Small Groups
If you’d like to join a small group, we’d love to hear from you!
9th June
Genesis 1:1-2:4 & Matthew 28:16-20
1. The Trinity is Truth
In Genesis 1 and Matthew 28 we get some deep insights into the Trinity. In Genesis we see all three persons of the Trinity involved in creation, and that they make humans in their image.
In Matthew 28 we see that the name of God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
“There is only one living and true God, who is eternal and without body, indivisible and invulnerable. He is of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness. He is the maker and preserver of all things both visible and invisible. Within the unity of the Godhead there are three persons who are of one substance, power and eternity - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” - Article 1 from the 39 Articles.
How does understanding that The Trinity is the most fundamental truth in the universe change the way we view the world?
How does the Trinity make sense of love and creation?
2. The Trinity is beautiful
In Matthew 28 we see that as believers we are baptised into the name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We are in relationship with God who has these beautiful relationships within himself. The Father who loves the Son, who loves the Spirit, who loves the Father etc. They all point to the other.
If we are baptised in the name of this God, how should that change the way we view relationships?
What does it mean for marriages, friendships, relationships with children etc.?
3. The Trinity is life-changing
The prototype for our baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is Jesus' baptism. In Jesus' baptism we see all three persons of the Trinity at work, with the Spirit hovering like a dove. This is supposed to remind us of Genesis 1, where we also see the three persons of the Trinity. Baptism is about new creation.
How have you been made new?
How can you share this life with others?
Pray together.
2nd June
Acts 2:1-21
There were people gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost from many different nations (verses 5-12). We know many of them were saved and were also filled with the spirit (verse 41). How does this speak to the situation we find ourselves in that's been ignited by the murder of George Floyd?
The Holy Spirit was poured out, just as Jesus promised. After this happens, what is the very next thing that happens? (Verse 15-21)
Being filled with the Holy Spirit changed the disciples’ lives and the course of human history. What is the fruit of being filled with the Holy Spirit?
Bishop Paul made the point in his sermon that the Spirit is poured out not for our sake, but so that we can fulfill the great comission. What God does in us he wants to do through us. How does the events of Pentecost change the way you think about mission and evangelism?
Pray that you would know that the gift of the Holy Spirit being with you is a reality. Pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit for each other.
26th May
Acts 1:1-14
The five points from Lee's talk on Sunday were:
Command
Promise
Commission
Question
Prayer
—
Read the passage together.
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1: Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait because the Holy Spirit was to be outpoured from heaven.
In what areas of our life do we need to be obedient to God's voice?
2: Jesus promised the father would send the gift of the Holy Spirit just as he promised.
Why should this change the way we live our lives forever?
3: The disciples were commissioned to go to all ends of the earth telling people about the good news of Jesus.
Are we taking Jesus' commission seriously enough in our own lives?
4: The angels appeared to the disciples when Jesus was ascending to heaven. They asked why they were looking up. They knew Jesus would ascend. The disciples probably had a moment of doubt and hesitation as to what was happening forgetting what Jesus told them beforehand.
In what areas of our life have we taken our focus off Jesus and become distracted by other things?
5: We are called to be a community that devotes itself to prayer.
Share with one another how healthy your personal prayer life is.
Discuss how we can encourage each other to be persistently praying for revival in our own lives and here on Newcastle.
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Prayer - pray for personal revival and for the Holy Spirit to come in power so that we would see many people saved. Remembering the words from Psalm 24 - why not ask the Lord to reveal if our hearts and hands are clean? Spend some time repenting and asking the Lord for forgiveness.
19th May
John 14:15-21
The Holy Spirit is a person, and he is present with those who follow Jesus.
In verse 16 Jesus calls the Holy Spirit an advocate, a helper. What does this reveal about the person of the Holy Spirit?
Jesus says that the presence of the Holy Spirit would be with us forever (verse 16). Paul would write that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us (Romans 8). What difference does this make to us as we follow Jesus?
In verse 17 Jesus says that the Spirit is the Spirit of truth - he applies the truth about God to our lives. What truth is it that the Holy Spirit reveals? How do you know if something is true?
In verse 18, Jesus says that in sending the Spirit we would not be left as orphans. Paul writes about this in Romans 8 when he said:
“All who are guided by the Spirit of God are sons of God; for what you received was not the spirit of slavery to bring you back into fear; you received the Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, ‘Abba, Father!'”
We learned on Sunday that adoption means:
God freely chose us
Our debts have been wiped out
We are given a new identity and are co-heirs with Jesus
God will never let us go
What does it mean that we are adopted as children of God?
What does this reveal about God and about us?
Many people struggle with this idea. Do you struggle with the idea that you are adopted as a child of God?
Paul wrote that because we are adopted we are no longer slaves to fear. What are some of the fears that you need freedom from?
Pray for one another and do some prayer ministry together.
My Father is rich in houses and lands
He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands!
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full, He has riches untold.My Father's own Son, the Saviour of men,
Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them;
But now He is reigning forever on high,
And will give me a home in heaven by and by.I once was an outcast, stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice, and an alien by birth;
But I've been adopted, my name's written down,
An heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown.I'm a child of the King, a child of the King;
With Jesus my Saviour, I'm a child of the King.
