It’s Time to Say Something

Sermon Notes for Small Group Leaders
It’s Time to Say Something
Jim Zippay
August 9/10, 2008
II Corinthians 6:1-2, Several Passages from Acts mentioned below

Outline

1. Heritage Christian Church’s Mission Statement: Bring, Build, Bless
   
   Blessing people in our community, across the country and around the globe, to bring them into a personal relationship with Jesus and to build them up to be dedicated followers, all to the glory of God.
   
   
2. God prompts an Inspired Interest (Acts 10:1-5, John 6:44, Acts 10:21-22, Acts 10:42-43)
   
   
3. God prompts a Divine Disturbance (Acts 16:26-33, Acts 16:22-25)
   
   
4. God provides an Ordained Opportunity (Acts 26:1-3, Acts 26:12-18, Acts 26:24-29)
   

Content

1. Cornelius was a religious man, generous and had a great reputation but did not know God.
2. Cornelius received a message from God through an angel, stirring up his interest in faith in God. (Acts 10:1-5)
3. Ho one comes to God or expresses a curiosity in Him without the Father drawing him or her.
4. Paul was in prison when an earthquake occurred. As a result of the earthquake and the prisoners’ obedience, the jailor asked Paul how he could be saves. (Acts 16:26-33)
5. God uses difficult times to draw people to himself. He uses his people in these times to share the gospel.
6. Paul is before King Agrippa sharing his testimony on how he came to know Jesus Christ as his savior. (Acts 26:1-3, 12-18)
7. Your conversion story is a testimony to God’s faithfulness and greatness. This is a powerful tool when sharing the gospel.
8. God calls His people to step up and share their faith in Christ. Every opportunity to speak of Christ is a God ordained opportunity.
   

Aim
It’s time to say something, step up and tell others what God has done for all.

Application Questions

1. When you came to know Christ, how did God spark your curiosity in Him?
2. Who stepped up and share the gospel with you?
3. Are there difficult times God had brought you through that could be used to help others com to know Him? What are they?
4. Do you know of anyone who does not know Christ that is going through a difficult time? How could God use you in their life?
5. How is sharing your testimony to non-believers a great tool in sharing the gospel?
6. What areas in our lives can we step up in faith and obedience in order to see others come to know him?
   

Sermon Notes from August 2/3, 2008

Sermon Notes for Small Group Leaders
August 2/3, 2008
Andy Sieberhagen, Guest Speaker
Matthew 5:13-16


Outline
1. Salt on its own is awful. The church doesn’t exist only for itself. Look to expand God’s kingdom.
2. We are God’s preservatives. When righteousness and peace prevail, we can stop the world from becoming rotten.
3. Salt lengthens life. We can help people find eternal life.
4. Salt gives flavor to food, as we are the flavor of life – God’s flavor.


Content
1. A church’s vision should include the whole world.
2. All men die, but not all men live. We should live for something way bigger than we are to be really
alive.
3. Evil triumphs when good men do nothing.
4 God has equipped us to make a difference.
5. Ghandi said, “If all Christians were like Jesus, all India would be Christians.”
6. We need to be agents of God’s grace.
7. We were created for more than just looking forward to a next activity; we need to have a purpose and be involved in changing the world.
8. Focus on the purpose God created us for, not ourselves.
9. There are people out there who don’t know Jesus and are dying; we can show them Jesus, Who can give them life.
10. When people are around us, they watch us, and they should see that God is good.
11. Our homes should be filled with God’s grace.
12. We should reflect God’s glory; it should shine through us so that the world knows He lives.


Aim
We need to have a purpose in life, and that purpose should be to draw people to God. Live in such a way that we reflect God, so that others will be drawn to Him and His kingdom will be expanded.


Application Questions
1. What is something you’ve done to help spread God’s Word to the world?
2. When people leave your presence, what taste do they have in their mouth? Do they taste God?
3. Do you have God’s perspective or yours? Do you see people as problems or opportunities?

July 20, 2008 ~ Discipline from the Inside Out

Sermon Notes for Small Group Leaders
Pass It On: Discipline from the Inside Out
Teaching Pastor, Richard Johnson
July 20, 2008
Scripture Passage: 2 Timothy 1:14, Hebrews 12:5-11, Proverbs 3:1, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Romans 13:1, Ephesians 6:1,

Outline
I. Discipline is correction driven by love.
II. Discipline is God’s tool for teaching authority.
III. Discipline is short-term pain for long-term gain.

