LIFEGroup Reflections

Thanks for Asking

My wife has not been feeling well lately. She is pregnant and it turns out that morning sickness is not just for mornings anymore. She has morning sickness, mid morning sickness, early afternoon sickness, late afternoon sickness, early evening sickness, late evening sickness and every sickness in between. On top of that about two weeks ago she got that nasty flu that has been going around. It has been a long first trimester.

Do you ever wonder if people miss you when you are gone? I don’t know if people miss me when I am gone but I do know our LIFEGroup misses my wife when she is gone. She has had to miss a couple weeks because of being sick. We have our LIFEGroup on Sunday night. Sunday morning before and after the service people from my LIFEGroup were finding me and asking me how my wife is doing. People told me they would be praying for her. Then Sunday night at our LIFEGroup everyone again asked me how she was doing and we did pray for her.

When I got home I told my wife that people are asking about how she was doing and people are praying for her. Then I saw her do something she had not done in days. She smiled. She asked me who was asking about her. I gave her the long list of names including everyone in our LIFEGroup. She smiled even brighter.

It means a lot to have this love and support. I don’t have any family in Muskegon and my wife’s family lives out west. I am very glad we have a LIFEGroup to be with us during this time in our life. At times like this it is great to know that we are not alone. It is great to know that when we need a little care, we have Christian brothers and sisters who will be asking about us and helping us out.

Comments

Discussion Questions for Easter

Have several people ask the question, “What’s the most important thing you’ve ever done?” Ask other people, “What do you hope to accomplish in the next several years of your life?” Tell your class that today you’ll be talking about “life mission” or the one most important thing you do that drives everything else. Tell them that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the defining moment in history, so it should be the defining moment in our lives. Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. How does the resurrection impact some of the crucial beliefs of Christianity? How would Christianity be different if there was no resurrection? How would you be different without the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. What are some specific ways that the resurrection gives us hope? If you had been a friend of Jesus when he was on earth, how would the resurrection have impacted your life? How do you think his followers then were effected by the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthian...

FIGHT CLUB! (iron sharpening iron)

Our youth pastor, Keith Sandison, has implemented "Fight Clubs" with the young men of our church. While these teenagers and young adults aren't actually pummeling each other physically, they are using the opportunity to aggressively challenge one another to be more attentive to their spiritual formation. Right now my son is participating in a fight club focusing on Proverbs. I love it. Keith has created a handout he uses for the fight clubs which lists seven different methods of "generic Bible study". I think the idea started with this post a few years ago, but as he often does; Keith took my thoughts and made them immensely more substantive and beneficial. Check out his system below:

SOAPY Bible Study

In the past, I've written about and talked about the SOAP method of Bible study. This is a simple Bible study method which can be utilized by an individual or a small group. All you need is a passage of Scripture and 15-30 minutes (a journal is helpful). Many churches use this method of Bible study for their groups. Some have modified the SOAP method by adding a Y. Read more about it below: This Bible study is an intentional focused effort of growing in the understanding of the scriptures. This form of study will assist in the transformation of our inner lives as we mature in understanding and in faith. Set aside 15 minutes every day for the study. You might want to take more time after you have gotten started. Don’t overload yourself in the beginning. Keep a “soapy” journal because there will be the need to write everyday. As you develop your routine, share what you are learning with your Discipleship Group, Sunday school class, Circle, other groups in which y...

Creative Community

Search This Blog