: "The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this. Just as every natural event is the manifestation at a particular place and moment of Nature's tot...

Roots for Making Disciples Rev. Blake Altman God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passage and consider these questions. READ Matthew 28:16-20 [16] Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. [17] And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. [18] An...

In the season of Advent*, we celebrate our Lord's coming in the Incarnation and future return in glory. Our celebration of Advent gazes in two directions. In the rear-facing direction, we imagine ourselves to be in the place of those saints who looked forward to the first appearing of the Messiah. A Middle English lyric captures the thrust of this anticipation: Adam la...

Roots for Future Generations Rev. Blake Altman God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passage and consider these questions. READ Deuteronomy 32:7 (ESV) [7] Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you. Psalm 78:1-8, ...

Roots for Transformation Rev. Blake Altman God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passage and consider these questions. READ Matthew 24:42-51 (ESV) [42] Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. [43] But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the ni...

Roots for Community Rev. Blake Altman God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 [12] For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. [13] For in one Spirit we were all...

Roots for Rest Rev. Blake Altman God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ Jeremiah 17:58 [5] Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. [6] He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not se...

The Seeking God of Eden Dr. John Cox, Guest Speaker God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ Genesis 3:8-15, 20-24 (ESV) [8] And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of th...

Elephant in the Room: The Power of Words in a Family Rev. Scott Mitchell, Pastor of Community Formation God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ James 3:1-12 (ESV) [1] Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with gr...

"Community: Affirming One Another's Equality" Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passages and consider these questions. READ Romans 15:1-7 (ESV) [1] We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. [2] Let each of us please...