Making Room For Outsiders

As I reflect on yesterday morning's teaching concerning Jesus clearing out the Temple Courts I am struck again by His passion to make room for "all nations" to know and experience God personally. That is the big idea behind this scene recorded in Mark 11:12-17.
The following are some questions to consider in our small groups as we seek to live out the priority of making room for outsiders:

1.      Share a time in your life when you were invited to a gathering only to find out that those hosting it weren’t prepared for you. How did you feel? How would you feel? Now share a time when those hosting a gathering were ready and looking forward to your arrival. How did/would you feel? What was the main component missing in the first gathering that was present in the second?

2.      Yesterday I talked about the “winding down” affect living in an imperfect world can have on our passion for God and His mission. I spoke of several ways we cultivate and maintain right passions (i.e., prayer, Bible study, worship, giving, small group fellowship). Discuss some additional ways we can cultivate and maintain a heart for the things that are close to God’s heart.

3.      Dr. David Livingstone was a medical missionary who was dedicated to reaching people in Africa. He served the African people in a variety of ways including his stance against the slave traders. His commitment to show Christ’s love provided him with incredible opportunities (over time) to share Christ’s love with the African people. When He died, the African people removed his heart and buried it in Africa before his body was shipped back to Scotland. It was an incredible gesture that spoke of Livingstone’s love for them. What are some ways we can show God’s love so we may be presented with opportunities to share what Christ has done? And, what are some ways we can raise the level of our dedication to do so?

4.      The principle of elimination says that if our lives are like a pie (family slice, work slice, church slice, fun slice etc), then making room for outsiders isn’t another “slice” of the pie out of our lives but the “lenses” we look through to view all of life or the entire “pie”! This suggests that our relationship with God and our commitment to His mission, which includes making room for outsiders, is something we seek to demonstrate in all the “slices” of our lives. How does this principle affect the way we live our everyday lives? Share an example.

May our great God help us to make room for people who may be different from us but who are incredibly important to Him, as we invite our community to celebrate Hope Rising during our Easter weekend services (Sat. 4-23 @ 5:30pm, Sun. 4-24 @ 9 & 11am). I pray that through music, media, a message, and a One Day To Feed The World offering (ODTFTW), which will go to help feed and care for those suffering in Haiti, Japan, El Salvador, the Philippines and elsewhere that thousands will discover God's passionate love for them.  Make it a great week everyone!  

Grace & peace,

Pastor Frank