Living Our Beliefs: Small Groups Devo

April 24th, 2016

Devotional

“Living Our Beliefs: Small Groups - Fellowship and Community”  - Acts 2: 42-47, 

Hebrews 10: 24-25, Proverbs 27:17

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Monday: “Devoted” - Acts 2: 42-43

When someone tells you that they are devoted to someone or something, what comes to your mind? For me, it speaks to the passion or zeal they have for this particular person, but also the amount of time or energy they would spend following them. Devoted music fans may go to as many concerts as they can of a particular band. Devoted followers of Christ, spend time not only with Christ though prayer, but with other followers in order to grow in their faith.

In recent years there has been a resurgence of small groups - groups that are modeled in a way off of what is presented in Acts 2. These groups seek to have Jesus be the model for their community and time together, as people seek to make authentic friends and discover connection with Go while growing in their faith. 

However, lest we try to make the Bible an idilliac world, we need to seek not to replicate Acts 2 community, but instead dig down into the heart of it, asking questions such as: What do we want group members to understand? What do we seek to have people feel or experience in community together? And what are we going to do together with what we know?

What value do you see in a community that is modeled after Acts 2?

Prayer: Lord, help us seek out authentic Christian community in our lives, whatever that may be for us as individuals. Help us be strong in our devotion to Christ and the body of believers. Encourage us to come together for both fellowship and teaching. Urge us to break bread together and be a people of prayer, not only for our own faith formation, but most importantly, for your glory. Amen. 

Tuesday: “In Common” - Acts 2: 44-45

Most Christians enjoy the idea of community presented in Acts 2: 42-43, but when we get to verse 44 we start to get a bit uncomfortable - what does it exactly mean to hold everything in common? Why in world would folks sell everything?

Remember that when the first community of believers formed in the book of Acts, they believed that the world was ending soon - they looked for Jesus to come back, as he had prior to the ascension, and bring about a new world order with the Kingdom of God.

Today, 2,000 years have passed and we are still eagerly anticipating Jesus’s return. While I believe that Christians should tithe and offer their very best, first fruits to God, I also acknowledge that it is hard to sell everything and hold everything in common, materially. But what if, in this day and age, we seek to hold our faith in common? In a time when we are divided by many arguments, what if community like that present in Acts 2 helps support us as we share our faith and draw others into relationship with Christ through small groups, friendships, etc? What if we hold in common our mission and ministry for the sake of the Kingdom of God?

What is your experience with small groups? How can they nurture your faith?

How can we best encourage one another as we share our faith?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that often when we come across a piece of scripture that we disagree with, we tend to throw it out instead of examining it and integrating it into our lives. As we struggle with the topic of holding things in common, help us see it can fit into our lives today. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Added to Them” - Acts 2: 46-47

What do you do when you find something you particuarlly love? Do you tell other people about it, wanting them to experience it as well? Or do you try to keep it to yourself, fearful that others will take what you like? What about with people? Do you introduce others to those you love, wanting them to form friendships as well, or do you worry that those you love will have less time for you if you introduce them to others?

In Acts 2, we find the disciples growing in their numbers daily. As they grew, I would imagine that their relationships with one another probably changed a bit, if for no other reason than different people introduce different dynamics. Yet, they didn’t stop what they were doing. They didn’t try to alter who they are or shy away from the message they had to share. Instead, they kept growing, because they knew that they were part of something bigger than themselves, their personal preferences, and perhaps even bigger than their relationships, as the Kingdom grew through offering others the life-giving power and message of Jesus Christ. 

What struggles do you have with sharing the Kingdom of God?

What are you willing to change in order for the Church Universal to grow? 

If you could ask Jesus what the focus of our church should be, what do you think his answer would be?

Prayer: Lord, sometimes we don’t like change, even if change is good. We don’t like the idea of new people coming and sitting in our seats or changing things that we hold dear. Help us to let go of things that are unimportant in the scheme of the Kingdom, Lord, while holding tightly to what matters most - your life-giving message. Amen. 

Thursday: “Spurring One Another On” - Hebrews 10: 24-25

The author of Hebrews encourages us to spur one another on - but not to simply lead each other for or to anything. Instead, believers, are to spur one another on towards love and good deeds.

When we are in true community with believers we can begin to ask big, deep questions because we feel safe to explore the answers. Questions like why does our soul exist. Churches are to be places where we encourage one another to discover our soul’s relationship to God. God created us to be in relationship to the Divine and to other people, and small groups in the church allow us to do just that as they create a space for us to share life with other people with a purpose - the purpose to spur one another on. Small groups help teach us how to relate to one another as believers as well as love our neighbors inside and outside of the Church. 

How do we care for one another’s spiritual lives? 

Prayer: O God, help us to spur one another on in the faith. Create safe places for us to pray for one another, volunteer to serve somewhere together,  and meet together. Help us cherish the gift of Christian community that we have been blessed with. Amen. 

Friday: “Sharpen One Another” - Proverbs 27:17

When I was in seminary I had a bit of an odd ministry placement - while most of my colleagues spent our middle year serving in churches, I was working at a retreat center in Biblical feasting, which meant a lot of cooking. I learned a lot that year about faith, liturgy, and community, but I also learned a lot about food, including how to prepare it. A sharp knife is a must in the kitchen.

Often the word sharp has a bad connotation - sharp words, sharp jabs, sharp things that cause harm. But sharp in the context of Proverbs means at our best, at our prime for God’s use. Small groups sharpen our faith by creating a space where we can be authentic and not offer quick or trite answers about the faith. They are also a place for tough love: in Wesley’s small groups called classes participants were asked very tough questions, including “how is it with your soul?” so that they could grow in their journey with Christ. 

What do you associate with the word sharp? How does this influence your understanding of Proverbs 27:17?

Prayer: God, we desire to be a church where we sharpen one another, not with our own preferences and opinions, but with your grace, mercy, and Word. Help us be a community that walks along side one another through discipleship in order that we may grow closer to you. Amen. 

Saturday: Family Activity 

Families are also places where we grow closer to God and one another. Try integrating places for authentic faith conversations into your day. Perhaps ask every member of your family their high and low points of the day and then integrate them into your family’s prayer time.