Suggestions for leading Session #2: CULTURE

First of all, be sure to let me know
anything that would be helpful for other leaders (post in the comment section or email me)
any blessing that would be an encouragement (post in the comment section or email me)
any suggestions/critiques that will help this specific ministry grow (email me)


For our Kid’s Devotional part

We talked about promises and the fact that God is faithful.

Clarification of the 2 Chronicles 7:14 section…

Moore states that often we read passages of scripture thinking the Bible is addressing America like 2 Chronicles 7:14 

Here is an expansion/clarification of what Moore said about how we should read this passage and other passages. 

This was originally written stating that a specific nation (Israel) would receive a specific blessing (the healing of their land).

“Their land” refers to the specific land that God promised Abraham. 

If we think of the church as God’s people, we need to remember that the church has no land, the way Israel had a land.  

We are aliens and exiles (1 Peter 2:11). 

A proper way to think about this verse is that God is faithful to his promises.  Does this sound familiar?  Hint:  Sunday’s sermon. 

We need to be living with God’s glory and will in mind.   This Future Kingdom mindset doesn’t mean we live anyway we want.  We realize that God wants us to proclaim the life changing truth of the Gospel in the self-seeking, fallen world.

More from the video, the concept of Engaging the Culture provides a great talking point for Session #2.

Replicating the culture  

Raging against the culture

We need to start with the Gospel which should sound alarming and distinctive to the world.

Values, morals and principles are not the starting points.  JESUS IS!

As I watched and prepared for the lesson, I realized I want to help myself and others in my group understand GROW IN COMPASSION FOR OTHERS!

Another way to think of ENGAGING THE CULTURE is LOVE OTHERS!

A STRIKING EXAMPLE:  the hotel maid discipling the corporate CEO.  In this example what is valued?

Here is a point I am going to be making on the church blog.

We are doing a Bible Teaching Hour class entitled "I Will."  The subtitle is Nine Traits of the Outwardly Focused Christian.
We are doing a small group study entitled Onward.  There is a question on page 35 that asks "Why is it important for us to first focus on the culture inside our churches before we engage the culture of the world outside it.  

So what is it?

Being an outwardly focused Christian
or
First focus on the culture inside our churches... 

These two foci are not different they are the same.

The "first focus on the culture inside our churches" is not a command to be selfish.
It is a self-awareness.  We need to understand and address the issues within the church, not merely rage against the culture around us.  Pay careful attention to Russell Moore's example around 13 minutes in the video.
The question to consider is "How am I kicking against the scriptures?  How am I evading the Gospel?"

This self-examination reminds us that we all are sinners in desperate need of a savior, the Savior, Jesus.

Here are some quotes I have shared before from the book Compelling Community.  
These quotes help us see that what the church ultimately has in common is not a demographic or a set of morals.  What we have in common is our sin nature and our salvation through Jesus.

“When Christians unite around something other than the gospel, they create community that would likely exist even if God didn’t. As a modern-day tower of Babel, that community glorifies their strength instead of God’s.” (23)  

“To follow Christ is to love other Christians. . . . Love between believers isn’t a sign of maturity; it’s a sign of saving faith.” (52)

For more quotes from this great book, click HERE