September 15 | Week Two | Wait

Primary Scripture: Habakkuk 2:2-2:20

Cross References: Romans 1:16-17; James 4:6; Hebrews 10:37-38; Isaiah 44:9-20

Message Overview: This week will need a quick look back to verses 1:12-2:1. There is an opportunity to

discuss God’s timing in our “instant” society. Patience and anticipation in knowing God will carry out His

plans to completion. There is a solid foil here to the end times also (v.2-3). How often are we (especially

Americans) so impressed by our own abilities that we lose sight of God? God is righteous and just and will see

His plans carried to completion.

Prompting Questions: In the midst of calamity, death, and destruction, can I find comfort in knowing God

will see justice and judgement? What do we do while waiting on the Lord? How often do I trust in my own

abilities rather than rely on the Lord? Have you ever been frustrated with God’s timing? Have you ever read

something in scripture that you disagreed with? What does Habakkuk 2 teach us about the Gospel?

September 8 | Week One | Listen

Primary Scripture: Habakkuk 1:2-2:1

Cross References: Psalm 13:1, 4:1; Isaiah 55:8-9, Isaiah 10:5-6, Proverbs 3:5-6; Jeremiah 44:17

Message Overview: In chapter one, Habakkuk cried out and asked God why he allowed what He hates

without justice. The answer that follows is that God is going to use other evil people to thwart Judah.

Habakkuk was even more confused and pushed back on God, challenging His direction. Verse 2:1 shows the

confidence and faith that God would reply and that Habakkuk was ready to listen. These concepts connect

our faith to God’s ways, timing, and perfection. Habakkuk 1 sets the table for how we ought to respond when

the world doesn’t seem to make sense.

Prompting Questions: Who do we run to when trials abound? What do we do when the answer isn’t what

we wanted? How often do we marvel at the “work of our own hands?” (v.16) How do we develop deeper faith

in the midst of a sinful world? What does Habakkuk 1 teach us about the Gospel?

Main Passage: Luke 22:14-20

Listen in as we join Lighthouse Community and learn from Senior Pastor Fritz Below as he helps us understand the context and meaning of the Lord's Supper. Fritz helps us to see how the Lord's Supper was Initiated by Jesus, is real food that points to Truth, and for those who follow Jesus!

Primary Scripture: Ephesians 4:14-16

Message Overview: When believers are maturing into the character of Christ, they’re no longer drifting aimlessly through life. Instead, they live with purpose: speaking the truth in love and helping others to grow in the truth of Christ. Healthy, living things grow. It’s true of people. It’s true of the church. This is our opportunity to pull back the current for our church to reveal next steps we see and how people can step into them. For our location, it’s helping people to grow in the gospel/truth, widening the leadership and volunteer base to support the increased ministry opportunities, inviting believers into healthy stewardship, and praying/looking for the next leaders/teams who will launch the New Testament churches in our region.

Prompting Questions: Contrast the life of a believer who is drifting versus a believer who is growing in/on purpose. What does Bluffton Community look like at its healthiest and most effective? Why would a person choose to partner with us in ministry as opposed to continue floating along in their faith?

Primary Scripture: Ephesians 4:7-13

Cross References: Acts 6:4; 12:25; Romans 12:6-8

Message Overview: Paul said that Jesus gave “gifts” to the church: leaders. Their role is to equip believers for ministry with the end goal being unity and maturity (maturity = the fullness of Christ). Elders at each location will have the opportunity to provide a current, transparent snapshot of where we currently are as local churches: both the successes and challenges. Exposing things like ministry strategies we use (i.e. small groups, kids/students, etc) as well as highlighting the scoreboard so people can gauge health and effectiveness (Yeses, baptism, volunteer %, finances, etc).

Prompting Questions: Who are those leaders in our churches who equip? How can a believer in our church engage in training for real ministry? How should we understand “the fulness of Christ?” What aspects of our ministries are many people in the dark about and it would benefit them/mission to know more?

Primary Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6

Cross References: 1 Peter 3:15a; Romans 10:9; Revelation 19:16; Matthew 28:18-20

Message Overview: Twice in this passage, Paul uses the word “Lord” in reference to Jesus. Within that context, he wrote about humility, bearing with one another, and unity. This message will focus on the Lordship of Jesus and what that means practically for every born again believer. This is the opportunity to clearly define our vision statement: We are people who say Yes to Jesus’ leadership in our lives AND we help others do that, too. Prompting Questions: What does it mean for Jesus to be the Lord over an individual believer? The local church? Why is this an important truth? What are engaging ways to walk our families through our Outcomes (the Six He’s) and Values (the Six We’s)? How might we invite people to respond to this message?

Message Overview: From our last message in the series, The Church with Open Doors, Pastor Ben Thiel looks at Acts 18 where we meet Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos who work along-side Paul, Silas and Timothy as the gospel continues to spread amid continued opposition. We see God remind Paul in a dream that many in the city of Corinth belonged to Him. Paul had a continual desire to re-visit where he had previously preached to continue strengthening the believers. It is clear that Paul had preached the gospel and many had believed, but his heart drove him back to old friends as he continued to teach believers. Paul spent a year and a half in Corinth, a city where full commitment to his teaching seems to have come more slowly based on what we read in his later letters to this church. While Paul always seems to have kept his passion for front line Gospel engagement with people who were far from God, we see the multiplication of leaders and sustained teaching of believers as his ministry matures. It is important to note the warm encounter between Aquila and Priscilla as they help Apollos with a better understanding of Gospel truth.

Prompting Questions: How has God brought the spiritual and physical change and growth to both Lighthouse and Bluffton Community these last few years? How do we prepare the congregations to use the wide variety of spiritual gifts given to the believers who are part of our churches? How does a rapidly growing church effectively identify and minister to people who are spiritually dead, infants, children, young adult and parents?

Primary Scripture: Acts 17:16-32

Cross References: Deuteronomy 10:17; 1 Chronicles 16:26, Psalm 115:1-7; Colossians 1:15-20

Message Overview: While waiting for the others to rejoin him, Paul has a visceral reaction to the overt idolatry he sees in the City of Athens. He feels compelled to engage the philosophers of the day on their own turf. Paul is able to make connection with the intellectuals at the Areopagus, but finds strong opposition when he speaks of the resurrection of Jesus. The account of Paul in Athens raises many questions that thoughtful people ask today in their search for truth. Paul was ready to engage anyone no matter how far from faith they might seem. In the end we see that some believed in this intellectually hostile environment.

Prompting Questions: How do our churches address the theological and cultural questions of our day such that the Gospel can be heard in clear words? How does God's supremacy and transcendence meet and then rise above the human wisdom and experience our culture espouses today?