Membership for THE Mission: Responsibilities of Leaders

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 night 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 assign someone to read the Apostles Creed we’ve provided below. For those of you that may not be familiar with the Apostles Creed, it is a proclamation of faith that has been recited throughout the years and has often been used as an act of worship and reflection prior to receiving the Lord’s Supper. It is a proclamation of what we as followers of Jesus believe. After reading this ancient creed (aloud), spend a moment in silence before continuing:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church (universal Christian church), the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

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 are three words you’d use to describe this last 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 (5 MINUTES)

Recently, we laid out Cornerstone’s discipleship pathway (pp. 14-15). We wanted to first show you how Jesus discipled his followers, and then how we are seeking to do the same thing in the life of Cornerstone. This week, Todd unpacked how God intends leaders to provide a healthy atmosphere for members of local churches to grow into flourishing disciples of Jesus Christ. They do this through:

• living gospel transformed lives that can be imitated (transformed...not perfect),

• teaching the truth of God’s Word and protecting from false teaching (including false teachers),

• providing avenues for the church to be equipped for ministry that builds the church in love,

• praying for the spiritual and physical needs of the church,

• dealing graciously with sin in the church family, including church discipline, in a manner that leads people to repentance and restoration found only in Jesus Christ,

• leading the church into our local community to share Christ in word and deed so that others might know and embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ.

QUESTIONS (20 Minutes)

1. Where are you on the discipleship pathway?  

   1. Are you trying to discover (connect to) who Jesus is?

   2. Have you committed your life to following Jesus? 

   3. Are you living out the call of making disciples of Jesus? 

2. The role of leaders is to provide a healthy atmosphere for you to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus. Authority has been granted to leaders to build people up (flourish) and not tear them down. How have leaders helped you flourish (grow, develop) in your life?

3. After hearing the different testimonies of the elders, was there an elder you connected with and/or had some testimony themes with? 

4. What is your main takeaway from this week’s worship service? 

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.