Sermon Based Small Group Lessons

Getting Others in the Game

 

2008 June 22

Dr. Les Hughes

 

Opening Question

(New groups:  Share your name and the answer to the following question.)

 

Name a time someone else got you into something, either good or bad.

 

 

Read the focal passage.

 

Focus Passage

 

John 1:35-51 (New International Version)

 

35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"

 37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"
      They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

 39"Come," he replied, "and you will see."
      So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

 40Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.
      Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter[j]).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

 43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."

 44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

 46"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.
      "Come and see," said Philip.

 47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."

 48"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.
      Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."

 49Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."

 50Jesus said, "You believe[k] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." 51He then added, "I tell you[l] the truth, you[m] shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

 

 

Digging for Truth

 

1.  People are usually drawn to ministry because of relationships.  How were you enlisted to a volunteer position in which you serve right now?  Have you given any thought to becoming a recruiter? 

 

2.  People overestimate what the pastor is capable of doing from the stage, and underestimate what they can accomplish one on one.  Is this statement true?  If all volunteers are recruiters, how is that more valuable than the church posting a sign up sheet?

 

3.  People continue to serve because they want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.  What is the big thing that you can be a part of at Westwood?  Why is every part of the big picture important?

 

4.  Pastor Les talked about our greeters making people feel welcome. Have you ever been to a business with great customer service?  What does that tell you about the business?  Shouldn’t the church put more emphasis on making people feel welcome and valued than any other organization.

 

5.  What excuses do people give for not serving?  Les mentioned that Moses gave excuses about not being able to speak.  God has a place of service for everyone in the church.  Name a few excuses and what some possible answers are.

 

6.  Pastor Les made the point, “I don’t have to be a spiritual giant to serve God.”  Do people sometimes think that?  (To get over this quickly, we just have to look at the disciples who didn’t get it.)

 

7.  God intends for His servants to serve alongside one another.  What are the benefits of serving Christ together with others.

 

8.  When you serve, God will do things through you that you can’t imagine.  Les gave the example of our special touch ministry reaching the Stuart Aldridge family, who are now serving in many leadership roles at Westwood.  What other examples do you know of God doing great things through regular people?

 

9.  God uses people with a diversity of gifts and personalities.  In what ways does God use people with different personalities than yours? 

 

10.  Does anyone come to your mind that you can recruit?  What steps should we take in the recruiting process?  (prayer, trust in God to lead, not being pushy or demanding)

 

 

Closing Thought

 

What if God’s plan is for you to enlist people in your circle of friends to serve?  Just think what God can do through your simple act of encouraging others to use their gifts to serve their church and their Lord?