Content
1. Discipline is designed to be a close leveling relationship with betterment in mind.
2. Zig Ziglar said, “A child who has not been disciplined with love by his little world will be disciplined without love by the great big world.”
3. God uses authority like government to teach us submission.
4. Honor those in authority over you by:
5. Have an honest talk appealing for the relationship to be restored.
6. Choose to forgive, allowing God to help heal the relationship
7. Refuse to gossip by not encouraging or uplifting those who choose to do it.
8. Deny the urge to fight against them.

Aim
Discipline is something good and often difficult to go through that God ordains to help us ultimately become more like Himself.

Application Questions
I. Describe a time when God has taken you through a discipline process.
II. What was the outcome?
III. Recount how you felt at the time.
IV. How can you tangibly help someone who is going through discipline now or perhaps needs to go through it?

Notes from July 12/13, 2008 -- Parenting -- Character

Sermon Notes for Small Group Leaders
Parenting
July 12/13, 2008
Eric Wharton
Mark 4:26-29


Outline
1. Be there for our children – physically and emotionally.
2. Help our children develop the capacity to own their own life.
3. Parent with grace and make it safe to be real.

Content
1. We create conditions for God to shape His character in our children. We should reflect His heart and attitude to them.
2. The parable of the seed and how it grows is similar to character in children’s hearts: the growth is in God’s hands.
3. We need to be there for our children; in other words, be a safe and loving presence, respond to their needs, and not be pre-occupied with something else.
4. Support and delight in our children.
5. Move toward a relationship that comforts fears and addresses needs.
6. The crux of the gospel is to take what life throws at us and deal with it in relationship.
7. Prepare our children to embrace God Who is with us.
8. Children are overwhelmed with life when no one is there.
9. Children need to realize that their problems are their responsibility and not someone else’s.
10. They need to have the freedom to experience the consequences of their actions.
11. Getting angry gets results quickly but doesn’t change hearts.
12. Children’s job is to cross the boundary and keep pushing; our job is to be on the other side of the boundary and keep teaching.
13. Help children see themselves as loved, not good or bad. If they think they’re good, they might not see their need for a Savior.
14. Children need to know there’s grace to be who they are.

Aim
Parents’ job is to develop a relationship with their children and to co-operate with God and create conditions for God to work in them. The desired result is that children will have a heart to connect with God and His character will be shaped in them.

Application Questions
1. If you’re not a parent yet, what are some ideals you have that you’d like to institute in your family?
If you are a parent, what ideals did you have that haven’t happened in your children?
2. How do you deal with misbehavior in your children? How did your parents deal with your misbehavior, and was it good or bad?
3. Describe a time when your child took all of himself to you with a problem and tell how you reacted.
4. When you were a child, did you feel free to take all of yourself to your parents? Why or why not?
5. What are some things your parents could have done better? What did they do right?
6. If you are a parent, what are some things you did or are doing right? Some things you wish you’d done differently?

Passing it On

Rich Johnson, Heritage Children’s Pastor
July 5-6, 2008
Psalm 78:1-7

Outline

1. Four things to pass on to the next generation:
   a. Faith – week one
   b. Character – week two
   c. Boundaries – week three
   d. Relationships – week four


2. There are two questions that every generation must face (Psalm 87:1-3):
   a. Why do men and women continue to lack trust in God and turn from his ways?
   b. Why does God continue to be patient and merciful to men and women when they rebel?


3. We need to combine our influence: The “we” in verse four is primarily parents and secondarily “erbody” (everybody) else.


4. Purpose statement: My purpose as a parent is to create a place for my child to discover the things of God and encourage them to depend solely on Him.


5. We need to “show and tell” our faith to the next generation (vs. 4-7). Show and tell:
   a. The glory of God.
   b. The grace of God.
   c. The gift of God.

