SUNDAY MESSAGES

James – Solving Practical Problems – Don’t Play Favourites!

Questions from the message:

  1. In what ways can you show love to yourself? 
  2. Do you dismiss them as ‘trouble’ and ignore them or leave them to ‘someone else’ to look after, or do you intentionally make a decision to invest in that person and integrate them as part of the community or family? 
  3. Who are you showing favouritism to and as you think about that, who is it that are you ignoring? Who are you including and who are you excluding?
  4. Who is it that Jesus is calling you – today – to love as yourself? Who is it whom Jesus is calling you to include and not to exclude?

James: Solving Practical Problems – Listening is great but doing is even better

Questions from Today’s Message:

  1. Do you know Christians who struggle to control their tongue?  
  2. Are you at times like that? How can you be proactive in changing that?
  3. If you spread your ‘net’ or your ‘sphere of influence’ a little wider than widows and orphans, how are you practising this care to others? How are you ‘doing?’ 
  4. When you look in the mirror of your life and the way you live it, what and where are the areas that you need to take action in to move from hearing to doing?
  5. As you look into the ‘mirror’, what is Jesus reflecting back to you that might need to change in your life?

James – Solving Practical Problems – Stickability

Questions from the Message:

  1. There is an anonymous quote says: “Some people get angry because God put thorns on roses. Others rejoice because God put roses on thorns.” A lack of patience can breed an attitude of anger so: Who do you need to practice patience with – in your life? How can you do that?
  2. Are you being too hard on yourself? Is the secret to your personal stickability in being more patient with yourself?
  3. Do you need to get down on your knees and simply thank God for giving you such unique opportunities to develop and display patience to those around you in this time?
  4. Have you taken some time to discern – in prayer and with significant influencers in your life – God’s purposes for you in this time of your life?
  5. When have/do you yearned for the ‘greener grass’ of the other side?

Faith that overcomes

Questions from the message:

  1. What would it mean for you to build your faith in Him? Is it His heart?, His character, His wisdom, His capacity or is it His grace? What is it that you most need to build your trust in?  What would it take for you to grow your faith so that you might overcome?
  2. How could you build the faith of people around you so that they might overcome also?

Encouragement

Questions from the message:

  1. Is your hope unswerving? Where have you seen the faithfulness of God and how might that remind you of the anchoring, firm and secure hope we have in Jesus?
  2. What “love and good deeds” have you witnessed?
  3. Who might God be asking you to bless?
  4. What have you missed most about meeting together?
  5. What might you do to encourage others and remind them of their connectedness to your faith community?

Part 11 Discipleship – Walking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors

Questions from the message:

  1. We may know sports figures, their statistics, even their personal likes and dislikes, but we don’t really know them. How well do you know God? You likely know all about Him, you likely have studied His book, the Bible, but do you actually know Him? Are you spending dedicated time each day with him? What does that look like?
  2. What do you need to rearrange in your life so that discipleship – your own and that of others can take priority? Who are you discipling?
  3. Discipleship is a daily part of our life of worship, so what needs to change so that my life fits around worship and not that worship fits around my life? In other words – is discipleship a core part of my daily growth to spiritual maturity?

Part 10 Discipleship: Qualities of the Hand – The Ministry of a Disciple

Questions from the message:

  1. How would you respond to someone who said: “You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian?”
  2. With whom do you have relationships that encourages depth & transparency? If you find it hard to identify people that fit into this category, with which acquaintances might you develop deeper relationships?
  3. Why is having a few deep relationships so important to spiritual growth, and what are the challenges to having these relationships?
  4. What gifts, skills, and passions has God given you to serve His purpose? How are you using those gifts, skills, and passions?
  5. In what ways can you grow in your ability to serve Him?

Part 9 Discipleship: Qualities of the Hand – The Mission of a Disciple

Questions from the message:

  1. What do you notice about the way that Jesus interacted with people? Did He react differently with religious and non-religious people? What can we learn from His attitude as we engage with the world around us?
  2. In terms of your own faith growth, who has helped you in your discipleship journey? How were they influential in your life?
  3. Who is God putting in your path who is not a Christian? In what ways are you relating the Gospel in way that is meaningful and pertinent to them? How can you play your part – as God uses you – in bringing them to faith?
  4. Can you identify newer or younger believers that you could disciple?
  5. How are you being an active carrier of God’s aroma that makes Jesus ‘non-ignorable’ in the places you live, work and play?
  6. What are you doing to cultivate missional relationships with people outside of the TCF community? How do you handle objections or opposition to your faith in Jesus?
  7. Are you grabbing hold of the unique opportunities you have right now to invite people to what could be described as a ‘once in a lifetime-looking church?’

Part 8 Discipleship: Satisfied Living, Bearing the Fruit of Faithfulness & Self-Control

Questions from the message:

  1. Are you that faithful kind of friend and servant of Jesus? Are others able to describe you – even praise you – with the term faithful? Have you found something outside yourself that is big enough to deserve your highest love and loyalty? Have you found something that demands your energy and your effort?
  2. Where is your internal ‘line in the sand’ in regard to wading into dangerous rip tides of losing your self-control?
  3. In what ways do you practice self-control?  How can you build on that? How can you model that to others?
  4. In what ways do you lack patience or self-control?  What steps can YOU take to improve on that?

Part 7 Discipleship: Satisfied living, bearing the fruit of joy, peace and patience

Questions from the Message:

  1. JOY – Where are you finding your joy?  Is it in Jesus? And if you have that joy, is it overflowing and changing the atmosphere around you?
  2. PEACE – What might be stopping you from having peace – from experiencing ‘Shalom?’ Don’t we all desire peace? The world hungers for peace of heart and while the statesmen and diplomats of the world work for outward peace, it is only Jesus Christ who can produce peace within individuals.
  3. PATIENCE – What do you do to practice patience – to keep from losing your temper? From going postal? Do you even try? When you find yourself losing patience, what can you do to react in a way that honours Jesus?