3.Discussion notes

‘Starter for Ten’ Question – to introduce the holy habit and get everyone talking

• Do you think community – as Christians understand it – is a radical concept today?

Looking at the Bible – to see what God says about this holy habit

• Read Acts 2:42-47 in the Bible

• What are the main elements of Christian community as modelled by the early Church?

• Which elements do you need to strengthen in your own life and what could this look like in the 21st century?

Discussion Questions – to dig a bit deeper into the holy habit

• Coronavirus has provided many challenges to community, but what are the opportunities that we see for community within our current lifestyle?

• Charlotte said: “We believe in a triune God that is 3 persons in 1 – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” What can we learn about community and relationships from the Trinity?

Getting Practical – to put the holy habit into practice in our lives

Discuss together the 5 questions Charlotte posed in the teaching video, and which you can put into practice this week.

1. Serving others with love – who can I serve at this time and how can I serve them?

2. Technology – how do we increase social connection and allow others into our everyday messiness?

3. The wider family – how can we learn from and pray for our persecuted Christian family? You can find Release International’s Lockdown Church resource, which Charlotte mentioned, here: releaseinternational.org/lockdown-church/ 

4. The power of food – how can we get creative and eat together?

5. Cast the net wide – who else can we draw into a sense of community and what might this look like?

Community is both the place that I came to faith and also the place where I have experienced growth in faith.  I came to faith outside of a more formal church structure in a group of school friends in Northern Ireland.  From there community was a vital part of my early life as a follower of Jesus.  Meeting daily to pray, gathering to study God’s word and respond to it, investing in others newer in the faith, sharing my newfound faith with others – all this was my ‘normal’ in my early days as a follower of Jesus.

Another place where I have encountered this kind of community is in India.  I found in it not an Asian expression of community, but a return to those same biblical principles that I first experienced as a new Christian.  I have found myself enriched by walking with the family of God from Asia and learning from their own deep experience of community as followers of Jesus.  It is this that I am now excited to be working out with others here in Sheffield and beyond. 

Community for me is focused around the two great commands of loving God and loving one another (Matt 22:37-40), and the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20).  We see this modelled by the early Church in Acts 2:42-47. Let me share a few thoughts on what that looks like.

• They loved God.  Being authentic Christian community meant being centred around the Lord.  The early church spent time in worship, in prayer, in the breaking of bread and in the Apostle’s teaching (Acts 2:42-47).  It was much more than a warm social gathering, but rather one where God was intentionally acknowledged as being central. 

• They loved one another.  Being authentic Christian community is about losing our independence and becoming interdependent. The members of the early church demonstrated a high degree of interdependence as they sold their possessions and gave to those in need (Acts 2:42).  Interdependence is not simply about possessions, but that deeper lived out experience of shared lives.  Too often our Western model of church has elevated monologue over dialogue, and spectating at church over participating actively as church. 

• They made disciples.  Being authentic community was an outward-looking experience and not introspective.  We read that “The Lord added to the number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47).  Too often our expression of Christian community has tended to introspection.  We have opted for the good and neglected the best that God intended.  In reading the command to love one another in John 13 we have missed out on the “By this will all men know that you are my disciples.” (vs.35).

The writer to the Hebrews writes, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:24-25).  He saw meeting together as that authentic Christian community not as an optional extra, but as a ‘Holy Habit’ to pursue.

We’d encourage you to watch the video together online, discuss the questions, and read the blog post in order to go deeper.

It might look something like this:

• 7:30pm: Saying hi and catching up

• 7:45pm: Watch the teaching video

• 8:00pm: ‘Starter for Ten’ question

• 8:10pm: Look up the Bible passage and discuss

• 8:30pm: Discussion questions

• 8:45pm: Practice the holy habit and/or make plans for how you can do that this week

• 9:00pm: Say your goodbyes – see you next week!

• Don’t forget to begin by debriefing next week!

We know that every group is different, so feel free to do this in a way that works for you.

Not part of a community but want to join the journey? We’d love to hear from you and help you be part of the family! Email Charlotte on charlotte.henard@wellsheffield.com.

If you’re a community leader and have questions or need technological help, get in touch and we’ll see what we can do!

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