Pray: To open your time together.
Read: Acts 2: 42-47
Consider: Some thoughts for your group
Over the last several weeks we’ve been leaning into the idea of building a community here at Westside that has deep roots in our city. Over the decades, our church has become a “lighthouse church” in the community of Central Oregon with a rich legacy of putting down roots, investing in people and serving our community together through the life and love of Jesus. It is central to who we are, but we certainly didn’t invent this idea.
In Acts 2, we see the very beginning of Jesus’ church following the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit falls on the gathered disciples and takes fire in the community of believers. From the beginning, the Church is marked by its devotion to one another and its outreach to those around them. They learned together, served together, and shared everything they had together.
Galatians 5 teaches us that there is real fruit that is evident in the life of those who live in the way of Jesus together. Read Galatians 5: 22-23 and reflect on where you do and don’t see this fruit in your life and in the life of our community.
Group Questions:
As you read the testimony of the early church in Acts 2, what stands out to you about the way they lived life together? Have you ever experienced life like this in community with others?
In what ways does our church reflect the model of the early church? In what ways does it not?
Read Galatians 5: 22-23 aloud in your group. As you sit with these descriptions of the fruit of the Spirit, which are most present in your own life? Which has you experience in the life of others in your community? How has the presence of the fruit of the Spirit in your life and others impacted you?
Staying Curious:
What might God be doing in this season of our church? What sparks hope for you in this season?
Closing Prayer:
Spend some time praying for one another. Pray for our church as we seek the Lord together. Pray for the leaders and pastors. Pray for your community to grow in the fruit of the Spirit and as a light to our city.