Grosvenor Barnstaple: Recent Episodes
Grosvenor Church
Welcome to Grosvenor Barnstaple’s Audio podcast. Whether you’re a churchgoer or not, these messages can help you take a step toward faith or grow in faith. Get more at https://barnstaple.grosvenorchurch.org.uk
Prayer Response available from the end of the service until 11.30am. Please click the following zoom link to enter our online prayer room: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85289013123
Prayer Response available from the end of the service until 11.30am. Please click the following zoom link to enter our online prayer room: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85289013123
Prayer Response available from the end of the service until 11.30am. Please click the following zoom link to enter our online prayer room: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85289013123
Prayer Response available from the end of the service until 11.30am. Please click the following zoom link to enter our online prayer room: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85289013123
Prayer Response available from the end of the service until 11.30am. Please click the following zoom link to enter our online prayer room: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85289013123
Prayer Response available from the end of the service until 11.30am. Please click the following zoom link to enter our online prayer room: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85289013123
Prayer Response available from the end of the service until 11.30am. Please click the following zoom link to enter our online prayer room: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85289013123
John 10:11-15 and 27-29
‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. ‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
In v11-15 what are the marks of the “good” shepherd? What about him blesses you particularly?
In the six statements in v27,28 what does Jesus say about the sheep and what does he say about the Shepherd? What is the double sure ground for the sheeps’ security and what does this mean to you?
Prayer Response available from the end of the service until 11.30am. Please click the following zoom link to enter our online prayer room: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85289013123
Read 2 Peter 1:5-11.
Re-cap: Attending church and listening to sermons is not enough to strengthen our faith. To mature and reach our goal of becoming like Christ, we need to take faith supplements.
Discuss the 7 'supplements' to faith that Peter lists.
Why do we have to 'make every effort' to supplement our faith with these?
What will that effort look like? (Compare Philippians 2:12,13).
2 Peter 1 Question for Family Groups
‘Seeing with eyes of faith’
Read 2 Peter 1:1-4.
Re-cap: Faith is in a person (v 1) – Jesus Christ
Faith brings supernatural power (v 3)
Faith unlocks God’s promises (v 4)
If ‘seeing with eyes of faith’ is an antidote to spiritual blindness, what do these verses suggest we need to do in order to receive and sharpen our spiritual eyesight?
Graham Poland shared on Psalm 46 this morning, he encourages us to trust God in the troubles that come. God is greater and stronger than whatever we face.
You can also watch this sermon on youtube https://youtu.be/lpuPggPdBpg
THE POWER TO CHANGE - FG Discussion Questions
Jesus wants you to deepen your relationship with Him!
THERE IS MORE! However much of God you have there is always more.
John Stott put it like this in his final sermon:
God wants His people to become like Christ.
Christlikeness is the will of God for the people of God.
He gave three passages from the Bible to illustrate this, one past, one present, and one future.
Romans 8:29 (Past)
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (Present)
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory,
are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
1 John 3:2 (Future)
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Consider how hungry am I for more of God?
Then prayerfully consider/discuss the following questions:
1). Which fruit of His Spirit would I most like to see more of in my life?
Why that one? (Galatians 5:22-23)
2). Which gifts of The Spirit do I eagerly desire and why?
3). Ask God is there a need for repentance, forgiveness, or healing of past hurts in my life so that Holy Spirit can flow through me more freely especially as I disciple others.
Maybe ask someone to walk alongside and pray with you,
after all that is what Discipleship is all about!
Note: For those wanting more see John Stott's Final Sermon:
The Model - Becoming More Like Christ. It’s readily available on line!
You can also view this on youtube https://youtu.be/qzqRTAXQH9U
We looked at 3 ways Jesus is our example in disciple-making.
1) Preparation.
2) Prayer.
3) Patience.
1) Read Philippians 2:5-7, maybe in several different translations. (NIV, New Living, The
Message, Passion Bible.) How do we develop the same attitude as Christ Jesus?
What do we do? What does God do? Is this something we can know when we’ve
fully got it?
2) When you hear that you ought to pray more, what is your reaction? Ask if anyone in
the group has encouraging or helpful advice about praying more. Has anyone read a
helpful book on this?
