But God

But God- a version of Psalm 23

 (I was readings Ephesians 2 where it says "but God" and I applied that to Psalm 23)

No matter what you are facing - You can always say -"But God.."

I am in need but God is my Shepherd

I am hungry and tired but God lets me rest in fields of green grass

I am thirsty but God leads me to quiet pools

I am weak but God gives me new strength

I am lost but God guides me to right path’s

I have times of deepest darkness but God beside me removes my fears

I feel threatened but God keeps me safe with his rod and staff

I have enemies but God shows amazing generosity by preparing a banquet for me where they can see me

I have enemies but God treats me as my guest filling my cup to the brim

God I know your goodness and love will be with me all the days of my life and your house will be my home as long as I live.

bible study on Ephesians 2

Too Good To Be True

A Bible study on Ephesians 2

adapted from www.newspring.cc

 

Get Started

·         What’s one hope-filled situation you’ve experienced recently?

·         What’s one hopeless situation you’ve experienced?

Discuss

 The grace of God, given to us through Jesus Christ, changes lives.

What are the 5 Things the passage says about People Who Don’t Know Jesus

1.       ________________________

2.       ________________________

3.       ________________________

4.       ________________________

5.       ________________________

Read Ephesians 2:1-3.

Jesus doesn’t turn us from bad to good people, but from spiritually dead to alive in Him.

·         What’s the difference between bad and spiritually dead?

Read Ephesians 2:12.

·         Have you been excluded from something? What does it feel like to be excluded?

Read Ephesians 2:13.

·         How does your perspective change when you get closer to Jesus?

What are the 5 Things the passage says about People Who Know Jesus

1.       ________________________

2.       ________________________

3.       ________________________

4.       ________________________

5.       ________________________

Read Ephesians 2:4-5.

·         What’s one way you’ve experienced God’s love? How have you shared God’s love? Jesus didn’t die to make you religious; He died to bring you to life and set you free.

Read Ephesians 2:14-17.

·         What’s one way you’ve seen God bring peace into a situation or a relationship?

Ephesians 2:19-22.

·         How has your life changed because you were included and connected to something bigger than yourself?

Read 2 Corinthians 4:15.

·         What is your reaction to seeing how Jesus is changing more and more people?

Next Steps

 Identify and take your next steps with Jesus (do this alone or with others in your group). Share your ideas and Pray and ask about their next steps later in the week.

Possible next steps:

·         Pray for the church, staff, and volunteers who will reach more people in HB.

·         Get involved in serving. Talk with your Group Leader about finding an area in the church to begin serving and talk to the minister or one of the Elders

·         Give to what God is doing at the church and help us reach more and more people. Give using the  

Pray

Thank Jesus for how He’s changing lives in Napier and how He will reach more and more people through our church.

God Talk: The Art of Spiritual Conversations

By John Crilly

This article was provided by Q Place, an organization that mobilizes churches and ordinary Christians to invite spiritual seekers into small group discussions, in which seekers explore their own questions and discover what they believe at their own pace.
We love the big stuff: the grandiose Olympic opening ceremony, the game-winning, last-second shot to win the championship, the glamorous, opulent wedding of Prince William and Kate Middelton. We can't help ourselves. We eat it up.
We carry this perspective into our approach to evangelism. We like the big outreach event, the dramatic conversion, and closing the deal with the all-important sinner’s prayer. The little stuff doesn't seem to matter as much to us.
In order to reach church outsiders intentionally today, we may have to consider a new perspective. What if we focused on the little things instead?
Consider an example from a book called The Tipping Point, in which author Malcom Gladwell suggests why crime in New York City in the 1980s took a precipitous decline in the 1990s.  To explain this drop in crime, Gladwell introduces the Broken Window theory of criminology, which argues that if a window is broken and left unrepaired in a neighborhood, people will slowly conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. The result invites more frequent and serious crimes. To reverse the crime trend, NYPD focused on the little things—like graffiti, panhandling, subway turnstile jumping—and it reduced overall crime quantity and severity. Many NY cops couldn’t understand why they were fixing windows and chasing vandals when they had more serious crimes to address. But it was the little stuff that really mattered—and had the biggest effect on reducing crime.
Interestingly, the little things seemed to matter to Jesus too: “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward”  (Mt 10:42).
In today’s evangelistic economy, little things don’t seem to count for much. But one could argue that small, simple steps—modern-day “cups of cold water” like paying attention to someone, listening to them, praying for them—should count as evangelism.

Over time, I learned the names of her children, her family life, her weekend plans. In fact, we even exchanged Christmas gifts! This all happened in a matter of a few seconds—depending on the honking of the cars behind me! Noticing her did not add much time or activity to my day. It was the simple, intentional turning of my attention that made the difference. Anyone could do this. You could do this.

Notice that the Art of Sharing is the last Art in the list.  Christians have historically considered this to be the exclusive practice of evangelism and have often bypassed normal conversational decorum to leap to the action of telling the gospel. However, the other eight Arts not only count, they lay a significant relational foundation and create a safe environment for sharing the good news. By following the Holy Spirit’s lead in noticing, praying, listening, asking questions, welcoming, loving, facilitating, and serving together, we can be respectful of the process and we will earn the trust to share our story and God’s story.

Ordinary folks like you and me can purposefully practice these simple arts, which are small incremental steps to building relationships with unchurched people—relationships that could eventually lead to ongoing spiritual conversations resulting in a life changing decision to follow Jesus.

Over time, I learned the names of her children, her family life, her weekend plans. In fact, we even exchanged Christmas gifts! This all happened in a matter of a few seconds—depending on the honking of the cars behind me! Noticing her did not add much time or activity to my day. It was the simple, intentional turning of my attention that made the difference. Anyone could do this. You could do this.

Notice that the Art of Sharing is the last Art in the list.  Christians have historically considered this to be the exclusive practice of evangelism and have often bypassed normal conversational decorum to leap to the action of telling the gospel. However, the other eight Arts not only count, they lay a significant relational foundation and create a safe environment for sharing the good news. By following the Holy Spirit’s lead in noticing, praying, listening, asking questions, welcoming, loving, facilitating, and serving together, we can be respectful of the process and we will earn the trust to share our story and God’s story.

Ordinary folks like you and me can purposefully practice these simple arts, which are small incremental steps to building relationships with unchurched people—relationships that could eventually lead to ongoing spiritual conversations resulting in a life changing decision to follow Jesus.


taken from http://www.outreachmagazine.com/features/4937-god-talk-the-arts-of-spiritual-conversations.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=omnewsletter&utm_content=OM+Newsletter+20140917

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