Gather & Eat

Eat, talk, hangout, have fun.

Pray

Gather together in a comfortable setting (around a table, on the couch, the floor of a living room, etc.). Have somebody lead a prayer asking the Holy Spirit to lead and guide your time together. Don’t be afraid to leave some space in the quiet to just listen and rest.

Discuss

Everybody hopefully had a chance to listen to the message for this week. The message was from John Mark Comer on what it means to be with Jesus as part of apprenticeship to him.

Use these questions to help guide your discussion as a large group:

  • What impacted you from the teaching this week?

  • John Mark talked about the stories that we believe that society tells us. What are the stories that our city is telling us to believe that might not be inline with the reality of Jesus?

Learn

It is a normal part of human life to dream of a future that is better than our current reality. Even those of us with the most enjoyable and well rounded lives often have something that we would like to see change in ourselves. This is a good thing - none of us are perfect and none of us have arrived at a state of Christ-likeness. In other words, wanting your life to change is normal, and change is often a good thing.

What we change into, and how that change happens is an entirely different matter though.

We can change for the worse, we can change unintentionally, and we can change based around ideas or values that aren’t anything to do with Jesus. However, the goal of a community of people who are committed to following Jesus is that we change to become more like Him. While we often want God to transform us miraculously, instantaneously, and privately, God’s method is usually to change us slowly over time, with our participation, and with the essential support, accountability, and loving challenge of our community. 

Knowing that it is our habits and patterns of living that shape how we change, as determined by our values, if we are going to become more like Jesus we must first identify what our goal target looks like (that’s Jesus!) and how we are spending our time intentionally to get there (that is, to become more like Him).

Take 5-10 minutes for some reflection and prayer (maybe put some quiet music on as people do this).

Ask yourself the following questions and take notes on your phone or ideally with pen and paper.

  • Who do I know that most resembles the character and lifestyle of Jesus? What is it about them that reflects Jesus to me?

  • What are my unintentional habits?

  • What are my hobbies or regular rhythms of activity?

  • What attribute of Jesus’s character do I most want to grow in? What practice, habit, or rhythm would help grow this in me?

Share

Split into triads (groups of three, ideally of the same gender) to share at a deeper level.

Check in with each other and get to know each other a little if you don’t already know everyone in your triad. Then work through these questions, engaging your heart as much as your mind.

  • Share with each other the answers to the previous questions. Are there any similarities between the people in your triad?

  • How can you partner with each other, or encourage each other in your growth to become like Jesus?

Pray

Staying in your triads, pray for each other. There may be practical needs or prayer requests, or there may be things to pray for regarding the topic of submitting our lives to the way of Jesus. When praying for someone you can ask them if you can appropriately place a hand on their shoulder, and it’s ok to keep your eyes open when you pray so that you stay aware of what is happening to them as you pray. Make sure to invite the Holy Spirit and leave space for Him to speak.

Practice (90 mins)

Here’s some things to practice this week to delve deeper into this topic.

Listen

Read

Romans 12:9-21.

Spend some time meditating on this text. Paul gives some practical examples of what a follower of Jesus should do. What stands out?

Stretch Goal

To become like Jesus means we need to have a robust understanding of who Jesus was and is. N.T. Wright’s fabulous book “The Challenge of Jesus” attempts to study who Jesus was so that we can gain a greater understanding of Him so that our discipleship to him can be infinitely richer.