That Thing You Do: Pray (to God)

The Meeting Place Church

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That Thing You Do: Pray (to God)

November 3, 2024 • Russ Smith • Matthew 6:9–13, James 1:13, 1 Corinthians 10:13

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. What phrase best describes the way you pray now?

I pray just about every day

I’m not in the habit of praying but I do it sometimes

I’m new at this and I’ve never really prayed before

2. Do you remember the first time you prayed? What can you tell us about it?

3. Let’s revisit The Lord’s Prayer (aka The Disciples’ Prayer):

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Matthew 6:9-13 (ESV)

4. The Lord’s Prayer can be a model or blueprint for how we pray, and there are Six Parts of Prayer in there:

Praise: I begin by expressing my love for God.

Purpose: I commit myself to doing God’s will.

Provision: I ask God to meet my daily needs.

Pardon: I ask God to forgive my sins.

People: I pray for other people.

Protection: I ask for protection and direction.

What do you think about these ideas?

5. How could you use this model of prayer to help you pray?

6. Russ told a story about a Fun Run when he wore corduroy pants. How could you use the idea of “Pants or no pants, just show up” to encourage yourself to pray even if you don’t know what to say?

7. The challenge from this message is to Make Prayer That Thing You Do this week. Are you taking on that challenge? How’s it going?

That Thing You Do: Give (your Time & Talent & Treasure)

November 17, 2024 • Russ Smith • 1 Corinthians 12:12–27, Galatians 6:9–10, 1 Timothy 6:17–18, James 2:14–17

1. What has stood out to you the most so far from this series? 2. If you listened to the previous messages in this series, how’s it going with taking up the challenges to Pray (to God) and to Read (your Bible)? 3. In this message, we looked at how the church is like a body made of different parts (1 Corinthians 12:12-27) and If you’re not here, we’re not complete and If you’re not serving, collectively we’re missing out. What do you think about those Bible verses and those two statements? 4. What are some ways that you could give your Time & Talent to serve at TMP and in your community? (maybe you’re already doing something, so tell us about that) 5. What are some ways that you could give your Treasure (your money) to serve at TMP and in your community? (maybe you’re already doing something, so tell us about that) 6. You can’t give EVERYthing. But you could give SOMEthing. If you’re not yet volunteering at The Meeting Place or giving some of your money to TMP, what’s holding you back? 7. In the message, we looked at some Bible verses (James 2:14-17) that talked about how faith without deeds is kind of useless. What do you think about that idea? 8. Phil (the first manager of The Wonders) gave his Time & Talent & Treasure to help the band. Russ told a story of how Dr. Earl and people from West Vancouver Baptist Church gave to him. Who can you think of from your life that has given their Time & Talent & Treasure to help you?

That Thing You Do: Read (your Bible)

November 10, 2024 • Russ Smith • Psalm 119:105, Psalm 119:11, James 1:22, Matthew 18:21–35, 2 Timothy 3:16–17

1. If you’re read the Bible before, what was it like when you first tried to read it? What book of the Bible did you read first? 2. In the message, we talked about the “Who What When Where Why” of the Bible (What is the Bible? Who wrote it? etc.). What questions do you have about that? 3. Russ talked about translation & location. Some translations of the Bible are easier to understand than others. If you’ve made a habit of reading the Bible, what translation or version of the Bible do you use? 4. As far as “When should we read the Bible?” goes, there’s no set time. If you’re interested in starting to read the Bible, when would work best for you? (Or if you’ve made a habit of reading the Bible, when do you read it?) 5. When you’re reading the Bible, you can ask 3 questions: 1. What did it mean to the original audience? 2. What is the underlying timeless principle? 3. Where or how could I practice that principle? What do you think about that? (If you want, you can revisit Jesus’ parable in Matthew 18:21-35 that we looked at in this message and asked those 3 questions about.) 6. The challenge from the message for this week is: Read (your Bible) and make it That Thing You Do! What’s your plan?