Topic: spiritual family

Title: When We Trust God Together
Series: Songs for All Seasons
Text: Psalm 115

The community of God is called to remember God’s greatness and to choose to trust Him, instead of idols. When we do so, God will bless us and renew us in Him.

General Questions:

  1. Read through Psalm 115. What does the text reveal about the psalmist’s understanding of and relationship with God? Considering this, in what ways does our understanding of and relationship with God need to change?
  2. The text of Psalm 115 suggests it was sung corporately in the nation of Israel. What did Israel, as a community, sing about? What truths did they proclaim about God? What is the role of the community in proclaiming these truths with and to one another?
  3. Put yourself in the shoes of an Israelite, during a festival celebration when Psalm 115 was sung. What impact would hearing the words of Psalm 115, sung by your fellow Israelites, have on you, especially if you were feeling discouraged? How does this experience enrich our understanding of gathering as a spiritual community? Why is it important for us to gather?

Perspective Questions:

  1. Psalm 115 tells us to praise God together. What is the difference between singing songs of praise in private or recording our testimonies in our diaries, as compared to singing together and sharing our testimonies with one another? How does this affect our attitude towards gathering for LG and for weekly services? 
  2. Manmade idols can never replace the place of God in our community. What are some manmade idols (e.g. busyness, success, people’s approval, performance, self-dependence) that we are susceptible to worshiping? Verses 4-8 describes such manmade idols: what do these verses show about the manmade idols we seek? How has worshiping these idols affected us as well as our understanding of God and His power?  
  3. In what ways might we have become over-familiar with God’s grace and works? How has this over-familiarity affected the way we respond to and relate with God? What can we do to avoid being over-familiar with God’s grace and works?
  4. If God gives you a blank cheque to ask for anything that is godly for the LG, what would you ask for? Why do we not regularly ask God for these things in our LG? What does our lack of asking reveal about our understanding of and relationship with God?

Application Questions:

  1. What are some areas in which we can change how we conduct our LG meetings?
    • How can we help one another to remember that God is active in our lives?
    • How can we, when we gather, be more proactive in involving God in the seemingly mundane things (e.g. work, bringing our children to/from school) in our lives?
    • As a community, how can we develop the habit to seek God for breakthroughs?

Title: Caring for One Another
Text: Philemon 22-25

True fellowship in the Gospel entails caring for one another by practising hospitality and rendering support to one another.

General Questions:

  1. What is hospitality to you? Do you have any personal experiences as a giver or receiver of great hospitality? How did those experiences make you feel or impact you?
  2. Other than showing hospitality, we care for one another by supporting one another in the mission that God has entrusted to us. Why do you think Paul always make special mention of people who partnered with him in his letters? What do you think fulfilling God’s missions will be like if we do it on our own?

Perspective Questions:

  1. Early Christians showed hospitality by opening their homes and giving traveling missionaries food, shelter and even funds for the next leg of their journey. What does “unreasonable hospitality” look like to you in your context, such as LG, family and workplace? What is the motivation behind Christian hospitality?
  2. True fellowship in the gospel is not just about sharing lives and memories with one another but also sharing in God’s mission. Do you think this element of fellowship is evident in your Christian fellowship groups? What do you think will happen if this aspect is neglected?

Application Questions:

  1. What do you think a hospitable LG looks like? What roles can you play to raise the level of hospitality in your LG?
  2. Who are the people you can support to fulfil the Great Commission? How do you think you can use your time, talent and treasures to support them, and in particular our pastors and leaders?

Series: True Fellowship In The Gospel
Title: New Relationships in Christ
Text: Philemon 1-6

The letter to Philemon is short but has something important to say about how our relationship with Jesus changes the way we relate with one another. Our faith is personal but not private and our love has to be active, not passive.

General Questions:

  1. Read through the whole book of Philemon together. Recall and discuss the relationship between Philemon, Paul and Onesimus. Why do you think this personal letter was eventually included in the Bible?
  2. While we have the liberty to choose our friends, we do not have equal freedom in choosing whom God places in our church community. We are called to love all our brothers and sisters in Christ. Why do you think this is the case? What is God’s intent in getting us to be part of a spiritual family now that we are in Christ?

Perspective Questions:

  1. The title of this sermon is “It’s Not Just You – It’s Us”. In today’s individualistic society, it is easy to fall into the trap believing that all you need is yourself. What does it mean that our faith is personal but not private? What are some benefits of living out our faith in community?
  2. In the sermon, the preacher pointed out that the phrase “every good thing for the sake of Christ” seems to refer to suffering for Christ. There are times where we miss the suffering/needs of those in your community. What causes us to miss out on the needs of our brothers and sisters, especially when they go through difficult time? What can we do as a community to help stand with each other in suffering?

Application Questions:

  1. We love because God first loved us. What is one practical step you can take this week to refresh another brother or sister in Christ? Share how you can continue this practice of loving others actively and make it part of your lifestyle.
  2. It is easy to take our lifegroup for granted especially when we have been enjoying the presence of our community for awhile. Share one thing you are grateful for your lifegroup and thank them for it.

Our relationship with God is both a personal faith decision as an individual and a corporate experience as a community. Explore why we have to gather in life groups and how we can share life, love one another, and truly be better together!