(My suggestion : Pray Big like an apostle, by Alistair Begg. Short book I found very encouraging.)
3) How do you feel when someone you have been trying to help become a disciple
walks away and doesn’t want to know any more? What do you think God feels about
you when that happens?
Apologies that due to illness, there is no video of this week's message.
Questions for your small groups:
Reading Deu 6:4-9, 20-25 why do we think Israel failed to do this over generations (see Judges 2:7-10)
How can we be spiritual mothers and fathers to the next generation (1 Cor 4:14-16)
Are we willing to put aside our own agenda and preferences to reach a new generation? Which things are easy and which things are hard to let go of?
Paul's three points:
Love the Lord passionately
Engrain truths practically
Share testimony personally
You can watch this video on youtube: https://youtu.be/EVUOZ8LXZZ0
Why doesn’t God do something you say? Why doesn’t God show me a sign that He’s real? Why doesn’t God answer my questions, or why doesn’t God solve the problems in my life or the problems in the world?
You need to come to the cross because that is a sign, it’s a sign that God loves humanity and that God loves you......✝️
Questions for Family Groups:
1. As you read through the prayer of Jesus in Jn 17, how does the relationship in the Trinity strike you as being a model for unity within the Church?
2. How do we show eagerness in maintaining the unity of the Spirit? (Read Eph 4:1-6)
3. Why is the cross the answer to the divisions that existed in the church at Corinth? (See 1 Cor 1:10-25 and Eph 2:11-18)
You can also see this message on Youtube https://youtu.be/oXI9DmOZ5WE
“Each and every one of us should lead people to God...” thanks for sharing with us today Ramon. We had a blessed time this morning at The Gathering. Let’s do as Jesus asked and lead people to God...we’re all leaders in this way.
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What did God speak to you about Luke 19:10?
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How do you feel about the statement, 'Grosvenor should be moving on?'
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How do you see your personal leadership calling?
thegathering #3congregations1church #grosvernorbarnstaple #grosvenorbideford #grosvenortorrington #prayer #worship #theWord #leaders #seekandsavethelost #church #family
You can also watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fr0eHGE9zA
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Jesus is worth it
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With great identity comes great purpose
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Go and make disciple makers
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Mission begins with Jesus. Why is he the model for mission?
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Identity and purpose are connected. If we know who we are, perhaps we know what we do. Discuss
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Thinking about discipleship as a pathway or journey (pilgrim witness) which milestone have you reached? Are you moving forward? Are you moving backward? What might be a step you can take with others?
Milestones: From being nurtured, to being trained, to being equipped, to being sent
We have all been given a biblical call to pass on the baton of faith to the next generation.
There is a need for spiritual fathers and mothers
Honour your spiritual parents and the elderly in your community
Questions:
Will we allow God to move us and take responsibility for the next generation? Nehemiah
How can we intentionally pass the baton? Who could we spiritually parent? Could we move seats to sit with the young or old generation? Could we invite someone over? We should connect with our church, but could we connect with someone in our family? our street?
Who is your mentor? Who have you asked to challenge and encourage you? Who knows you?
Who could you honour and thank for their input into your life?
Prayer is not just talking to God, but a conversation between us and God, so how do we, how do you, hear God speak? Heb 1v1-2
Does God communicate with you in other ways?
What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus? John 16v23, 2 Cor 5v20
Is it a little like a medical secretary writing a letter on behalf of her doctor where they use 'pp' at the end of the letter...?
What do we need to do to remain in Jesus love? John 15
What can I do to enable my roots to go deeper into God's love? Do I need to change my thinking or my priorities (make myself more available) so that I consciously live more in God's love?
How do we learn to know God's will? Rom 12v1-2; Gal 2v20; 1 John 5v14-15
Where am I passionate to see God's kingdom come?
In my family, my neighbours, my workplace, in our community, in revival? What does God's word tell me that he wants me to do? Has he already spoken to me about this? Is there someone I could pray with about this?
