Membership for THE Mission: A Covenant Relationship

COMMUNITY GUIDE

The Community Guide below is based on Sunday’s teaching for our current series: Membership for THE Mission. As your whole Community gathers (in-person or online), 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 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 health 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 (5 MINUTES)

Last week, we talked about how the foundation of our understanding of church membership is “the commitment to be a disciple and to make disciples...in partnership with the other members and elders of Cornerstone” (Membership Booklet, p. 11). This week, we focus on why we believe it’s healthy to formalize that commitment through a covenant of membership. By describing membership at Cornerstone as a covenant relationship, we are seeking to follow the example that we see in Scripture: “A covenant is a formalized relationship based upon promises of ongoing faithfulness in pursuit of a common mission” (Membership Booklet, p. 7). 

When God entered into a covenant relationship with people, it was initiated in a visible, formal way (Gen. 15; Ex. 19-20; 24). In this relationship, each member makes promises about how they will continue to be faithful to the relationship into the future (Gen. 12:2-3; 17:9-14; Ex. 20:1-17). And the reason for the formality and promises is because a covenant is about more than just being in a relationship; it’s about accomplishing something through the relationship. It’s a partnership to pursue a common mission (Gen. 12:3; Ex. 19:5-6). 

If you are a follower of Jesus, God has called you into a relationship with him through Jesus, which the Bible calls the “new covenant” (Luke 22:20; 2 Cor. 3:6; Heb. 8:6-13). The mission of the new covenant, as we saw last week, is to be disciples and to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18-20). And the New Testament says much about what it means for us to be faithful to God and each other within this new covenant: for instance, the over 30 “one another” commands in the New Testament (John 13:34; Rom. 15:7; Gal 5:13, etc.). Therefore, the purpose of membership at Cornerstone is nothing more (or less) than the commitment to live according to the relationship, promises, and mission of the new covenant within this local church. Rather than assuming that we are committed to each other, we seek to follow the example we see in Scripture by making a visible, formal commitment to each other

Debrief this Sunday’s Teaching (20 Minutes)

With that in mind, work through the following discussion questions as a Community:

• What are some differences you’ve experienced or witnessed in committed relationships (mutually edifying) as opposed to non-committed relationships?

  • ie: marriage, close friend, family, church, etc.?

  • Has the mission to be a disciple who makes disciples been at the heart of your relationships? If not, what’s holding you back?

• We believe that God has given you talents, skills, and interests to contribute to His mission in making disciples.

  • What do you believe those gifts are (vocation, hobbies, passions, experiences, languages, etc.)?

  • How might you use your gifts in the context of a committed relationship to the local church, specifically at Cornerstone?
    

Missionary Practice For The Week Ahead: BLESS (10 Minutes)

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.