God's Auto Correct - In Crisis

God's Auto Correct - In Crisis by Tacblogs on Mixcloud

Sermon by: Debra

1. Have you ever been trapped outdoors in a horrible storm? Share about this experience. How did you find protection? What thoughts were going through your mind?

2. Read Acts 27:13-44.

3. Pastor Debra shared that in any crisis there are physical, emotional and spiritual challenges. Define each of these challenges. Share how all three of these challenges arose in a crisis you experienced in your own life.

4. When you've been in the midst of a crisis and your trust in God has begun to waver, how have you responded? What do you do in times of doubt?

5. How can we build our confidence in God?

[i. Take God at His Word (believe Scripture), ii. Recount stories of remembrance, iii. Come out of isolation and into community] Share specific examples of how these confidence builders have personally blessed you.

6. Who in your group needs confidence in God today? Pray for one another.

God's Auto Correct - Jesus Knocking on Your Door

God's Auto Correct - Jesus Knocking on Your Door by Tacblogs on Mixcloud

Sermon by: Andrew Stuart

1. Did anything strike you in the sermon that you had never thought about before? Any new insights? Any new ways of thinking about something that you thought you “had a handle on”? Discuss.

2. A main of point of the sermon was that lukewarmness (feeling distance from God, or like God is less real) comes when we have somehow excluded Jesus in one way or another from our lives.

(a) Do you agree with this claim? Discuss how it is that excluding Jesus leads to lukewarmness. (think about who it is that we are excluding).
(b) What does this tell us about how we were made and how we are meant to live (think fellowship and intimacy with God).

3. How do you think the church of Laodicea got to the point where it had excluded Jesus? What is the relation between
(a) being wealthy, having lots of clothes, and having good medical care and
(b) excluding Christ? Are wealth, clothes, medical bad in themselves? How we they misused by the Laodicean church? Discuss.

4. Can you think of any similarities between the city of Laodicea and the city of Toronto? If we can describe the “spirit” of Laodicea as one of self-sufficiency or self-reliance, how might we describe the “spirit” of the city of Toronto?  Discuss.

(a)In the sermon it was mentioned that the church of Laodicea looked no different than the city of Laodicea - that the spirit of the city (self-reliance) had infected the church with the same spirit. What does this show us about how TAC ought to relate to the city of Toronto. What are the dangers might there be that threaten the fruitfulness of the church in such a big city? What do we need to be careful of?

5. Can you think of any other examples in the New Testament where Jesus sits down to have a meal with people? What stories come to mind? (Zacchaeus in Luke 19; the Lord’s Supper in Mat 26:17-30//Mark 14:27-31//Luke 22:7-23//John 13

(a)How might the scene in Revelation 3:20 have something to do with the Lord’s Supper? Discuss

6.At the end of the sermon, a variety of possible areas of life were suggested as potential areas where we can exclude Jesus (ex: relationships, finances, marriage, work, school, emotions). Did the Holy Spirit bring any such areas to mind for you? Any doors that Jesus was knocking on for you?

7.What are some ways we can be making sure that our doors are kept open for Christ? Any disciplines we can undertake to make sure we are not excluding Jesus?

God's Auto Correct - Faith In Place Of Intimidation

God's Auto Correct - Faith In Place Of Intimidation by Tacblogs on Mixcloud

Isaiah 37

Small Groups – Week of November 10, 2013

1. Share a time when you trusted in someone and they proved themselves trustworthy in spite of seemingly difficult circumstances.

2. How would you define a simple faith in God? What would this faith look like in practice?

3. Read Isaiah 37.

4. Pastor Bill said that we will be challenged and mocked for simply trusting God. Have you ever experienced this? Share your experience. What helped you stand firm?

5. Pastor Bill said that another challenge we have is to trust God and Him alone. Does Hezekiah demonstrate a confidence in God in this passage? If so, how?

6. What are you tempted to trust in besides God?

7. What is one thing in your life that you need to take to God in faith-filled prayer this week?

God's Auto Correct - Blessing For Curses

God's Auto Correct - Blessing For Curses by Tacblogs on Mixcloud

Ezekiel 25:1-7

1.Describe the situation that is being painted in these verses.  What is it that the Ammonites were doing and why is their behaviour so repulsive to God?
What comfort is in this text for those who are mistreated, even while under God's discipline, as they were?

2.In what ways are those who mistreat people whom God wounds short sighted?  Look up the following passages:
Jeremiah 33:6-9
James 4:6
Matthew 12:36-37
Deuteronomy 32:35

3. What is the 'high road' for followers of Christ when we are mistreated?  Look up the following:
1 Peter 2:21-24
1 Peter 3:9
1 Peter 2:1
What do we learn from Christ example that is helpful for us here?
Any stories from your personal life to encourage the others where you took the high road when mistreated and what the result was?