ICEBREAKERS
Make sure to start off with prayer. Then choose one or more questions to open up with.
- When do you typically start getting into the Christmas Spirit?
- Would you say that you "live to work" or that you "work to live"?
- What is the longest line you have every had to wait through?
Message Review
Main points and scriptures from this week's message.
Charlotte started with this question: "Who are you in line for?"
When you think of getting in line in the natural, you probably do not have great feelings that come up. We do not like being in line because it makes us impatient and frustrated. However, in God's Kingdom we are called to get in line for other people and benefit.
Many parents know what it is like to get in line for things that are not necessarily a benefit to themselves, but they do it for their kids. Parents sit in line for hours to shake hands of fake princesses and to take a picture with a fake Santa Claus. We do it because we care about our children, and God feels the same way about His children, and He is calling the church to get in line for them.
Charlotte shared three things we are called to do as Christians.
1. Start a line
At a grocery store when it gets really busy and the lines are long, people get impatient and frustrated. In this moment, relief and answers to prayer come when someone opens a new register and starts a new line. It is similar in the Kingdom of God, we need to look at the people who are hurting or far from God and say, "I am going to start a new line for you."
2. Finish a line
The people that you start a line for need you to finish it. They are tired of being let down, and it will be up to you to be that person that finishes what you started.
3. Stay in line
Back to the example in the grocery store. If you are in line with a cart full of groceries and you get frustrated by the line and you leave the store, you still need the things that were in your cart. Not only that, but if you try to go back to the store you have lost your place in line.
So many times in the church, people get hurt or frustrated, and they leave the line. God has called us to be a people that stay in line, because we are not just in line for ourselves.
TALK-IT-OUT
The following questions will help guide your discussions and give your group some opportunities to open up and share.
- Is there someone in your life that you would say got in line for you? Tell us about the sacrifices of that person and what it has meant for you.
- Who are you in line for? (children, neighbors, family, people ou are leading, etc.)
- What causes you to be impatient?
- What would you be willing to do for someone else's salvation?
- Are you willing to pay for what you are praying for?
- Have you ever quit something that you started? What caused you to quit?
WRITE-It-Out
Encourage your group to starting writing things down. In a journal or on paper write down the following:
- List out all of the people that you are in line for.
- List out all of the people that sacrificed and stood in line for you.
- A line you need to start, a line you started that you need to finish, and a line that you need to stay in.
Live-It-Out
Encourage your group to start doing. Commit to a step, and live it out this week.
- Thank God daily for the people that have sacrificed and stood in line for you. Then pray for the people that you are standing in line for.
- Serve together as a group. Every month we have serving opportunities with Champions Foundation. To view the calendar of events click HERE
- Go to Growth Track. This brand new opportunity at Champions Centre will help you to grow in your faith, relationships, and purpose. Every Sunday during the 11:30 service.
Closing Thoughts
- Finish group with prayer requests and praise reports.
- More resources always available here: Small Group Resources