Christian Small Groups

Christian Small Groups is a Bible study on the 3 Devotions of a Small Group-Christian Discipling, Christian Fellowship and Christian Ministry. Learn what the Bible says your home group should be doing.

Online Christian Discipleship School
LifeCycle Series D2

Christian Small Groups

Instructions: You can use the course online or print each lesson and fill in the blanks. If you're taking these courses with the goal of receiving a diploma or becoming a member of Web-Church, you must answer and file a copy of each lesson to submit to Web-Church once you've completed all lessons. If you wish to make a file copy, you can highlight the text and paste it into a text file. Pay close attention to any affirmations, commitments or Bible memory verses at the end of lessons. These are included to help cement the lesson content into your life.

Introduction: In Session B4, we studied the Soil Of His People and you committed to begin gathering regularly with a small group of people who follow Jesus…a Devotional Group. This is necessary for Spiritual growth because intimate relationships with other believers makes us stronger by challenging us and keeping us accountable to others who know us, thereby improving the quality of our devotional life. We covered all that…feel free to review if you wish. This session is not a duplication, but an extension of your "Gathering" group into reproduction. If you aren't part of a Gathering, this session will be pointless until you fulfill the commitment you made then and start meeting regularly with an intimate group of believers. If you are part of a regular gathering, please continue with the session.

In Session D1, we covered the ministry calling of each individual disciple…to reproduce. In this session, we will cover the Gathering of disciples; how that Gathering works to nurture new disciples, how the Gathering finds its Ministry in the world and when to Reproduce new Gatherings.

1. Gathering is Devotion to Christian Discipling (Nurturing):

One of the first experiences we had as new Christians was in a small, intimate group of older disciples, whether that took place in a home, restaurant or classroom doesn't matter. Read Acts 2:46-47 and describe the environment that the new believers were introduced to:___________________

How often did they meet? _________. What did they do during these meetings? __________. How do you feel this would nurture a new follower of Jesus?____________

In those days, there were no indoctrination classes or membership pledges. No membership applications or rote statements to repeat or pray. New believers were included in the meals in people's homes as if they were family. They learned to follow Jesus by being with other followers of Jesus (discipleship). Paul wrote the Colossian home churches and said this: Col 3:16-17 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you _____ and admonish one another with ___ wisdom, and as you sing ______, hymns and _________ songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." They needed no one to deliver a weekly sermon because the Holy Spirit led them all. They needed no one to lead in worship because worship was what they lived, not something they witnessed only once a week. Read I Cor chapter 2: Why do you feel Paul didn't need eloquence to convince the Corinthians about Christ?_____________________________________________. What do you feel Paul meant when he said "we received" "the Spirit who is from God"? _____________________________________________________ What does it mean when Paul says we have the mind of Christ? _____________How do you feel a local traditional church would change if the paid leaders sold the building and left town and the believers had no choice but to worship God together in each other's homes? Do you feel their relationship with God would get stronger or weaker? ____________ Why?__________________

In our Gatherings, new Christians are automatically nurtured just by being part of an intimate group of Christians. Prov 13:20. This is the true meaning of the word disciple. It's frustrating to see how many educated ministers who should know better, use the words disciple and student interchangeably. They are not the same. A student learns about a subject from a teacher who may or may not have any actual experience with the subject. Neither experiences the subject in the teaching or the learning. A disciple lives the subject with the teacher, sleeps where the teacher sleeps, eats what the teacher eats, does what the teacher does. In the case of following Jesus…He is the teacher and we are all His disciples, living His life together. Gal 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but ______ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." In our Gathering, we nurture each other as we all follow Christ together.

One more point on nurturing. Some groups may choose to include children right in the fellowship, prayer and Bible study time. If they stay interested, we recommend it. Often, a parent's job is easier in such a setting. Also, the honesty and bluntness of teenagers is often a great educator to us older folks who have learned to dodge hard issues. They often nurture us.

Continued at Christian Small Groups-2

Christian Small Groups

I'm honored that you've allowed me to be a part of your Christian life. Please return often for fellowship, study and prayer. Thank you very much for visiting.

Love & Hugs,
Glen

Christian Small Groups is a Bible study on the 3 Devotions of a Small Group-Christian Discipling, Christian Fellowship and Christian Ministry. Learn what the Bible says your home group should be doing.