Skip to main content

What's in a name?

In this blog we have been looking at the question “Why LIFEGroups?” We have talked about how LIFEGroups help connect people at Calvary and how they help people to grow in their faith. There is a another very important reason why Calvary has LIFEGroups. LIFEGroups help people get through the tough times of life.

Every LIFEGroup revolves around three types of relationships. A LIFEGroups helps you live out relationships that are formative, caring and missional. Last we talked about how formative relationships help people grow in their faith. This week we will look at how caring relationships can help us through difficult times in our lives.

Caring happens in a group when the members of the group sacrifice as necessary to meet the needs of one another. Galatians 6:2 says “bear one another’s burdens.” This command is rich in meaning. As Christians we are required to help one another during difficult times. This takes sacrifice. It means giving up our time and our resources to help someone else. Our ultimate example is Jesus bearing our sins on the cross. Jesus was willing to bear our burdens even though it meant his death. Jesus expects us to follow his model of sacrifice in our own community of believers.

The command “bear one another’s burdens” also carries with it an assumption. At some point in our life we are going to have to let other people help us. For some people receiving help is more difficult than giving help. For caring to work, people in community must be willing both to sacrifice for others and at the appropriate time let others sacrifice for them.

LIFEGroups provide the community dynamic needed for the exchange of care to take place. How can you bear someone’s burden if you don’t know what that burden is? And how can you know what the burden is unless you know the person? As people in the LIFEGroup grow together they learn what the needs of the members are and how to best minister to the needs of the members.

When the hard times come, and we know that they will, your LIFEGroup should be a shelter in the storm. Brothers and sisters in Christ should never have to wonder whether or not there will be someone to care for them. Those in our LIFEGroups will help us get through the tough times of life. That is why LIFEGroups.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
3 comments
Read more

Community Killers: Crisis

Here is Part Two in my series on dealing with "Community Killers". Today the topic is "Crisis". Every group experiences crisis at some point. Death, illness, divorce, and financial ruin are just some of the issues that can threaten to destroy a group. These crisis, however, are not to be feared. Rather, they should be embraced as an opportunity for the group to care for one another in unique and deeply meaningful ways. The following are five suggestions (certainly not an exhaustive list) which can help a group handle crisis successfully: Openness. The first step in a group’s efforts to deal with crisis is simply knowing about and understanding the crisis. If a member does not feel comfortable sharing the crisis issues in their life, the group cannot come to their aid. A willingness to share not only the crisis situation, but also the details can significantly impact the degree to which the group can offer assistance. The role of the leader sometimes requires a per...
Post a Comment
Read more

Humility: It's Not All About You

Without naming names, when have you observed a person who seems to be only interested in “moving up the ladder”? What are some of the character traits of a person like this? • Read Genesis 11:1-9. • Generally speaking, who were these people focusing on, themselves or God? Why was this a problem? John Calvin thought that verse 6 was God ironically saying, “This people have conspired against me, and since they can speak to one another in the same language, how can their plan be defeated?” In other words, God wasn’t concerned, he found it humorous that the people thought so highly of themselves. • Read verse 4. What do you think it means that they wanted to “make a name” for themselves? • What things do we (you) often do try to make a name for ourselves? Why is it important to us that people think highly of us? • Read Romans 12:3. What do you think it means to think of yourself with “sober judgment”? Why are we sometimes slow to “judge” ourselves? How can we judge ourselves in a heal...
Post a Comment
Read more