The Great Commission: I am With You Always
COMMUNITY GUIDE
The Community Guide below is based on Sunday’s teaching for our new series: The Great Commission. As your whole Community gathers (online or in-person), use the Community Guide below to give shape to your time together
Begin by Practicing the Lord’s Supper Together (5 minutes)
Begin your time by partaking of the bread and the cup together. Have each person bring their own Communion elements or provide elements for the group. To facilitate your time, you can either ask a member of your Community to come ready with a short prayer or scripture reading or read the passage we’ve provided below. After reading (aloud), spend a moment in silence before continuing:
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” - Matthew 26: 26-30
CHECK-IN (10 MINUTES)
As we focus on this series, we want to continue to create space for checking in on each other but doing so in a shorter amount of time. Take a few minutes to do a whole person check-in (emotional, spiritual, physical) with your Community, creating space for each person to answer the question below:
What are three words you’d use to describe your week?
If the need arises, spend a few minutes praying for one another, asking God to meet needs and help each person carry what feels heavy right now.
Read this overview:
This week, Christian focused on the last phrase of the Great Commission: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20b). He emphasized three main points: 1) We NEED Jesus with us, 2) Jesus WANTS to be with us, and 3) HOW Jesus is with us through the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:8; Eph. 2:18).
Christian pointed out that the Great Commission follows a pattern that we see throughout the Biblical Story (e.g., with Moses, Joshua, Gideon, & Jeremiah): God calls someone to a mission that is too big for them to accomplish on their own, but he promises that he will be with them, thereby ensuring that success in their mission is not only possible but guaranteed! Christian concluded by highlighting three ways that the Holy Spirit enables us to accomplish our mission of making disciples: 1) by transforming us to be like Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18), 2) by uniting us together as God’s people (Eph. 2:22; 4:1-6), and 3) by empowering us to witness to all nations (Acts 1:8; John 15:26-27).
QUESTIONS (20 Minutes)
Discuss how you are currently seeking to keep Jesus’ commands in the three ways that Christian described in his message–and how you can help each other continue to do so.
Consider the first point: “We NEED Jesus with us.” Now reflect on your life this week: Did you face any circumstances that confronted you with your need for Jesus? Were there times when you operated more out of self-confidence, thinking that you had everything under control on your own? Were you timid or reluctant to do something that you knew was right or necessary because you were afraid that you couldn’t do it on your own?
Make a plan to start each day this week in prayer: acknowledge your need for Jesus, thank him that he is with you, and ask him to help you be mindful of and dependent upon the Holy Spirit as you go about your day. Be ready to share with others the impact that this practice makes in your life
Consider the second point: “Jesus WANTS to be with us.” As you think about God’s relentless desire to be with his people and what he has done through Jesus to bring us to himself (1 Pet. 3:18), how does that prompt you to respond?
Consider how the Holy Spirit works in us to enable us to accomplish our mission: Where in your life and relationships do you see the need for transformation, unity and power to witness? Pray for one another, believing that the Holy Spirit can and will continue his work in us.
Missionary Practice For The Week Ahead: BLESS (10 Minutes)
If you do at least one of these practices every day, you will not only become more like Jesus, but you will help others find Jesus too! In your time together as a community, ask the questions, “Who did you BLESS this week? This time of sharing will keep the Great Commission at the forefront of who we are called to be as followers of Jesus. It will also provide the opportunity to celebrate and encourage one another on the journey.
ᐅ B.L.E.S.S.
(B)egin with Prayer:
Pray for the people in your life and the places that you’re in.
People: Who do you live, work and play with that is far from God? Pray that God would create spiritual curiosity in them, and then spend time with them.
Places:
Where does pain exist here? Pray for healing.
Who makes the decisions here? Pray for integrity.
Who throws parties here? Pray for community.
Where are the pennies spent here? Pray for provision.
(L)isten:
Listen to and discover the needs of others and for the places where God is at work.
Before you can help others find Jesus, you need to listen to them first - their hopes, pains, challenges and dreams. In your interactions with others today, take the posture of a learner. Lay down assumptions and practice being present in conversations.
(E)at:
Share meals, drink coffee, and spend time with people in your life that don’t yet know Jesus.
Who can you eat with (or have coffee with) that is far from God? A co-worker over lunch? A neighbor during the day? A friend or family member over the weekend?
Is there a place that you regularly visit (coffee shop, gym, etc.)? Ask God to grant you opportunities to eat with people.
(S)erve:
Who can you serve this week? Who do you know that has a practical need? Ask them how you can help.
Before jumping into serving, have you taken the time to pray for, listen to and eat with these people? Doing these things first helps you discover the way that you really need to serve them.
(S)tory:
Share the story of Jesus and what He is doing in your life with others.
Start by sharing how God has blessed you and made a difference in your life.
Share your story in such a way that demonstrates that Jesus is also at work in their life.
Don’t feel like you have to tell your life story at once. Think “bite-size” stories.
Prayer (10 Minutes)
Spend a few minutes praying for God’s grace over each other, that we might become a people who make Jesus our Lord, and that there might be a sweeping renewal of the Holy Spirit in our city. Ask that God would stir up within us a desire to be with him in prayer and to serve him, one another, and our neighbor in love.