Recommended resources:
Pete Grieg - God on Mute (Engaging the silence of Unanswered prayer)
Watchman Nee - The Prayer ministry of the Church
Norman Grubb - Rees Howells Intercessor
Scripture - John 13-17
Keys to Freedom - Mercy Ministries
24/7 prayer website
How do you feel about Going deeper in the Word of God?
You can do it!
Romans 2:4 explains that God's kindness leads us to repentance.
How do we live by the Spirit (Gal 5) so that we want to spend time going deeper in the Word of God?
View the Bible differently - its supernatural!
Read it better not (necessarily) more
Grow deeper in the Word of God together in community
How to read it better?
S.O.A.P.
S– The S stands for Scripture- how about you physically write out the scripture……you’ll be amazed that what God will reveal to you just by taking the time to slow down and actually write out what you are reading!
O– The O stands for observation- what do you see in the verses that you’re reading? Who is the audience? Is there a repetition of words? What words stand out to you?
A– The A stands for Application- this is when God’s Word becomes personal. What is God saying to me today? How can I apply what I just read to my own personal life? What changes do I need to make? Is there an action that I need to take?
P– And finally P stands for Prayer. Pray God’s Word back to Him. If He has revealed something to you during this time in His Word, pray about it. Confess if He has revealed some sin that is in your life.
How might we in practice go deeper together?
Be here on Sundays at 10am.
Give and receive in a small group.
Meeting up in 2s or 3s.
Fellowship can be defined as the 'unconditional sharing of one another's lives' (Ron Sider) What are some of the conditions we've seen others want to place on friendships before they share?
As Scripture teaches us that we need one another in friendship (Rom 15:7) , how might we respond to obstacles in the way of going deeper together? Eph 4:32; Gal 5:13; Gal 6:2; Jn 13:34-35
Worship is both an act and an event.
Our working definition of worship is 'love expressed'
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Your personal act of worship impacts the corporate event of worship
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Worship is not about us
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Worship changes things
Questions for reflection:
1.Every human worships something or someone. Who or what are you worshipping? Col 1:16
2.'If our act of worship or event of worship does not point to Jesus, we should get rid of it.' How should we react when someone says that worship didn't do anything for me? Rev 1
3.How has worshipping Jesus changed things in your life? For example, the nun who was healed. Rev 4-5
Family Group Study Questions:
1.Look up Genesis 1 verses 1, 2 & 3 See also John 1 and in particular verses 1-3 and verses 14 & 29. God is calling us to be one!
In the light of this Scripture discuss the following statement:
Community is not incidental to the purpose of God. All that is spoken of God is spoken of the one life the three share, and so is indivisibly spoken of all three.
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What does it mean to belong to the local church? Is belonging to the local church an intentional commitment to be part of a community of Jeuss followers who love God, love one another and love others?
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What should this community be like and how can we play our part in this?
Can anyone here make cake? Some ingredients could be:
C. Caring for one other
A. Atmosphere of hospitality
K. Kindness of random acts
E. Encouraging words
Crucial Convictions (1)
Notes and Questions for Family Group Leaders
Read 2 Timothy 3:10 – 4:5
1.What are some of the ‘myths’ (see 4:5) that you have heard from sources that claim to be Christian? What are the dangers associated with these?
(N.B. Note how ‘myths’ are being contrasted in this verse with ‘the truth’. This may spark discussion as to the ‘arrogance’ of people claiming that they know the truth and should be steered towards the context of ‘the sacred writings’ (3:15) and ‘Scripture’ (3:16) and the points raised on Sunday about God’s truth not just being subjective).
- The liberal position with regards to Scripture was mentioned on Sunday. Where has this come from and how is it in evidence today?
(N.B. The point was made that the Reformation led to the Enlightenment that, in turn, opened up the Scientific age, exploration and rationalism and the belief that Scripture should be interpreted by our reason. This has led to questioning the reliability of the Creation account, miracles and, more recently, the Bible’s ethical teaching about marriage, gender (‘he created them male and female’) and other moral absolutes. This discussion should lead towards accepting the authority of Scripture).
- How can we be sure that the New Testament is the completion of God’s written revelation? Is Paul not just referring here to the Old Testament Scriptures?