A House of Hope
A look into one of God’s greatest gifts, the Church.
Community Practices
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Pray
Gather together as a community in a comfortable setting, then have one person read 1 Peter 2:4-5 and invite the Holy Spirit to guide your time.
Recap
The New Testament is filled with metaphors describing what the church is. Whether it’s called the body of Christ, the family of God, a flock of sheep, or even living stones, the point remains the same; the church is a community of people marked by love, relational intimacy, and unity, all centered on the person of Jesus. The truth is, we cannot be followers of Jesus on our own! We are called to a shared life. Every person within the church has something to offer their brothers and sisters, and every person is needed.
We all know that the church is not a perfect place. It’s filled with people, and people are broken. But in the community of believers, each person is invited into a house of hope where they can find healing, care, and a place at the table of God. And when the church lives out their identity and calling as a unified people, even though they do it imperfectly, they stand as a witness to all of creation, pointing them to the goodness and love of God.
Discuss
Discuss the following prompts as a group.
If you haven’t already, take a few moments to check in with each other (share highs and lows, give an update on your past week, etc.).
What is one thing that stood out to you from the most recent teaching?
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “church”?
What changes when we stop seeing church as a place we go and start seeing it as who we are?
The teaching talked about four “devotions” present in the early church (devotion to the Apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer/worship). Which of these are the easiest, and which are the hardest, for you to practice?
Practice
This week’s practice is an invitation for you to consider how your everyday relationships and routines can be a reflection of the church as a community built on Jesus.
Part 1: Read and Reflect
Take a few minutes to read Colossians 3:12-17 slowly. Spend a short time in silence with Jesus, and then ask, “If my closest relationships looked completely shaped by the peace and word (or message) of Christ, what would change?” If helpful, journal anything that comes to mind.
Part 2: Consider Your Space and Time
Take a few moments to walk through your living space or look at your weekly calendar. As you do, ask Jesus to help you identify a physical spot or time slot (such as your kitchen table, a lunch break, or a free weeknight) and write down one simple way you can use that space or time to welcome or serve someone else this week. As an act of accountability, make a specific plan for how you will welcome or serve someone, and share it with a trusted friend.
Part 3: Pray and Encourage
This week, ask Jesus to bring someone to mind from your community group or church family that you can pray for or encourage. Whether it’s a brief word of encouragement, a thank you for how they reflect Christ, or a specific offer to pray for them, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Reach out over text, through a phone call, or simply talk to them in person the next time you see them. Once again, make a specific plan for how you will do this, and share it with a friend for accountability.
Be ready to share about your experience with your community the next time you meet.
Pray
To end your time, read 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 as a group and then have someone close in prayer.
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Pray
Gather together as a community in a comfortable setting, then have one person read Hebrews 12:11 and invite the Holy Spirit to guide your time.
Recap
It’s easy to imagine the early followers of Jesus as having an idyllic church experience, especially if we only consider the description of their activity in Acts 2:42-47. When we read that passage, it seems that everyone was joyfully doing life together, sharing their resources, and spending all their time having meals and worshiping. But life as a first-century follower of Jesus was far from easy, and certainly wasn’t pain free. And frankly, the same is still true today.
But the invitation we receive from Jesus, when we experience the pains of this life, is not to ignore them or explain them away. Instead, it’s to face them head on, with the help of the Holy Spirit and the love of our brothers and sisters around us, so that the pain we face becomes an opportunity for our education. The author of Hebrews calls us to endure hardship as discipline, or education, so that through it we will reap a harvest of righteousness and peace. And through it all, we get to fix our eyes on Jesus, who did not shy away from his own pain. Instead, for the joy set before him, he endured the cross so that we might be redeemed and restored to our loving Father.
Discuss
Discuss the following prompts as a group.
Spend a few minutes debriefing last week’s take-home practice (Did you do it? How did it go?).
What is one thing that stood out to you from the most recent teaching?
Sunday’s teaching reframed the idea of enduring hardship and pain as discipline into the broader concept of enduring it as education. How could that help you adjust the way you think about or respond to pain and hardship?
Where in your life are you currently feeling pain?
How can we, as the church, practically walk with our brothers and sisters in their pain?
Practice
This week, set aside 15-30 minutes for a time of Scripture reading and reflection.
Begin with a few moments of centering silence. Then, invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you through the words of Scripture and read Hebrews 12:5-11 slowly.
After reading the passage, write down anything that feels challenging or comforting to you regarding the discipline of God.
Next, ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind a past season of hardship or pain with the goal of exploring it through two lenses: The lesson and the fruit.
The Lesson: What did I learn about God’s character that I could have only learned through this season of hardship or pain?
The Fruit: What specific spiritual fruit (e.g., patience, humility, empathy, grace) did the season produce in my life?
Ask Jesus to help you identify the lesson and the fruit that you gained from that past experience. If helpful, journal anything that comes to mind.
When your time is over, close with a simple prayer of thanksgiving to the Father.
Be ready to share about your experience with your community the next time you meet.
Pray
To end your time, read Hebrews 12:1-3 as a group and then have someone close in prayer.
