Life Group Study: Week 1 4/3/2016 – Scattered

Potluck & Covenant Week

This week, we start our spring session of Life Groups with a potluck and covenant meeting. Your Life Group leaders should have contacted you by now to make sure you know the time and location of the meeting. If you have not heard from your Life Group leaders, please contact Kirsten Essiambre at the church office at (818) 709-0113, ext. 105, and she will help you get connected.

The Life Group covenant explains the purpose of your Life Group, clarifies the expectations for being part of your Life Group, and explains what you are committing to for this session.

As you prepare for your meeting, make sure to take some time to answer the questions in this study and bring them with you to your first meeting. This will help prepare you for your Life Group experience this session.

Enjoy!

Neil Johnson Lead Life Group Pastor

Getting to Know Each Other

A very wealthy, close family member, has some unexpected gifts to give away to you and your two siblings. They have put each of your names into a hat and randomly drawn names to determine who will have the first pick of the gifts. Your name is the first to be drawn so you will get to pick first. Of the gifts listed below which one would you choose and why?

1) A 3500 square foot log cabin on 15 acres of land with a river running through it in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

2) A refurbished 4000 square foot villa in Tuscany, Italy, on a 30-acre functioning vineyard. 3) A 2500 square foot home on Hanalei Beach, Kauai.

*all gifts are fully furnished and in pristine condition.

Study Questions

1) This weekend we studied Acts 8:4–25. Go back and re-read the passage.

Ê Write down one new insight that you gained from the passage after this weekend’s message.

Ê For you personally, what was the most challenging part of Dre’s message from Acts 8?

2) In Acts 8:9–25, we experience a man named Simon the Sorcerer.

Ê What do you believe was Simon’s motivation for paying money to receive the Holy Spirit?

Ê Looking back over your life has there ever been a time that your motivations were not pure?

Explain.

3) This weekend Dre taught that “Entering the Danger Creates Opportunities.”

Ê Read Acts 4:8. What did the Israelites do when they were scattered?

Ê Has there ever been a time in your life when opportunities arose from challenging

circumstances? Explain.

4) This weekend Dre talked about three opportunities that entering the danger provides…

1) …Reveals our True Character 2) …Deepens Our Trust 3) …Charges Us To Act

Ê Of these three areas, which one is most challenging for you? Why?

Topical Prayer Prayer is an important part of each Life Group. Often those who are new to a Life Group are intimidated to pray aloud if they have never done it before. Others are so comfortable with prayer that they can take over the prayer time without meaning to. For these reasons we suggest practicing topical prayer to help your group get comfortable praying together. Here are three basic guidelines: 1. Focus on a Single Topic/Request at a Time Anyone in the group is free to introduce a prayer request. Once a topic is introduced, one or two members pray for that request. Your Life Group leader may introduce new topics to continue to move your prayer time forward. 2. Pray Several Times Together By focusing on one topic at a time, each member has an opportunity to pray at different times for the requests they are most passionate about. 3. Keep Requests/Prayers Short and Simple By keeping both requests and prayers short and simple, everyone has a chance to share and pray. This helps those who are new to prayer feel more comfortable to pray. It also helps everyone stay focused during your time of prayer together.