The Motions Week One

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THE MOTIONS: Week 1 – The Negotiation Open in Prayer W elcom e/Introductions/Cast Vision Rem ind the Grow Group of the ground rules Share context of the story [Provide context by sharing the information below.]

The entire fourth chapter of Romans is devoted to Abraham. Paul uses Abraham as the prime example of the critical biblical truth that man can become right with God only by responding in faith to God’s grace and never by works. As Paul shared with the Ephesians, it is by grace that we are saved through faith and not of ourselves, it is a gift of God, not as a result of works, lest we would boast. Tell the story – Romans 4:1-5 [Have someone tell the story.] Rebuild the story [Group members tell the story together based on what they remember.] Read the story out loud [Read the scripture passage to see if anything was added or omitted.] Discuss these questions:

1. What do we learn about God from this passage? [God demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us; God wants me to abandon my efforts to earn salvation and place my faith in Him alone; God calls us to follow Abraham’s example and live by faith in Him (Hebrews 11:6); God is able to do abundantly beyond all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20-21); God calls us to repent, turn from sin and self to God (II Peter 3:9); etc.]

2. What do we learn about Man/Us from this passage? [I can boast proudly in my “good works”; I still can find it difficult to accept God’s grace by faith alone; I am prone to judge others by the speck in their eyes without looking at the log in mine; I judge others based upon my areas of strength and not my areas of weakness; I am a sinner in desperate need of a Savior; my abiding relationship with Jesus Christ will result in Him producing spiritual fruit in my life (John 15); etc.]

3. What is God saying to you specifically through this passage as it pertains to your life, marriage, family, and work? 4. In light of what you’ve learned today, what do you need to do to obey God? Other Q uestions specific to this passage:

1. If a person could be saved merely by doing “good works”, then whom did you know growing up that you would have considered “saved” because of their actions? 2. Have you ever performed “works” in order to earn salvation? What did you do? Assign Next week’s passage – Rom ans 6:1-23 [Ask someone to tell the story next week.] Close in Prayer

THE MOTIONS: Week 1 – Leadership Coaching The purpose of this page is to help you sharpen your skills as a Grow Group leader. Each week, we will include concepts, challenges, and resources designed to assist you as you lead and shepherd your Grow Group and grow as a disciple yourself.

Leading [learn to facilitate your group more effectively] Remember that our goal is to help our people walk through the head, heart, hands process. Here are some good questions for helping those in your Grow Group wrestle with the passage you are studying. (1) What do you see about yourself? (2) Have you known anyone who is an example of this? (3) What has it looked like when you have or have not known/believed/lived this in your life? (4) What questions does this raise for you?

Shepherding [know the sheep, feed the sheep, lead the sheep, protect the sheep] A great way to get to know the “sheep” in your Grow Group is to get to know their family as well. Make an effort to set aside time for not only “one on one meetings” with those in your group, but where it is applicable, have some mixed family time with them as well. Taking interest in someone’s family is a huge way to (1) gain their respect, which is very helpful in the discipleship process and (2) learn about other ways you could minister to them.

Developing [grow as a disciple yourself] An important part of continuing to grow as a disciple-maker is to invest time learning from others who are great disciple-makers. Clearly, our greatest example is Jesus, and the Bible gives us lots of Christians to observe. But, it never hurts to sit down across the table from someone and glean from their experiences. Think about whom you know that is successful in the area of disciple making and invite them to lunch. Prepare ahead of time with questions or struggles that you have faced recently. We are a community of believers and God has given us one another. What a great resource!