Call and Response

GATHERING TOGETHER

Welcome one another, catch up with one another and share personal stories to encourage, strengthen, and support at a time of isolation and discouragement.

PRAYING TOGETHER

Share your needs, and pray for one another.

IN THE WORD TOGETHER

Learning the way of apprenticeship together.

SERVING TOGETHER

Identify a service project to participate in together.

Starter Question

Reflect briefly on the dynamic of “call and response.” (e.g., He is Risen … He is Risen indeed.”) When was the last time you saw this in your own life?

IN THE BOOK

Below there are three different types of questions, so we encourage you to seek a balance if possible. In addition, there is a Leader Study Notes section for further study!

  1. The Understanding questions are designed to refresh your group's memory about the text. These can be answered fairly briefly without a need for a longer discussion. (What does it mean?)

  2. Application questions are structured to draw out the ways the text, as preached, calls us to live. You should make a strong effort in your group to point people to Scripture as they’re discussing these. (How should I live?)

  3. We’ve built out Personal Sharing questions that connect with the sermon but make a more conscious effort to allow the members of your group to know each other better. These help to build a sense of trust by giving people a chance to share their lived experiences. (What is my experience?)

We pray that as you consider which of these questions work best for your group that God blesses your time together so that the Word of Christ “dwells in you more richly” and you become “knit together in love” as a community.

Receiving the Word

READ: 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

UNDERSTANDING:

v. 13 - Why did the Thessalonians eagerly receive the Gospel message?

v. 14 - How does Paul know God is working in the Thessalonian church?

v. 14-16 - What work was God doing in the lives of the Thessalonians?

APPLICATION:

Why do you think it’s important that Christians see God as the initiator of transformation in their lives rather than the person who delivers the Gospel message?

Read 1 Peter 1:23-25. What does the metaphor of God’s Word as “a seed” mean?

The way we respond to God’s Word colors the way we understand many things. What is good, beautiful, true, success, love, marriage, gender, etc.? How might you explain that difference to someone who knows only a little about our faith?

PERSONAL SHARING:

What was happening in your life when you first heard the Gospel message? How did that shape your response to God’s call on your life?

How do you handle the voices in our culture and society competing against the way God calls us to understand the world and ultimately live?

Summary

All we are, say, and do is in some way a form of response to God’s Word.
We either receive His Word of Life and partner with Him in His work, or we reject it and oppose Him in his work.

Let us not underestimate the power of meditating on God’s Word.
Let us not think little of speaking God’s Word to others.

For the power of life is in the seed of God’s Word—
not in our explanations, summations, or opinions.
Plant a life-filled seed. Speak God’s Word.

ONE ANOTHERING:

Whether you are meeting together or not, check in with one another to make sure that everyone is cared for and has what they need. Does someone in your group need help with grocery shopping, childcare, or caring for themselves? Keep a list of the ways you can provide care as a comGroup.

Remember that the Benevolence Ministry is a resource for our comGroups.

  • How can we love or serve one another this week?