When In Rome: Salvation Is Here

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When In Rome: Salvation Is Here

November 19, 2023 • Garry Firth • Acts 9:3–9, Acts 9:17–20, Romans 10:1–15, Romans 9:1–3

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Here are some questions to help you process this message and apply it to your life:

1. What milestone event (birthday, anniversary, graduation, etc.) have you recently celebrated or will you be celebrating? How are you going to celebrate?

2. “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. (Acts 9:17)

Garry talked about being with people ‘when the ‘scales fell off’ and they had an ‘aha’ moment with God. Share an ‘aha’ moment that you’ve had with God.

3. If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. (Romans 10:5-10)

What are your thoughts about salvation being personal?

4. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? (Romans 10:13-15)

We heard that we have a role to play in spreading the good news by sharing our story and the difference Jesus had made in our life. What thoughts come to mind when you think about sharing your journey of faith with someone who doesn’t believe?

5. Who’s your Bubba? Commit to praying for the Bubba(s) in your life and for the courage to invite them to a Sunday service or TMP event and then share your story with them. If you haven’t taken it yet, sign up for Class 4 for help with this.

When In Rome: Better Together

December 17, 2023 • Garry Firth • Romans 15:20–22, Romans 16:1–20, Matthew 16:18, Hebrews 11:35–38, 2 Corinthians 4:14–16

1. When do you open Christmas gifts? On Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? What other Christmas traditions do you have? 2. What was your biggest take away from today’s message? 3. Greet Priscilla and Aquila my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me…Romans 16:3 In what ways is it ‘risky’ to be a Jesus follower in Nanaimo or Canada today? 4. Who is someone that is ‘working hard’ that you could ‘greet’ and say thank you to? 5. What was your biggest take away from this series and why? (Good News/Bad News, Deal #1/Deal #2, Defining the Relationship, Oops I Did it Again, Graceville/Shouldsville, Sharing in God’s Glory, Build & Bear)

When In Rome: Build & Bear

December 10, 2023 • Russ Smith • Romans 14, Romans 15:1–3, Galatians 6:2–3, Colossians 3:13, James 1:19

Here are some questions to help you process this message and apply it to your life: 1. Maybe you have a story about encountering a bear. What happened? 2. There’s that saying Unity in the essentials, liberty in the non-essentials, and in everything love. What do you think are some of the essentials about what Christians believe? What are some of the non-essentials? 3. Is there a way in which you feel “strong” in your faith in God that you need to be careful about when you’re around someone that’s “weak” in their faith? 4. How about the opposite - what way do you feel “weak” in your faith that’s sometimes difficult when you’re around people that are “strong” in their faith? 5. To build & bear this week, the big challenge for us is to listen to someone (be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry). What’s another way you can build & bear people this week?

When In Rome: I'm Supposed To Do What?

December 3, 2023 • Garry Firth • Romans 12:1–2, John 13:34–35, Romans 5:8, Romans 12:9–16, Romans 13:1–10

1. When do you put up your Christmas decorations? When do you take them down? 2.In Romans 12:9 Paul writes: Love must be sincere. We heard how it literally means to love without hypocrisy. Our love for others is to be genuine (without wax, remember?) In what ways is your love for others ‘genuine/without hypocrisy’ and in what ways could you improve in your love for others? 3. Paul says that we are to Bless those who persecute you. (Romans 12:14) What is your initial gut reaction to that? Do you find it difficult to do that? What would help you actually put this into practice? (Think about God’s grace and mercy.) 4. ‘Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. (Romans 13:1-2) God created government for our good because it brings order. What are your thoughts about standing against the government? When is that appropriate? 5. There’s a lost world looking for answers, looking for an alternative from what culture and the world is offering and we have the answer (the gospel message–the good news about Jesus) The best way to get the gospel message out is to live our lives in a way that stands out from the everyday in the everyday. So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Romans 12:1-2 (MSG) What is one thing in your everyday life that you could give to God that would help get the message of Jesus out to those who need to hear it?