Community Group Study Notes
- Have someone in your group give a brief recap of Sunday’s message, highlighting the primary Scripture points and the main idea of the message.
- How did this message strengthen and/or correct your previous ideas about relationships? Was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you? Did you learn anything new about God or yourself this week?
- The sermon used George Herbert's poem about "the famous stone that turneth all to gold" - doing everything "in the name of the Lord Jesus."
- What does it mean practically to do something "in the name of the Lord Jesus"? How is this different from just doing something as a Christian?
- Think about your various roles (spouse, parent, child, employee, friend, etc.). In which role do you find it most challenging to consistently act "in the name of the Lord Jesus"?
- Share an example of when you've seen someone transform an ordinary situation by clearly acting "for the Lord's sake."
- Why do you think our closest relationships often receive "the harshest treatment" from us? What makes it harder to show Christ to those who know us best?
- Looking at Paul's instructions to wives, husbands, children, and parents - what strikes you most about his approach? What seems most counter-cultural?
- How would your work habits change if you truly believed you were working primarily for Jesus rather than your boss or paycheck?
- The sermon mentioned that "believers ought to be the best employees because our motivations are different." Do you think this is true in your workplace? Why or why not?
- Paul says our speech should be "seasoned with salt" (wisdom/common sense) and "gracious." How do we balance speaking truth with speaking graciously, especially on controversial topics?
- Looking back over these relationship categories (personal, work, outside), where do you most need God's help to live "in the name of the Lord Jesus"?
- What would it look like for your relationships to be "gold" in God's eyes, even if they're not perfect?
- What action step do you need to take in response to this week’s message? How can your group hold you accountable to this step?
Action Step
- What's one specific way you could better represent Christ in your relationships this week?
