1.24.21 HUDDLE- Listen, Do, Repeat: Week 4

Zach Below   -   January 24, 2021

1.24.21 HUDDLE – Listen, Do, Repeat WK 4

 

INTRO

Welcome to week 4 of our latest series, “Listen, Do, Repeat: How Faith Works.” Last week we looked at Luke 8:1-3 and saw how faith lives in the tension of the spiritual and the practical. In addition, we got a first look at the Spiritual Formation Path. This week, we will continue our series by examining the “Parable of the Sower” in Luke 8:4-15.

 

  1. Have you ever seen or met a celebrity? Share the story. Or . . . have you ever attended a concert/event with a huge crowd?

 

By this time in his ministry, the atmosphere around Jesus’s ministry was electric. He was drawing huge crowds everywhere he went and people were trying to get close to Jesus to see him in action.

 

 

BIBLE ENGAGEMENT: LUKE 8:4-15

We will break this down in sections. We will read and discuss Luke 8:4-8. Then, we will move on to 9-15.

 

LUKE 8:4-8

4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. 6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

 

 

BIBLE ENGAGMENT QUESTION

  1. Without reading ahead, what is your first response to this parable? What do you think it is about?

 

 

LUKE 8:9-15

9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.’[a]

 

11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

 

BIBLE ENGAGMENT QUESTIONS

  1. What stands out to you in this text?

 

  1. Summarize the three types of bad soil and the good soil.

 

  1. Who are we (The soil, the seed, or the sower)?

 

Leader: God is the sower and we are the soil.

 

 

APPLICATION

On Sunday, Pastor Ryan used one word to describe each type of soil.

  • The Path: HARDENED
  • The Rocks: SHALLOW
  • The Thorns: DISCTRACTED

 

 

  1. When it comes to faith, what do you think it means to be hardened? Shallow? Distracted?

 

  1. When it comes to the challenges of your own faith, which of these three soils do you identify with? What makes you say that?

 

  1. Thinking over the last few years, when it comes to these three types of soil, where have you seen God change you/move you/help you grow?

 

  1. How would you describe a life in the “good soil?” What does that look like?

 

  1. Pastor Ryan said, “we need to have the self-awareness to 1) know where we are, and 2) make an intentional step toward the good soil.”

 

What are some tangible ways we can step toward the “good soil?”

 

 

REVIEW THE SPIRITUAL FORMATION PATH

If you did not get a chance to review “The Path” last week, take some time to do that now.

 

 

When you look at how Jesus formed his disciples, he did it both by teaching and by apprenticing them. It was about both knowledge and action. Two-thousand years later, we are formed the same way . . . through both knowledge and action. While we are called to incorporate both into our lives, God’s timing and leading is different for all of us.

 

  1. Look over the Spiritual Formation Path. Where do you sense that God is leading you right now? What step should you take this year?

 

 

CLASS DESCRIPTIONS

Talk through the options and then close in prayer. Try and hold each other accountable to signing up for 1 thing on connection day (Jan 31st).

 

 

CW101: How to Read the Bible

Did you know that daily reflection on Scripture is considered the number one way people move closer to God? The problem for many of us is that the Bible is confusing, archaic, and even boring. How are we supposed to move closer to God if we don’t understand what we are reading? CW101: How to Read the Bible seeks to remove those barriers. After just six weeks, you will have all the tools necessary for a lifetime of understanding and engaging in Scripture. Make Scripture come alive by joining us for CW101.

 

 

CW201: Basic Christian Beliefs

What is God like? How does God communicate with us? Why do Christians use the word Trinity to talk about God? Christian Worldview 201 addresses these questions and many more. This 6-week class designed to help you become familiar with the basics of the Christian faith. If you’ve had burning questions about the Christian faith that you’ve never been able to ask, CW201 provides you the freedom to do so. Join us for CW201 and build a solid foundation for your faith.

 

 

CENTERED SUMMARY

Where did it all come from? Are human beings special, highly evolved animals, or nothing more than accidents? Is there any hope? All of us, in one form or another, have wondered about these kinds of things . . . the BIG questions in life. CENTERED is a 7-week class that explores these types of questions. Each week begins with a short film created by the One Life Creative Arts team followed by a look at how various belief systems answer each question. In CENTERED, you will examine the claims, evidence, and implications of each worldview and you will walk away with a solid understanding of how and why the Christ-Centered Worldview answers each question. Join CENTERED and find out what you believe about the most important and meaningful questions in life.

 

 

KICKSTART

If you want to take a next step at One Life but don’t know where to begin, KICKSTART is for you. KICKSTART is a 2-week class where you will get to know One Life’s Mission, Vision and Values. In addition, Kickstart will walk you through the connection options at One Life and help you create your own Spiritual Formation Path. Take that next step and join us for our next KICKSTART, available on-campus, virtually, and on-demand.