Community Group Discussion Guide

Weekend of August 25 & 26, 2018The Church on Mission

I. Starter Question this week:

Have you ever been given a “mission”?

II. Discussion of Scripture:

NOTE: As we continue this 3-week mini-series on The Church, it is a good time for your CG to discuss the plan God has for His church. This week will be different because we can hear this weekend's sermon ahead of time. John preached a very similar sermon in May on a Wednesday night. Its content is so critical to the life of our body that he will be preaching it again this weekend. Watching his sermon in preparation for your group and listening to him preach again live this weekend will spur on discussion in your CG.

http://www.hhbc.com/sermons/mid-week-sermons/ is the link to watch the sermon. Scroll down to the May 30th sermon titled "Love God. Love People. Make Disciples."

Context: We have been given a clear mission from God Almighty. This week’s guide points us to prepare by watching the May sermon and pray for the Lord to lead us as we point our people to the mission He has called us for.

August 25/26 – “What Is the Mission of the Church?” – Pastor John will be re-preaching his

sermon from a Wednesday night in May on Love God, Love People, Make Disciples (Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 28:18-20).

September 1/2 – “What Is Your Role in the Church?” – This will be coming from Ephesians 4,

1 Corinthians 12/14, Romans 12, talking about spiritual gifts, membership, and how every one of us is called to serve within the church.

September 8/9 - We start into the book of James.

1. Love God. Love People.

Matthew 22:34-40 (ESV) - The Great Commandment - 34But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and

with all your mind. 38This is the great and first commandment.39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.40On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

For Discussion:

(v.35) Is our mission, given by God, a suggestion, a thought to discuss or a command?

Compare the context of Matt 22:34-40 with Deuteronomy 6, the Shemah. How would a Jewish family apply this command then? Today? How do we apply this command today? How can we write it on the doorframes of our house? As we lie down, as we walk, etc? Does this command permeate every aspect of our lives?

(v.37) Why do you think Jesus emphasized loving God with our heart, our soul and our mind? Spend discussing loving God with our heart, our soul and our mind.

How is loving God related to loving people? How can we live out loving our neighbor as ourselves?

2. Make Disciples

Matthew 28:18-30 (ESV) - The Great Commission - 18And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

For Discussion:

“GO”. Our mission is “as you are going”. Actively pursuing relationships for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission. Compare the as you are going with what we discussed previously in Deut. 6 of teaching when you are lying down, walking along the path, etc.

Where does our authority come from? As we are on mission, to understand the authority by which we have been commissioned, is critical to understand. Compare this with present day missions, commissions. For example, UN Ambassadors, military troops,

And He is with us always. How? What comfort is that in this mission? In this mission, who is our enemy and what is our hope in this battle? See Eph 6 Evaluate making disciples in your life and in our church.

III. Responding in Prayer:

1. Ephesians 6 gives us the recipe for handling spiritual warfare. As we teach on the church, the enemy wants to steal, kill and destroy our church. Let’s spend time praying for unity in

the body of Christ at Henderson Hills. Let’s pray for each other. Let’s ask the Lord to give us the strength to stand firm, and the strength to pray.

2. Pray for our church that we would be led by the Spirit to fully embrace the mission of our church: Love God, Love People, and Make Disciples. As Christians, we were chosen for purpose — the purpose of glorifying God, and we glorify God by loving him, loving people, and making disciples! Pray that God reveals His will and purpose to each of you in your CG.

Mission / Vision / Valuesof Henderson Hills Baptist Church

Our Mission:Love God. Love People. Make Disciples. Our Vision:Our vision is to become a diverse family of surrendered and transformed people who passionately love God and others. We endeavor to be a body that is overcome by the reality that this life is not about us, but all about the glory of God. We want to be transfixed by the gospel of Jesus Christ and compelled by His heart for our world. We strive to be seed-throwers and fire-starters, hope-announcers and grace-givers, risk-takers and constant-reformers, lifelong-learners and sold-out doers. We desire to be a people who gladly give our lives to free the captive, strengthen the weak, embrace the outcast, and seek out the lost. Because Scripture is our authority, we strive to be a family that serves together, studies the Word together, plays together, worships together, and lives life together. By God's grace our world will be changed because we are here. Our Values:

1. Glorifying God:

We value the passionate pursuit of knowing God and walking with Him.

2. Submitting to the Authority of Scripture:

We value the sufficiency of Scripture in every aspect of our lives.

3. Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

We value sharing the Gospel and making disciples.

4. Serving with a Kingdom Perspective:

We value living our lives focused upon what will matter most for eternity.

5. Cherishing the Local Church:

We value the essential role of the church in the sanctification of the believer and salvation of the nations.

6. Doing Life Together in a Christ-Centered Community:

We value that God uniquely uses personal relationships to sanctify and sharpen believers.