Group Notes | June 21
Greater Things: The Power of the Local Church
June 21, 2015
Pastor Jonathan Falwell
Open:
Looking back—or looking forward—can possibly be mind-blowing. If you had been able, perhaps ten, twenty or more years ago, to see just one snapshot of your present family or daily activity, what would go through your mind? Would you recognize the situation?
We have been concentrating on the words of Jesus that we would do greater works than He did. Today we are going to celebrate the beginning of the 60th year of our church, realizing that a current snapshot of Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University would have caused Dr. Jerry Falwell, in 1957, to fall on his knees and cry “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Son of God!”
Discus:
Power of the Local Church
1. Refresh your mind with the words in John 14:12, 13. The promises of Jesus were incredible, yet we are seeing them come to pass through our local church. What are some of them?
2. Read Acts 5:42. Why did God honor His promise to those first believers?
Purpose of the Local Church
3. What are some of the responsibilities of the local church?
4. What are some possibilities for our church if we continue faithful?
5. Have someone read Genesis 9:7. What are some other meanings this can have besides just to Adam and Eve?
Promise of the Local Church
6. Read Ephesians 3:20. How have you been part of the “exceedingly abundantly” works in your local church?
7. Think for a moment if you’ve ever had a desire for a certain ministry or responsibility to be active in your church; have you considered that God has given you the thought so that you could act upon it?
8. Read Joshua 4:19-24. How are we today leaving “Stones of Remembrance” for future generations?
Close:
Before breaking up into small groups, have someone read Isaiah 51:1. It is good for you to re-examine your life and see the faithfulness of God. But God has a future, a plan, and purposes for you that are still to come. Not everyone is a visionary as Dr. Falwell was, but everyone can “tell his story” to a lost world. Talk in your group of some things you would like to see come about in the future, and have a time of prayer that through you, your local church can be a beacon of light to the world.
Memory Verse: John 14:13: “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”