March 4 Care Group

We had a good discussion about this past Sunday's sermon from Romans 1 & 2.  Mark asked us when, in our christian journeys, we became aware of God's wrath.

Some of us lived in guilt, some had a sense of God's displeasure or wrath, some were aware of being alone or searching for meaning in life.  God worked in us in many different ways, in our hearts and minds, to move us toward Him and the knowledge of the truth.

In many different ways God made us aware of His displeasure with us, our sin, and our need for Him and His salvation.

The next question he asked was about how we are tempted to look down on others who may be caught in sin.

We agreed that we humans are hard-wired to judge others.  How sad!  Even though we are so imperfect and have received so much forgiveness and mercy, we still tend to look down on others who don't "have our knowledge or understand the bible like we do."

It's by His work and grace that we can be turned away from this kind of arrogance in thinking and living!

God reveals His flawless, perfect righteousness to us with no pride.  He is truly awesome!

We go through seasons of getting a little bit of knowledge in an area and then can feel superior to others. 
We need to remember that all we have is a gift!  There's no room for arrogance or pride in a christian's life.

February 4 Care Group

We had such a sweet time together!  First we sang about trusting in God and about how there is no one like our God.  Then we prayed fervently for our dear friends, Mark and Kristi, and their family.  We discussed Sunday's message about being captivated by and confident in the gospel:
-We are captivated by Jesus and who He is.  That's the gospel, the good news about who Jesus is, and all that He's done for us.
-He is all-consuming.  When we belong to Him He has ALL of us, he's taken over our lives completely.
-Even when we're aware of our sins and shortcomings, we know we are still loved by God and by those who love God.  It's humbling!
-When a penitent person is blatantly honest and transparent it makes us captivated by the gospel.
-The concept of condemnation is not relevant any longer for those who belong to Christ.  I am now quicker to go to Him, confess, be cleansed, confident of His work in us - captivated by His power.
-Knowing His sacrifice in a very real and personal way brings us to tears.
-God holds us captive by His amazing love and power.  He has led us to obedience and worship and brings us to confidence in Him.
-We appreciate the faith He's given us and it gives us more confidence as we move forward in life.
-We were held slaves to this world but Jesus broke our chains and freed us to serve Him and be His slaves.  He's holding on to us - we are captives of His, and we love it!!
-Evangelizing is simply being honest about the truth of God with us and in us and working through the trials and paths of life, speaking to all whom God brings our way.
-It's also how we live our lives - people notice us and know who has hope, peace, love and joy in this life.
-We can actually shock ourselves with the faith and grace He pours on us when we need it.
-We sense His presence so very much when we go through hard times.  We KNOW He's there for us, giving us confidence in His help.

January 21 Care Group

We discussed Sunday's message about being pure in heart.  Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
-What is the heart?  thoughts, desires, emotions, inner workings
-Gen 6:5 paints a dismal picture of men's hearts.  It is only God's grace that can pull us out of that state.
-God created us to give Him glory.  As we walk with Him He shows us the real "junk" that's inside our hearts that we may not be aware of - but it's not hopeless, it just makes us need Him and love Him more.
-God sees everything about us and patiently loves us anyway.
-Ezek 36 says that now we have been given a new heart!  He motivates us to do His will and His pleasure.
-The fact that we care about our motives is a sign that God is at work in our hearts.
-Matt 5:27 - Do we open the gate and entertain the sinful thoughts and temptations that come our way?  We should instead cry out immediately for help.
-Praying for those who have sinned against us is a real key to staying in forgiveness and not letting bitterness creep in.
-This is part of our good fight of faith.
-Some of us have daily battles to get through the constant challenges that life brings our way.  We need to go to His word, call out for strength and wisdom all the time.
-Ps 119:9-11 - How do we keep our way pure?  By keeping His word in our hearts!
-This world is wearisome, yet God builds us up.  We know that His grace and His word are more than sufficient.

January 7 Care Group

We discussed the Beatitudes in Matthew 5.  Here is a summary:
-Being "poor in spirit" means that we trust God and do not feel pressured to make sure our lives go "our way."
-It also reminds us of our tremendous need of God and His power and presence in our lives.
-It's not ok to be self-dependent.  God is making us more and more humble.  We need Him more and more as we grow in Him.
-It pushes us to pray and seek God for all life situations, knowing our need.
-Success is not the issue it was when we were younger.  We want to finish well, not just chase after some worldly level of achievement.
-It makes us realize how valuable God's truth is and how many lies are fed to us by the world.
-The Beatitudes are filled with ways that we can grow, character we can achieve by God's grace.  They are relevant to our lives today.
-They are opposite of the world's values.
-This world tells our kids "You can be anything you want if you put your mind to it."  It's a lie!  What we really want is children who walk with God and love Jesus more than anything, putting His values and kingdom first in their lives.
-There is no room for arrogance, self-centeredness, and conceit in our lives.
-"Mourning" refers to times of suffering and we know that those times can leave scars on our souls.  Those scars remind us of bad times as they push us to God over and over to receive His comfort and a sense of His presence.
-"His grace is sufficient" takes on very real significance for those who mourn either their sin or a trial.
-We praise Him during times of blessing as well as times of suffering.