The Great Commission: Worshipers and Doubters
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, scripture reading or read the passage we’ve provided below. After reading (aloud), spend a few moments in silence, take the elements and then close in prayer:
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper, he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:23–26
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 or who is making you feel hopeful or joyful this week? What’s one area we can pray over, perhaps where hope feels lacking?
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, Thomas focused on the part of the Great Commission that says, “And when they saw him they worshipped him, but some doubted.” (Matt. 28:17) He talked about how doubt is a common experience for followers of Jesus. Jesus did not respond to their doubt with condemnation, but with encouragement. He encouraged them by pointing to his greatness (all authority) and his goodness (I am with you). In essence, when Jesus spoke of himself, he was saying, “Behold,” or “look at me!” Our response to doubt, whatever that doubt may be, ought to be to keep looking at Jesus. And when we see Jesus clearly, it drives us to worship.
QUESTIONS (20 Minutes)
What are some of the doubts you may have about following Jesus in obedience to his Great Commission?
When you think of a time that your eyes were lifted to see the risen Jesus (whether in scripture or in a sermon, or in your time meditating on God’s word), how has that affected your doubt?
When Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on his throne, high and lifted up, his response went from terror to thrilling submission after experiencing the grace of God in forgiving him. Discuss as a group how having a full picture of all that God is and all that He has done causes us to worship, and how our worship is what fuels our service to God.
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.