Creative Community

This week's LIFEgroup Weekly is available. Included are discussion questions centering around baptism as well as a list of ideas to help your group be more INVITING. Click the logo below to read! Don't forget, we start our new FORMATIONS series on April 6. You can follow along the series at our by visiting FormationsatCalvary.org . This website will have regular updates with extra resources, daily reflections, and the ability to download the entire FORMATIONS book. Even if you aren't doing FORMATIONS with your group, you could still meet with a few people to work through the book together!

Beginning April 6, we will take five weeks to talk about Spiritual Formation. Out goal will be to take a good look at what it means to live the "Fruitful Life". Jesus used the parable of the sower and the seeds to identify multiplication as a primary outcome for those who hear and understand His Word. We'll explore how we can open ourselves to living a life oriented toward multiplication. During the study, you can follow along with five devotional readings each week. We'll have the "Formations" book available at the church beginning March 30. This book will provide you with reminders from the sermons, as well as some new thoughts to contemplate as you go through your week. Even if you aren't in a LIFEgroup, this would be a great time to get together with a couple other friends once a week and talk through the things you're hearing and reading. Click here for more information

I grabbed this list from Sojourn Community Church . These are ten questions you can use to diagnose your spiritual health. These could provide great fodder for a good group discussion, and maybe help your group determine the areas you need to work on to be more FORMATIVE . 1. Do you thirst for God? What do you run to instead of God to fill your longings? How can you grow in hunger and thirst for God? 2. Are you governed increasingly by God’s Word? Do you love God’s Word? Do you long to obey what God says? How can you foster love for God’s Word in your life? 3. Are you more loving? Have you grown in love in the past years of your Christian life? How would you like to grow in love in the next year? 4. Are you more sensitive to God’s presence? Describe how you listen for God’s gentle voice through His Word or in your spirit. How have you grown in sensitivity to God’s presence and work in your life? 5. Do you have a growing concern for the spiritual and temporal needs of others? Who

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I'm prepping for tonight's LIFEgroup meeting. We're going to talk about spiritual disciplines. I came across this post about spiritual formation . The whole thing is worth a read. I've clipped and edited the parts that make a fancy list. We must remember when we read these passages that the “you” is plural. Paul did not have the individual in mind first and foremost, he had the community in mind. Again, it is fair to say that God’s intent is for us to be formed in his image within a community where our individuality can truely become all it was meant to become. Spiritual Formation from Colossians 3. Put to death Sexual immorality Impurity Lust Evil Desires Rid Yourselves Anger Rage Malice Slander Filthy language Clothe yourselves Compassion Kindness Humility Gentleness Patience RELATED: A Small Group WorkSheet Based on These Lists

One of the highest values at Calvary is the authority of Scripture. What we do with our LIFEgroups must be guided by the instructions given to us by Scripture. Some of the clearest teachings in the Bible are the commands given to us by Jesus. Every church should get its “marching orders” from these commands. Mark 12 gives the account of an Old Testament scholar who inquired of Jesus which was the greatest command. Jesus’ answer was two-fold. He identified loving God as the most important command. He then identified a second similar command which was to be followed, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus taught that these two commands were the foundation for all others. John 13 tells the story of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples before his death. During this meal, he told the disciples he had a “new” command for them. He said they were to “love one another”. This is more than just a restatement of His “love your neighbor” command. This was a third command that held great