07/08/2022  |  MOVING TOWARD MATURITY  |  MY ENVIRONMENT – MY REALITY

Fellowship (10 min)

Begin with general conversation and sharing about how the past week has gone. Try not to go over time.

Worship and Prayer (15 min)

Click on the link below on your smartphone, Smart TV, or computer, to select songs to sing; and then spend a few minutes in song and prayer.

PLETT METHODIST YOU TUBE CHANNEL SONG’S PLAYLIST:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbsAkwbV_S1vXdZVPkZ0_tQW5n9RqeZX0

And if you need to check on the Message for the week again, then click on:

PLETT METHODIST YOU TUBE CHANNEL (MESSAGE): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU1X4YYw1KLpda1yGnqKgfw/videos

This time of worship and prayer will encourage you to move your thoughts from daily worries and pressures to our time of Bible study and prayer.

READINGS:  1 Corinthians 3:1-3 ; Hebrews 5:11-14; 1 Corinthians 3:6-7

Last week you took some time to describe what your relationship with God was like. Let’s develop this idea a bit more:

  • if your relationship with God is like a plant (maybe a mint plant?)
  • What would it look like today? (has it changed at all since last week?)

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  • What are some examples of positive relationships in your life (think friends and family)? Picking one of those relationships, what role have you played in that relationship that has made it positive?

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  • Both the Corinthians and the Hebrews missed out on amazing things from God because they were not mature enough to receive what God wanted to give them. How do you feel about possibly missing out on things from God because of a lack of spiritual maturity? Does it make you excited knowing that God has got awesome things in store for you as you mature in your relationship with him?

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  • The Corinthians lacked maturity because they got distracted by ‘worldly’ things, the Hebrews lacked maturity because they became lazy and no longer cared about the things of God. Do you identify with either of these two groups? What areas in your life do you feel you maybe lack maturity and need to bring to God?

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Read 1 Corinthians 3:6-7

  • How does it make you feel knowing that you can’t make your relationship with God grow, but can only take responsibility for the environment the relationship is in?

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Read Matthew 13:1-10.

  • Which person in the story do you identify with? Use this to describe what your ‘environment’ is like at the moment.

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  • Based on your answer to the previous question, what can you do to change your environment so that it can allow your relationship with God to grow? (In other words, how can you water your relationship? Make sure your soil is fertile? etc.)

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To tie things together, last week we spoke about Hebrews 11:8 (read this scripture again if you need to) and how ultimately the mature Christian is concerned about 1 thing above all else: knowing God more deeply and personally each and every day.

  • How does the desire to know God more change your environment?

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Hebrews 12:2 tells us:

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The joy of knowing God, being obedient to God, and knowing us, is what kept Jesus going through being crucified on the cross. The joy of knowing God deeper, and knowing us more intimately, gave Jesus the strength to endure tortutre and an excruciating death. Let us focus on the joy of knowing God to strengthen us through all we may experience.

God Bless

Troy