Psalm 19:7-14
SCRIPTURE Psalm 19:7-14 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 …
Romans 10:9-17
SCRIPTURE Romans 10:9-17 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on…
Preparing for Lifegroup Launch
PRAY Pray for your Lifegroup. PREPARE Choose your time and place and enter them into your Lifegroup’s calendar in Planning Center. Click here for instructions. Choose your study from our pre-approved list. Choose how you will care for and disciple the children in your group (rotation or paid childcare). Prepare a snack signup sheet to be passed around at your 1st meeting. PURSUE Invite as many of your friends as you can think of. Encourage your regular Lifegroup members to…
Acts 15:1-21
SCRIPTURE Acts 15:1-21 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria,…
Acts 10-11
SCRIPTURE Acts 10:1-8, 34-43; 11:1-3, 12-18 Acts 10:1-8, 34-43 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is…
Acts 5:17-21, 27-42
SCRIPTURE Acts 5:17-21, 27-42 17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at…
A simple way to pray: reflect, respond, request
By Adam Pursel So many of us want a more consistent and life-giving prayer life, but we’re not sure how. Here is a simple format to follow to help you grow in prayer: Reflect, Respond, Request. Reflect Reflect and respond actually go together, and are the two parts of this format that people often skip. If you do that, you’re missing the best part! I’m not saying you can’t jump straight to requests in your prayers. I am saying that…
Acts 3:1-21
SCRIPTURE Acts 3:1-21 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention…
Acts 2:1-13
SCRIPTURE Acts 2:1-13 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under…
Acts 1:1-11
SCRIPTURE Acts 1:1-11 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem,…
Matthew 28:18-20
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” OBSERVATIONS Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus…
Study God’s Word, Part 1
By Adam Pursel It can be a struggle to consistently spend time in God’s Word for so many of us. We forget to do it. We feel like we don’t understand it. We weren’t very good in school and don’t like to sit and read. Whatever the reasons, we can go days, weeks, months, or even years without spending time in God’s Word. We want to help. Here are three simple ideas that will help you begin a habit…
Study God’s Word, Part 2
By Sam Romine As Christians, we understand the importance of reading and studying the Bible. This book contains the very words of God, it is the means by which He chose to reveal Himself to us, and in it, we find everything we need to live a godly life (2 Timothy 3:16). The problem is that this task can be incredibly overwhelming, and many of us do not know where to begin. While there are so many good books that…
How to pray in your Lifegroup
Charles Spurgeon once said, “Prayer is the powerhouse of the church.” His statement was true then and it is true now. Unless God’s people are actively praying for His hand on His Church and His leading in His Mission, they will be devoid of power and without direction. Luke tells his reader in Acts 2:42 four things that the followers of Jesus devoted themselves to: the apostle’s teaching, prayer, communion, and fellowship with other believers. At its core, it was…
John 21:15-19
John 21:15-19 15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because…
John 20:1-10
John 20:1-10 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were…
John 13:1-20
John 13:1-20 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. – John 13:1 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that…
Matthew 17:1-13
Matthew 17:1-13 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you…
Matthew 14:3-21
SCRIPTURE Matthew 14:13-21 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds…
Matthew 16:13-23
SCRIPTURE Matthew 16:13-28 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah!…
Luke 5:1-11
SCRIPTURE Luke 5:1-11 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.…
Esther 9-10
SCRIPTURE Esther 9:20-22 20 And Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far, 21 obliging them to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year, 22 as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into…
Esther 7-8
SCRIPTURE Esther 7:3-6 3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. 4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be…
Esther 5-6
SCRIPTURE Esther 5:1-2 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. 2 And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then…