From blog.emmanuelbaptist.com site.

Here is the resource I posted at yesterday (01.23) blog.emmanuelbaptist.com for this week's Soul Care questions.

I want to encourage you as a Soul Care leader to check the online resources I reference in the Soul Care notes.




This week's Soul Care questions deal with observing Romans 6:1-11, the passage Pastor Duke preached from this week.

Below are some additional questions for studying the Epistles

For more One to One Bible Reading resources you can download, click HERE


Context questions:
What can you learn about the person or situation to which the letter is written?
What clues are there about the author and his circumstances?
What was the main point of the passage immediately before this one?
Are there logical or thematic connections to the passage you are reading?

Observation questions:
Are there any major sub-sections or breaks in the text?
Are there key connecting words (for, therefore, but, because) that indicate the logical flow of the passage?
What is the main point or points?
What supporting points does the author make?
What surprises are there in the flow of the argument?

Meaning questions:
How does this text relate to other parts of the book?
How does the passage relate to Jesus?
What does this teach you about God?
How could you sum up the meaning of this passage in your own words?

Application questions:
How does this passage challenge (or confirm) your understanding?
Is there some attitude you need to change?
How does this passage call on you to change the way you live?

Studying Romans 6 with Soul Care

This week's Soul Care questions have a specific observation question.

Don't over complicate the question or allow your group members to do it

Here is the observation question "From Romans 6:1 - 11, what should we know?"

Below is the passage with the simplest answers to this question.  The answers are highlighted.

Be sure check this Sunday's blog post about leading the discussion time:  http://blog.emmanuelbaptist.com/bible-reading-helps-for-this-week-and-beyond/

1  What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound

2  By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?  

3  Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 

4  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6  We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.7  For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Correction to one of the soul care questions.

The second Soul Care question had a mistake.  

Thanks to two of the Sunday night leaders who texted me about it last night to let me know.

I want to let the Wednesday and Thursday leaders know about that now so you can be aware of it before your group time. 

The correction is in red bolded letters.

Take five minutes to write down five different, significant causes of spiritual growth in your life.  Write only one cause on each of the five index cards/slips of paper your Soul Care leader has for you.  Share one & give all of them to your leader.

The question is related to my last email asking you if you needed index cards for your group. 

I only heard back from 2 leaders so I am assuming everyone else has enough index cards or slips of paper to give five pieces to everyone.

In having your group share one, each member should read one of their answers directly from their card.

This activity is meant to help you and your group think about some things that help grow an atmosphere of grace.

I am predicting that the five answers will fall into a few general categories.

After collecting your groups’ answers, this upcoming Sunday you can leave them in my mailbox or put them in an envelope and put them in the mailbox in the foyer.

I am looking forward to reading about and sharing how God has grown people in our church.

My Lack of Preparation & What Your Preparation Should Look Like! - Life of Preparation.

For this upcoming week's Soul Care, you are going to need 5 index cards for each person in your Soul Care group.
If you need index cards, email me how many cards you need.

First of all, I want to apologize for not getting prayer helps out this week.
There was a post on the church blog, blog.emmanuelbaptist.com, yesterday with some prayer tips connected with the Fighter Verse

Hopefully you had a good time meeting together and praying.

Recently, I have spoken to a couple of people about Soul Care leader preparation.
The title of the email I sent out today was "My Life of Preparation."
I want to remind you in this post that almost all of your preparation for leading your Soul Care group is what we all should be doing all the time.

Living life to glorify God by helping others!!

Here are a couple of thoughts about leading a Soul Care group:

• Soul Care is what we all should be doing all the time.  
• Soul Care groups provide a time and place to practice what we should be doing all the time.
• Soul Care group leaders are imperfect examples of church members trying to do and show others what we should be doing all the time. 

• As a Soul Care leader, you are NOT teaching material.  Here is a good way to think about your role.  "Leaders prompt and cultivate the sharing of current life concerns with an eye towards how the sermon might speak to it."

• As a Soul Care leader, openly share about how you are thinking about and applying the sermons and Bible truths to life.  

• Your preparation time for Soul Care should be about 1.5 hours per week.  Now you might be thinking "I don't have that much time to study and read.   Let me break down the 1.5 hours for you.
• 15 minutes:  Think about how you are going to talk to people about how you have been thinking about and applying the sermon to your life. 
• 1 hour 15 minutes:  Pray that you and the members of your group would be living out the Biblical truths they are hearing.  If you take 10 minutes a day to pray like this for your group, that is 1 hour and 10 minutes.  
• There is about 1.5 hours per week of preparation.  83% of this preparation time is praying for others which we all should be doing all the time.

How to Record Your Attendance on Arena video!

UPDATE:  

DO NOT use the members.emmanuelbaptist.com site.

1. Use arena.emmanuelbaptist.com and if your password doesn't work email me at drodgers@emmanuelbaptist.com
2. On the left side you need to click on "Groups"
3. Then click on "Group Trees"
4. From this point you find your group and then follow the directions as they appear in the video below

This 5 minute video walks you through the process of recording your attendance in Arena.

ALWAYS BE SURE TO LOG OUT WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED!





Thanks!!