11/17 - 11/21 Life Group Questions
^ Click “Note” ^ Remember to write down some short notes for each of the questions below before heading to life group.
1.
Share 1 thing that stood out to you about Sunday's Message. (1 minute max please) Also press play button in image above to watch or listen to Sundays message if you missed it or just to refresh your memory. (Each Individual)
2. What Is
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, IN WHICH YOU STAND, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day
On Sunday Pastor Vaughn talked about what is, what was, and what is to come. A Christian “IS” someone who has believed the Gospel regarding the life, death, resurrection, and ongoing work of Jesus AND accepted the free gifts of grace, forgiveness, and salvation. This “IS” the reality that every true believer “Stands” in as we read in verse 1.
What does it mean to stand in the Gospel? What are some of the thoughts that come to your mind regarding the world you live in knowing that this Gospel is true and Jesus “IS” alive? How do you think about people who don’t know this Gospel or who know but have not accepted Jesus? Does this Gospel reality affect the way you go through the ups & downs of everyday life and if so, how? (Group Discussion - Consider all the questions above as part of the discussion)
3. What Was
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I PREACHED to you, which YOU RECEIVED, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you
On Sunday Pastor Vaughn reminded us of the importance of the things that have already happened in our lives, in history, and in the scriptures. Paul told the Corinthian church that the Gospel unfolded “according to the scriptures”. This means that what “WAS” written came to pass. On Sunday we looked at the stories of Adam & Eve, Abraham & Isaac, and Jonah while asking what “WAS” God trying to show us about Jesus through those stories. We did the same with the Isaiah 53 prophecy & David’s song in Psalm 16.
The Gospel became clear as people looked back to the cross and the resurrection. The disciples began to look back within days. We had to look back over 2,000 years in order for the power of the Gospel to change our lives. Think of one event/moment/season in your life where at the time you couldn’t see any good in it BUT days, years, or decades later you were able to look back and see what God “WAS” doing for your good? (Each Individual)
4. What Is To Come
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are BEING SAVED, IF YOU HOLD FAST to the word I preached to you
On Sunday Pastor Vaughn reminded us that one of the primary differences between a Christian and everyone else is that Christians are sure of the resurrection & eternal life which “IS TO COME” after we’ve held fast to the Gospel. He told us that this Gospel truth should also shape the way the live in this life.
1 Corinthians 15:19-22
19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:45-54
45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:35-44
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
In John 12:24 speaking of the life His death would produce, Jesus says…
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
1 John 3:2
2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like Him
On Sunday we watched a video showing how a single strawberry seed produced a full plant with multiple new strawberries, including the green “first fruit” that became visible. Pastor Vaughn said that Jesus rose with a body that looked very similar to His previous body (strawberry for strawberry) but Pastor Vaughn said Jesus’ risen body would never get sick or grow old or die. We know enough about eternal life to know it will be “embodied” rather than just a spiritual existence without a body. Let’s use the imaginations God has given us and talk/dream together about heaven, our resurrected bodies, what we hope for, what we think we’ll do & see and where all of this will actually take place? (Group Discussion)
* Remember to pray for each other before heading home from life group and to stay in communication here in the app throughout the week on your life group messaging thread!