Service Times
REGULAR SERVICE TIMES: SAT. 6PM, SUN. 9AM, 11:15AM, & 6PM

LG Leader Guide – September 8-9, 2018

“Anxious For Nothing”: September 8/9

Speaker: Tom Hughes

Below are some study questions that will help you and your Life Group dig deeper into this weekend’s sermon.  We’ve included plenty of questions, but feel free to use just a few or to choose whichever questions best fit your group.

Bible Questions:

  1. Read Philippians 4:4-7.
    1. Ask group members to read the passage again on their own and make note of anything that stands out to them. Here are some questions you can ask to stimulate discussion:  What do you notice in this passage?  What can we learn from this passage?  What does this passage teach us about God?

Application Questions:

  1. Tom started the “Anxious for Nothing” series by stating, “The presence of anxiety is unavoidable, but the prison of anxiety is optional.”
    1. What are some of the “unavoidable” things in your life that are currently a source of anxiety?
    2. For you, is anxiety something experienced occasionally, or has it become a “prison”?
  2. Tom shared an acronym for the word CALM to help us know how we can find calm in a chaotic world: Celebrate God’s goodness, Ask God for help, Leave our concerns with God, Meditate on good things.
    1. Of these four, describe where you have the greatest struggle, and name some practical things you could do to grow in that area?
  3. Tom stated, “To be anxious for nothing, we must stabilize our soul with the sovereignty of God.” Read Ephesians 1:11 & Romans 8:28, and then answer the following:
    1. What do these passages reveal about God, and His plan for our lives?
    2. Where are you wanting control of your life rather than trusting in God’s sovereignty?
  4. To find calm, Tom encouraged us from Phil 4:6, to not only tell God about our concerns, but to “leave them with Him.”
    1. After you take your requests to God in prayer, how well are you able to “leave them with Him”?
    2. What are some things you could do to leave your requests in God’s hands and not take them back into your own?

Closing & Prayer: [set aside 10-20 minutes for prayer]

Take prayer requests and pray for one another.  Pray for God’s grace to live out CALM (Celebrate God’s goodness, Ask God for help, Leave our concerns with God, Meditate on good things)

AA 12-Step & AA Primary Purpose

AA 12stepAA primarypurpose

 

Support for those struggling with alcohol addiction using the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, and the 12 steps & 12 Traditions.

Meets Mondays at 6:30pm OR Fridays at 8:00pm in the

Lower Office at 2424 Colorado Blvd

Questions?

Call 323-641-6760 or email thrive@cachurch.com

 

How To Invite People To Your Life Group

You’ve stepped out to lead a Story group (which is awesome!), but one of the things you might be wondering is, “Will anyone come to my group?”  The answer is YES, they’ll come, but it’ll take a little work on your part.

Here are 4 things you can do right now to gather men and women to your Story Life Group.

1.    Pray. Ask God to bring people into your life that you can invite to your Story group.  Ask him for divine conversations with people at church, work or in your neighborhood.

2.    Make an invite list.   Create a list of people that you could invite to your group.  Maybe they go to Christian Assembly, maybe they are neighbors or coworkers, or maybe they’re people in your life who aren’t yet Christ followers.  Think of all possibilities!

3.    Invite people.   Invite people to check out your Story group – the same way you’d invite people to a BBQ or a birthday party.  Call, email, text or ask them in person, whatever works for you!  Say something like, “Hey, I’m starting a Life Group the week of September 8th and I wanted to invite you to be part of it.  We’re going to be reading together through The Story and studying the stories of Scripture chronologically. Would you be interested to check it out?”  Let them know when it meets, and then give them time to think and pray about it.  Follow up if you don’t hear back from them.  Oftentimes people need multiple invitations until they finally say yes!  Use social media too.  Promote your group on Facebook every few weeks with an invitation for people to check it out!

4.    Invite people to invite other people. As people say yes to your invitation, encourage them to think and pray about friends, family and co-workers they can invite.  Not only will this help grow your group, but it will begin to teach people that your group is open and that welcoming and inviting the outsider is important to you and the group. The staff at Christian Assembly will also send people your way as we meet people looking for groups.  Many groups will also be posted on the Christian Assembly website, so people may find you and email your group that way.

5 Tips For Your First Night Of Life Group

The first night of a Life Group is exciting and fun, but it can also feel daunting.  All of those emotions are normal on your first night!  Most leaders find that by the end of the night, they’re excited for the people who came and all God wants to do in their lives through the group.

Here are 5 tips that can help you lead the first night of your Story Life Group.

1.    Prepare
You’ll feel most comfortable leading if you take some time to prepare for the group.  Read the first chapter of The Story and have some of your own thoughts ready to share from the reading.  Take a few minutes to read through the Leader Guide provided in your Story Leader’s Handbook and familiarize yourself with the questions and prayer exercise.  If you don’t like some of the questions, feel free to edit or add your own questions.

2.    Start and end on time
Group members will really appreciate if you are respectful of their time.  If group starts at 7pm, don’t wait til 8pm to begin.  Spend 5-15 minutes at the start of group socializing and getting to know people, but be sure to start the group discussion by 7:15pm.  A typical group lasts about 90 minutes, so pick your ending time and be aware of the clock as you lead group.  Even if you have to forego a few of the discussion questions, group members will appreciate that you are honoring their time.

3.    Put out snacks
There’s something about food that brings people together – it’s probably why we often go to coffee with friends or share a meal with people we love.  Grab or make some snacks for the first night of group.  Have them ready when people arrive.  Put out some water or coffee and tea.  After a few weeks, consider starting a snack sign-up sheet so that people in your group can take turns bringing something to share.

4.    Use directive leadership
On the first night of group – and for the first few months – use directive leadership.  What this means is that you are the one guiding your group and telling them where to go.  Cast the vision for group, tell them what the group is going to be about, and then keep pressing them in that direction.  In the first few months of leading a group, leaders often want to lead by consensus – meaning, they want the group to speak into leadership decisions about how the group will look.  There will be a time for that, but it’s not now.  In the first few months of your group, the best thing you can do is to remain committed to the mission of your Story Life Group, keep reading and studying The Story, and invite your group to follow you in that direction.

5.    Pray
Pray for your group and for the life transformation you want to see happen.  At the end of the day, you can do all of the best planning and preparation, but true life change happens when the people in your group encounter God’s Spirit.  Pray that God would move.  Pray that he would guide you as a leader and speak through you.  Pray that the people in your group would be changed by God and his Word.  Pray that community would be built.  And pray for any fears or concerns you have as a leader.  Spend at least 5 minutes praying before people show up on the first night!

Story Leader Resources