Content

1. Psalm 78 was commissioned by King David and reviews a brief history of Israel.


2. Parents should impress a biblical view of God to their children. (Psalm 78:4, Deut. 6:1-2)


3. Many times things, even good things, distract us from passing our faith on to our children.


4. We need to evaluate where we put our values; it is okay to say no to things in order to put our faith first.


5. Everybody (grandparents, neighbors, friends, teachers, etc.) needs to be involved in passing on faith to children. (Proverbs 22:6)


6. We need to pass on our faith by sharing the glory, grace and gift of God (Psalm 78:4-7)
   

Aim
It is the responsibility of parents and everyone alike to pass along our faith in Jesus Christ to the next generation.

Application Questions

1. Why do men and women continue to lack trust in God and turn from his ways?


2. Why does God continue to be patient and merciful to men and women when they rebel?


3. What is your biggest distraction that prevents you from passing your faith on to your children?


4. Discuss the following statement, “What is one generation's luxury becomes the next generation's necessity.”


5. Share the “erbody” (everybody) in your children’s lives and your own. How have they encouraged faith in your children and your own life?


6. How do you share the glory, grace and gift of God?

June 28-29, 2008 Continue The Jesus Way

Sermon Notes for Small Group Leaders
Acts 29 Jesus Said/The Church Did/We Continue The Jesus Way
Jim Zippay, June 28-29, 20008
Luke 24 and Acts 28

Outline
I. Extending the Invitation (Luke 5:1-11, Acts 11)
II. Entering the Community (Act 2, 4:24)
III. Experiencing the Power (Acts 15:9)
IV. Embracing the People (Acts 4:18)
V. Expanding the Kingdom (Acts 19:18)

Content
1. C. S. Lewis said that God whispers to us in our joy, speaks to us in our conscious and shouts in our pain.
2. Making room for one more is not just a slogan, it’s a mandate.
3. Commitment to membership is not required but strengthens, not lessens our commitment to the church, which is expected.
4. When you belong to the church, your people group changes from being based on family, race, ethnicity, culture, nationality to followers of Jesus, a “new tribe”.
5. The power and authority given to followers of Jesus is so now as much as then.
6. We should be more like a hospital than a resort.
7. Jesus doesn’t ask us to trivialize or erase the traditions of the past; however, don’t make them a yoke for new believers to get in.
8. We should talk more about the essence of the kingdom in terms of “Good News” or “Blessings” for those who believe.
9. Following Jesus should have more impact on us than what we do on Sunday; it should influence all the areas of our lives.

Aim
Our commitment to “The Jesus Way” should be a blessing to our individual lives and to the nations.

Application Questions
I. Do you think God is trying to whisper, speak or shout to you or someone you know?
II. Can you describe what steps you have taken since you decided to follow Jesus?
III. How has your commitment to Jesus made an impact on your church?
IV. How have you embraced your “new tribe” of believers? Have you felt embraced? Why or why not?
V. How do you use the power and authority of your gifts to serve Christ?
VI. What yokes have you been inclined to put on people with the lines you draw?
VII. How do you speak of the gospel or the kingdom in terms of good news, blessings?

June 22, 2008: The Jesus Way ~ Making a Good Handoff…

Sermon Notes for Small Group Leaders
The Jesus Way ~ Making a Good Handoff…
Teaching Pastor, Jim Zippay
June 22, 2008
Scripture Passage: Acts 20:17-32

Outline
I. A good handoff begins with a solid race. (Acts 20:17-21)
II. A good handoff needs a strong finish. (Acts 20: 22-24)
III. A good hand off prepares for a hard run. (Acts 20: 28-31)
IV. A good hand off first hands us to God. (Acts 20: 32)

Content
1. Being a servant leader is critical to having a solid race.
2. Speaking the truth of Christ is the second important part of a solid race.
3. Being a Christ follower till the end, despite all adversity.
4. To run hard for God, you need to prepare yourself.
5. Self-awareness or spiritual preparedness comes in a forms of questions for battle readiness:
6. Are you paying attention to yourself?
7. Are you recognizing the value of people?
8. Are you aware of others influence?
9. Look for what will do to build up in you, make you stronger, give you certainty, security, a legacy and heritage.

Aim
Making a good handoff requires a fully Christ engaged life in obedience, preparation and spiritual battle experience.

Application Questions
I. Do you prepared to handoff the “spiritual reigns” with strength?
II. Are you engaging God in this process?
III. Are you prepared in the areas you need to be prepared?