THREE THINGS TO KNOW
DON’T MISS THIS. We launched a brand-new series, YOU ASKED FOR IT VOL. 2, where we tackle the tough questions you’ve been asking. And this spring, we’re adding something new: a LIVE PODCAST RECORDING every Saturday night at 6:45 PM at our Cascade campus, right after the 5:30 PM service. Prefer to listen later? New episodes drop every Wednesday on all major podcast platforms.
GROUP VALUES. This month, we focus on the value of BIBLICAL TRUTH. It is through God’s Word that we come to understand our need for redemption and how it’s made possible through Jesus. Biblical truth also shapes how we engage the world around us, including how we show up in conflict, hard conversations, and the relationships that matter most. This month, consider committing together to a Bible reading plan so that the truth you’re discussing on the weekend continues to shape your group throughout the week.
GROW AS A LEADER. This week’s sermon is a timely reminder that how we engage the world around us is part of our witness. For further reading on what it looks like to represent Jesus well in a divided culture, check out guest speaker Ed Stetzer’s book, Christians in the Age of Outrage: How to Bring Our Best When the World Is at Its Worst. Stetzer offers a constructive way forward for followers of Jesus navigating a culture defined by division and hostility.
SERMON DISCUSSION GUIDE
Welcome to the first week of our new sermon series, YOU ASKED FOR IT VOL. 2, where we tackle the tough questions our church family has been asking. This week, we explore what it means to be a new creation in Christ and how that changes the way we see the world and represent Jesus in it.
ICEBREAKER
If you could be the official ambassador for any brand, store, or product, what would it be and why?
THIS WEEK’S TEXT
Have someone read 2 Corinthians 5:16–21 aloud.
According to Paul, what changes when someone is “in Christ”?
What does Paul say God has given to believers?
How does Paul describe the role of Christ’s followers in verses 20–21?
THIS WEEK’S SERMON
In the first sermon in our new series, YOU ASKED FOR IT VOL. 2, guest Pastor Ed Stetzer explored what it means to represent Jesus and his kingdom in our everyday lives. As a group, recall some of the sermon’s big ideas and main points.
We live in a time when having strong opinions and expressing them loudly is celebrated. How does the gospel change the way we see the people we disagree with—not just how we treat them, but how we think about them?
The concept of reconciliation means that God took the initiative to restore a broken relationship at great cost to himself. What does it say about God’s character that he pursued reconciliation with us rather than waiting for us to come to him?
Paul describes a stunning exchange—Jesus took on our sin so that we could receive his righteousness (verse 21). How would truly resting in that truth shape the way you engage with people who are difficult to love or hard to forgive?
God has not only reconciled us to himself; he has given us the ministry of reconciliation. What holds you back from sharing the good news of Jesus with the people around you, and what would it look like to take one step toward that this week?
As ambassadors for Christ, our tone and posture in conflict is part of the message we send. Where do you find it hardest to represent Jesus well—online, at work, home, the holiday dinner table, or somewhere else, and why?
What would it look like to live and respond as an ambassador of Christ in the situation you named above?
Think about someone in your life who doesn’t yet know Jesus. What would it look like to represent him well to that person this week?
WRAP UP
This week, we were reminded that followers of Jesus have been given a new perspective, a new identity, and a new mission because of the cross of Jesus. What from this conversation or the sermon encouraged or challenged you most, and why?