yours: Week 1

Devotional

Let’s imagine that its the first day of school and we are all in the same geometry class. Do you guys like geometry? I don’t, I hate geometry. But we have to pass this class to graduate so we are going to do. A few minutes into the class we find out very quickly, this teacher does not care about what they are doing. They don’t have anything prepared. There is no schedule, no lesson plan, they barely wrote their name on the chalkboard. They are as checked out as a teacher can get.

At first we think this is awesome! We can just coast through this class and don’t actually have to worry about geometry. Week after week we show up to class, hang out, maybe open the textbook, maybe watch a movie, but mostly we just goof off. This is the best class ever! All of a sudden though it’s the end of the year and it’s time for finals. But we aren’t stressed because our teacher doesn’t care! Obviously they are going to pass us! Right?

Wrong. We take the test and it’s the hardest test we have ever taken. We don’t know how to do any of the problems because we spent the year goofing off instead of learning geometry. Now we pay for it because every single person failed the test. If only our teacher had taken the time to teach us and actually put some effort into the class, we might have passed. But instead we are heading to summer school.

When you walk into school you expect your teachers to give their best. You need them to. If you wanna graduate and be prepared for college, you need your teachers to give you everything they can. If you play a sport you expect the same thing from your coach. We want our parents to give us their best too. If those people just went through the motions and didn’t give life their best, we would suffer.

It’s the same on our end too. If you don’t give your best to your classes it doesn’t matter what your teachers do you are going to struggle. If you don’t give your best on your team your coach is going to find someone else who will.

It is important to give our best to the things that matter to us. The bible teaches that we are supposed to give our best in 1 Corinthians 10:31 to do everything for God’s glory

Giving our best brings glory to God. It shows that we care about what we are doing, that we believe in it. The question is, do you believe in what you are doing in small groups? Do you believe in the value of this ministry and of your small group?

Or are you just here to hang out with your friends and go through the motions?

This month we are going over our vision at Remix. These are our goals, the things we are committed to doing to make Remix the best place it can possibly be. Our first goal is to

Give our best to the One who gave His best for us.

When we don’t give our best here we risk a lot. We risk pushing people away from the church, we risk missing out on something important God wanted us to learn, we miss an opportunity to be a part of an incredible movement of God. On top of all of that when we treat church like it’s just something to do, not an integral part of our lives. We are looking at the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross and essentially saying “thanks Jesus, but I have better things to worry about”

This is especially true with your small group. When we are here on (insert night of the week) we have the opportunity for our lives to change. We can learn to study the Bible, to pray, to build healthy godly relationships. Or we can go through some questions, gossip about the drama at school, play football and call it a night. If that’s what you’re here for, I am glad your here but you are missing out on so much.

We talked about the early church this weekend and how because they were so committed to God and giving their best to Him, thousands of people became Christians through their influence. They had the strength to do that because they had each other and they were all working to the same goal. To know Christ and make Christ known.

This is how small groups should be too. We should give our best to each other and to Christ so we might have the hope of our friends seeing what Christ has done in our lives and wanting him to do the same for them. So how do we give our best at small groups? There’s four ways.

1. We commit to grow. Small groups are not just a place to hang out but an opportunity to develop your relationship with Christ and other believers. Take it seriously and treat it like an opportunity to grow. Pay attention, bring your bible, do the homework, ask good questions. Don’t waste this time.
2. Keep small group in small group. No gossip. You need to trust each other and give each other a space to be open and honest. You can’t have that if you are gossiping about each other.
3. Care for each other. Your small group could be the place where you make lasting friendships. We need to show respect and care for our leaders and fellow students by listening when other people talk, participating, asking good questions, and being kind to each other.
4. Pray together. God could use your small group to transform your lives and the lives of the people around you. Prioritize prayer often.

If we focus on these four things as a group we will be amazed at what God does through our group! But if we waste time, go through the motions, goof off, cause drama and division. Well we might as well not be here at all.

Break the ice

In your opinion who is the best athlete in the world?

Small group questions

1. Let’s look at the early church. Everyone pull up Acts chapter 2:42-47.

1. What specific things do you notice about the church as it is described here?
2. What was the impact of their devotion to their faith?
3. Their devotion to the Church impacted thousands of people. Why do you think that is? Was the impact of their devotion to their faith?
4. Can you think of anyone who’s faith reminds you of those in the first church? As a small group we want to be just as devoted to Christ and each other as they were that's why we have expectations for our small group to uphold. Let’s go through them as a group.
5. Commit to grow. What do you think it looks like for us to be committed to grow? How can we be better at this this year?
6. Keep small group in small group. Why is it so important to avoid gossiping as a group?
7. Care for each other. What does this mean for us? How can we be better at this this year? Think practical.
8. Pray together. What do you think could happen if we started really praying together as a group.

Moving forward

Let’s commit to doing our best to live up to these expectations this year. Take some time as a group to pray and commit to each other and the Lord that you will grow together, care for each other, avoid gossip and pray together. You could even create a contract for your group to sign to show that you are all in. Talk about the impacts God could have on your group if we do these things.