Happy Palm Sunday!

We invite you to worship and listen to a message from our lead pastor Tim Coburn!

We’ve entered Holy Week, and we wanted to remind you of the 4 ways to experience Easter as a faith community! Find out more here: http://societychurch.com/easter/

Community Group Discussion Guide:

STEP 1- Ice Breaker

Help people to loosen up and share. It will be helpful if someone is new to go around and do names and have each person share about a question and share a bit about themselves. CLICK HERE for ice breaker questions ideas.

(Group Leader Note: Use the Learning/Living Circle to guide your discussion and application of the content. Try your best to keep the “learning” and “living” focus balanced. You use this model moving clockwise around the circle. The goal is working towards practical and personal life application.)

Step 2- Learning- Observe, Reflect, Discuss

(Group Leader Note: Don’t feel the need to go through every scripture, point or question. Pick and choose what you feel will make the most impact for your group. If you are not sure where to start, just ask your group what stuck out to them about the message most and start with that.)

Read this scriptures together:  John 15:5-17

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.”

Observation & Reflection Questions to Discuss:

• Anything that jumps out to you as important, helpful or interesting in this scripture?
• Are there any questions or curiosities you have about this portion of scripture that you would like to look into more?
• What is the general theme Jesus is talking about here?
• Are there sub themes that seem important to Jesus? If so what do you think they are?
• What do you think it means to “bear fruit that will last”?

STEP 3- Living- Planning, Accountability, Action

• How might your open honest, vulnerable communication with God (aka prayer) grow during this time
• Do you remember any of the different types of prayer shared on Sunday?
• What seems to be the prayer practice you are connecting with most during these days?
• What might a rhythm of life have to do with developing an abiding faith?
  • Recommended Rhythm & Resources: http://societychurch.com/rhythm
• How do you go about discerning what God is doing in and through your life during disorienting times? Which of these do you tend to overlook?
  • Mustard Seed Moments- God guiding and counseling us through his still small voice in our inner life.
  • Confirmation of Others- God speaking through friends & trusted mentors.
  • Seemingly Random Circumstances- Moments of sacred seemingly random serendipity.

STEP 4- Prayer And/Or Meditation

Please don’t skip prayer!! Cut the discussion short if needed to pray for one another 🙂 Try one of these options, don’t be afraid to mix it up.

• Have people split into groups of 2-3 to share prayer needs and pray for each other.
• Share requests as a group and pray for one another. Assign requests to people that are comfortable with praying and go around the circle praying for each others needs.
• Help your group develop a vocabulary of prayer. Pray a wrote prayer together.  Prayerfully read a Psalm or something from the Book of Common Prayer .
• Meditation with silence and stillness- A word or phrase to focus your group. A time of silence and stillness, set a timer for 5 minutes if you want. Close the time with a prayer for your group.
• Develop someone in your group as the Prayer Coordinator. Have them write down prayer needs, ask them to pray for those needs during the week, have them send a list to the group to keep in prayer, go through the list regularly to celebrate answered prayers and check off or add on prayers.