Community Group Guide

> Why We Gather

At The Springs Church, we desire for community groups to be a place where we BEHOLD JESUS, BECOME LIKE JESUS, and BELONG IN COMMUNITY. This means that our primary goal for groups is to gather around the transforming presence of Christ. As we gather around the transforming presence of Jesus, we believe by faith that we will be incrementally transformed into His image and likeness. With that in mind, let's begin in prayer by asking the Holy Spirit to lead our time together, move on our hearts, and help us behold Jesus, become Like Jesus, and experince the gift of belonging in community. Let's pray.

> Announcements

Join us on the first and last Sunday of the month for Sunday Evening Prayer from 5 PM to 6 PM!

> Give Thanks

Take a few moments to briefly share about anything that you are thankful unto the Lord for? Perhaps you've witnessed God answer a prayer or experienced a moment that strengthened your faith. Feel free to share any recent occurrences that have encouraged you or instances where you've felt God's presence at work in your life.

> Scripture Reading

Have someone read Hebrews 11:17-22.

Does anything stand out to from the text or Sunday's sermon?

> Discussion Questions

Faith in the midst of hardship

The book of Hebrews is so named because it was written to Jewish believers in Jesus. These people often faced both family opposition and political opposition because of their faith. Christianity at the time of this letter faced persecution in the Roman empire. As Jessica Betz emphasized in the sermon on Sunday, these believers needed faith to carry them in the midst hardships they faced. In our passage for this week, the author of Hebrews reminds them of four stories from the Jewish scriptures that show such faith: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Each of these people looked in hope toward God bringing about good after their death (or the death of their child!). For instance, Isaac is recorded as blessing his two sons toward the end of his life. However, this brief reference in Hebrews 11:19 does not recount all the conflict and anger between the two sons that received these blessings. Jacob stole Esau’s blessing and Esau was angry enough afterward to kill Jacob, forcing Jacob to flee for many years to another land. This story brings us comfort because it reminds us that our faith in God’s resurrection life meets us in the midst of our troubles, not outside of them or after they are over. God is often most powerfully at work in the midst of challenging circumstances.

Reflection Question: How has faith carried you through previous or ongoing challenges?

Reflection Question: What current challenges do you need faith to sustain you through?

Faith is not generic, it is focused on resurrection

The focus of Hebrews 11 is on faith at the end of life. Abraham looked past the potential end of Isaac’s life, to hope that God would fulfill his promise of offspring even if Isaac died. Isaac expressed faith regarding the lives of his sons after his own death (after he was no longer able to manage conflict in his household). Jacob similarly blessed his sons before he died, and many of his other sons worried that Joseph might still want revenge after their father was gone. Joseph died with his whole family in Egypt, but anticipated when God would bring them back to Canaan as he had promised, though it would be 400 years later. What the writer of Hebrews wants us to notice is that Christian faith is not a generic hope that things will be alright in the end. Christian faith is focused on God bringing life even after death. Resurrection faith is a specific faith focused on Jesus and the life he makes available. Many of us face uncertainty in our family, in our work, and in our society that makes us uneasy. We are called to resurrection faith that God can still work out his purposes during conflict. Especially, we need to have faith that reaches past the edge of our control, such as after the end of our life.

Reflection Question: When you think about “resurrection faith”—a faith that trusts God to bring life even after death or loss, what would it look like to practice that kind of faith in areas of your life that feel uncertain or beyond your control right now?

Reflection Question: Why do you think it’s hard to trust God when we can’t see the outcome? What might help grow your faith in those moments?

> Confession and Prayer

Reflect and Pray: As we sit with this passage, ask God to bring to mind anything you need to confess or need prayer for. Take a moment to share and pray for one another. Feel free to split up into pairs depending on the group size.