Waymaker: Down to Earth, Pt. 1
Every time we gather as a group, these are some ways we ensure the best group discussion:
We make the circle safe by staying honest and transparent - leave the masks at the door.
We keep it inside the circle. Each person’s story is theirs alone to share.
We look to the Bible for wisdom and truth, and work together to let it shape how we see the world.
We don’t try to fix each other in front of each other or give unsolicited advice. We lovingly save hard conversations for private moments.
We respect each others’ time by starting and ending when we say we will.
We believe that in Jesus Christ, there is hope for everyone.
John 14:1-6
1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
C.S. Lewis
“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
Jesus says…
I am the WAY
I am the TRUTH
I am the LIFE
MUD: Memorable + Understandable + Doable
What was the most memorable part of the message or service this weekend for you personally? Why?
Did anything you heard challenge or influence how you think about God or your life?
How can what you learned influence or change how you live in everyday life? What tangible steps would it take to make that change a reality?
Additional Questions
We’ve probably all found ourselves pining for home, even though home is different for all of us.
Have you ever been in the middle of a supposed end-all-be-all experience… and found yourself just wanting to go home?
Have you ever gotten something you’ve been wanting, working for, or even desperate for… and found that it didn’t satisfy like you hoped it would?
Just 48 hours before Jesus is crucified, he tells his disciples “Do not let your hearts be troubled. you believe in God; believe also in me.” Mike said that in our darkest moments, we need to remind ourselves of this truth - that we can believe God is willing and able to help us.
How do you (or can you) practically and effectively remind yourself of this kind of truth in your dark or hopeless moments?
Jesus calls himself not just the “Way”, but the “Truth” as well. Mike said that we learn about God through the person of Jesus trumps anything that we may feel about what any church, person, or organization has taught us about God in the past.
What conflicting messages have you been taught about who God is and what He is like throughout your life?
How has learning about Jesus straight from the Bible helped rewrite over those old messages?
Jesus being the “Truth” also means that He is the true measure of righteousness and goodness that we can measure against - that He alone defines what “right living” looks like.
What does it mean for Jesus to be our standard of righteousness, or “right living”?
What other standards of righteousness do you find yourself taking cues from? Who or what else do you look to for guidance on what the "Truth” is and how to live in this world?
Jesus also calls himself the “Life”. Mike pointed out that we don’t ascend into heaven immediately when we believe in Jesus… Life on this side of eternity prepares us for the other side of eternity. All the commands in the Bible are about living a better and fuller life that brings us closer to God and points others to Him, too.
How much of a sense of purpose and meaning do you find in day-to-day life?
Who are you trying to help find Jesus? How does focusing on that mission change our own perspective and sense of fullness in life?
