Life Transformed: Practices of Growth - Putting Off the Old Self
These questions are written to be used during our house church meeting in Katy on Tuesday nights and in Sugar Land on Wednesday nights. If you find yourself unable or attend a gathering this week we encourage you to use these questions at home to sink more deeply into this vision series.
Background: We are in the midst of a series titled Life Transformed: Disciplines of Growth. During these 6 weeks, we will explore and practice spiritual disciplines as part of taking a next step in our faith journey. But what is as spiritual discipline? Spiritual disciplines are "practices, relationships and experiences that give people space in their lives to 'keep company' with Jesus." (Adele Calhoun) These are practices that we do both internally for our own spiritual growth and externally in our interaction with the world and in practice with others. This is an opportunity to explore how different disciplines shape our lives, our relationships with others, and our relationship with God. Whether it is your first time to hear about spiritual disciplines or you have practiced them for many years, we invite you to take one step each week and see what God will do.
Icebreaker: Think about your life when you were a teenager. How did you make decisions? What were you desires, dreams, aspirations
Read and Reflect: Read Ephesians 4:17-32
Take a moment to get your bearings; look at the surrounding stories by reading the subtitles around this week’s passage. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification or definitions for new words and ideas. Listening to other translations of the Bible can both clarify and enrich the meanings of these readings.
Discussion:
1. What is your initial reaction to what is happening in this passage(s)? What questions do you have?
2. Paul, the writer of this letter, talks about the "old self" and the "new self". What are they and what are the differences between them?
3. How are people able to put off the "old self"?
4. The characteristics described in verses 25-32, are a reflection of Jesus himself. Is there are particular area shared here that is more difficult for you to "put off"?
Go Deeper:
5. One of the ways we can begin to live into this new life is to put off the old self through the discipline of Self-Examination and Confession. What about this discipline is encouraging or exciting? What about it is intimidating or difficult?
- Self-Examination is a process where the Holy Spirit opens my heart to what is true about
me.
-Confession is where we bring to God what he has shown us about ourselves and ask for
and embrace his gifts of forgiveness and restoration that sets us on a new path of life
and change.
6. Continue to lean into what this means for your life by using the weekly disciplines found in our app. Week 2 will be posted in the next few days.
Prayer:
Pray for the families in your house church and the people on your Top Five cards.
Announcements:
*Mark your calendars* We have a baptism this Sunday, October 30 with a macaroni bar lunch after the service. Check with your House Church Leaders for ways that you can help bring food to celebrate and for the SignUp genius link.
*Mark your calendars* All youth in 4th-12th grade, have a Halloween party Sunday, October 30 from 1-3pm. Contact Hannah, hannah@gatheringrichmond.org, with questions.
Explore the new app! It has great features! Just look up The Gathering Church wherever you get your apps and log in using the side menu so that we have your most current information!
Background: We are in the midst of a series titled Life Transformed: Disciplines of Growth. During these 6 weeks, we will explore and practice spiritual disciplines as part of taking a next step in our faith journey. But what is as spiritual discipline? Spiritual disciplines are "practices, relationships and experiences that give people space in their lives to 'keep company' with Jesus." (Adele Calhoun) These are practices that we do both internally for our own spiritual growth and externally in our interaction with the world and in practice with others. This is an opportunity to explore how different disciplines shape our lives, our relationships with others, and our relationship with God. Whether it is your first time to hear about spiritual disciplines or you have practiced them for many years, we invite you to take one step each week and see what God will do.
Icebreaker: Think about your life when you were a teenager. How did you make decisions? What were you desires, dreams, aspirations
Read and Reflect: Read Ephesians 4:17-32
Take a moment to get your bearings; look at the surrounding stories by reading the subtitles around this week’s passage. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification or definitions for new words and ideas. Listening to other translations of the Bible can both clarify and enrich the meanings of these readings.
Discussion:
1. What is your initial reaction to what is happening in this passage(s)? What questions do you have?
2. Paul, the writer of this letter, talks about the "old self" and the "new self". What are they and what are the differences between them?
3. How are people able to put off the "old self"?
4. The characteristics described in verses 25-32, are a reflection of Jesus himself. Is there are particular area shared here that is more difficult for you to "put off"?
Go Deeper:
5. One of the ways we can begin to live into this new life is to put off the old self through the discipline of Self-Examination and Confession. What about this discipline is encouraging or exciting? What about it is intimidating or difficult?
- Self-Examination is a process where the Holy Spirit opens my heart to what is true about
me.
-Confession is where we bring to God what he has shown us about ourselves and ask for
and embrace his gifts of forgiveness and restoration that sets us on a new path of life
and change.
6. Continue to lean into what this means for your life by using the weekly disciplines found in our app. Week 2 will be posted in the next few days.
Prayer:
Pray for the families in your house church and the people on your Top Five cards.
Announcements:
*Mark your calendars* We have a baptism this Sunday, October 30 with a macaroni bar lunch after the service. Check with your House Church Leaders for ways that you can help bring food to celebrate and for the SignUp genius link.
*Mark your calendars* All youth in 4th-12th grade, have a Halloween party Sunday, October 30 from 1-3pm. Contact Hannah, hannah@gatheringrichmond.org, with questions.
Explore the new app! It has great features! Just look up The Gathering Church wherever you get your apps and log in using the side menu so that we have your most current information!
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