12th May
John 14:1-14
Mim’s talk emphasised the following:
We all desire to be known and loved
We can only be truly known and loved by God the Father
We can only come into relationship with God the Father through Jesus
By knowing the person of Jesus, we know the Father
Discussion questions:
How do we desire to be known and loved?
Where do you look for your affirmation?
What does being known and loved by the Father look like?
Jesus makes a claim to being the unique and only way to relationship with the Father. He is the way, the truth and the life. What does it mean for Jesus to be the way? The truth? The life?
In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes 7 ‘I am’ statements about who he is:
I am the Bread of Life (John 6:25-59)
I am the Light of the World (John 8:12-20)
I am the Gate for the Sheep (John 10:1-10)
I am the Good Shepherd (John 10: 11-21)
I am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:17-37)
I am the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:1-14)
I am the True Vine (John 15:1-17)
Choose one of the statements above to explore the person of Jesus with your groups (N.B. we have already looked in our small groups at John 10 and John 11) and answer the following questions:
What does this passage reveal about the character of Jesus?
What does this passage reveal about humanity?
What are you challenged by in this passage?
Pray together.
5th May
John 10:1-10
The three points from Lee’s talk:
Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
Knowing the Good Shepherd leads us into obedience.
The Good Shepherd gives life in its fullness.
Discussion questions:
In what ways do you know Jesus is the Good Shepherd?
How has God spoken to you through the scriptures this past week and what have we done with that?
What does living life to the full look like? How do we make sure we don't make ourselves vulnerable to the things that kill and destroy like the thieves and robbers?
Pray together.
28th April
Luke 24:13-35
Verse 32 - ‘Their hearts were burning within them as he opened the scriptures to them.’
When was the last time your heart was burning within you as you opened the Bible? Be honest with your group.
How do you find reading the Bible every day as a spiritual discipline?
What can you do to spend some more time in the scriptures and how can your group hold you accountable?
Verse 27 - ‘The disciples were confused and disappointed, until they saw that all the scriptures were about Jesus.’
When you read the Bible, do you see Jesus on every page?
Where do you see Jesus is the following passages?
Creation (Genesis 1)
Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22)
The Exodus (Exodus 12)
David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17)
Where do you see Jesus…
Promised Where is there a promise of Jesus the Messiah?
Patterned What in the passage is Jesus shaped?
Present Where is Jesus in the passage?
Pray together.
21st April
1 Peter 1:3-9
In his Easter sermon, Ben taught that “the resurrection is not just something to be believed, but something to be lived”.
This week we learnt from St Peter three ways to live the resurrection life:
We live the resurrection life by glimpsing eternity
We live the resurrection life by choosing to rejoice
We live the resurrection life by the grace of God
Questions:
What is the source of our new life? (v4)
a. How did your life change (in big or small ways!) when you started following Jesus?
b. How does thinking about eternity affect the way we live now?
What does Peter instruct us to rejoice in?
a. What do you do to rejoice and give thanks to God?
What does Peter mean by the phrase “proven genuineness” of your faith? (v7)
a. What have you learned about your faith in this time?
“You are receiving the end result of your faith” (v9). How does this differ from the idea that you have to earn your salvation?
Pray for each other that we would all know the grace of God, through which we live the resurrection life.
14th April
Matthew 28:1-10
The three points Ben made in his talk were:
The resurrection proves injustice, sin, death and evil will not win
We can have the same resurrection life and power as Jesus
We are called to share this hope with others
Discussion questions:
How does the truth of Jesus' resurrection offer hope to those who are grieving, sad and angry at injustice?
The Guards were paralysed with fear (v4). The women were afraid and yet 'full of joy' (v8) and worshipped Jesus as Lord and God (v9). What does this tell us about the way people respond to the good news of Jesus? How can we live in joy today? "The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us" (Romans 8:11). Pray for one another that we would live in the reality of this truth.
Mary and Mary are told to "Go and tell" (v10) the other disciples of the resurrection. The same commission is on us today. How have you been sharing the good news of Jesus with others? How can we be sharing the good news of Jesus at this time?
Pray together.
7th April
Matthew 21:1-11
The three points Lee made in his talk were:
What is this true kingliness?
What does Jesus the true king do?
How can it appear in us?
Discussion question:
We want to be king and queen of our own lives. How have you been reminded that you are not king and in control of your own lives in this current situation?
Jesus is both majestic and humble. In what ways are we not like this?
How does this passage reveal that Jesus is the true king?
Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey to head to the cross - the events we remember throughout Holy Week. How will you remember afresh the events of this week?
“If you add anything to Jesus as a requirement to be happy, that thing is what you Worship” - Tim Keller. How can we encourage each other this week to trust and worship Jesus alone?
Pray together.
31st March
John 11:1-45
The Compassion of Jesus
The Claims of Jesus
The Call of Jesus
The Compassion of Jesus
We looked at how Jesus had compassion and love for Mary, Martha and Lazarus. In fact, Jesus’ love was so great for them that he decided to go back to where they lived despite the fact many people there wanted him dead (v8).
Just as Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus this much, he also went to Jerusalem knowing he would go to a cross for you and me.
What do these verses tell us about the compassion and love of Jesus for you?
What are you going to do about this? How can you share this love and compassion with friends, family and others at this time?
The Claims of Jesus
In verses 25-26, Jesus makes an extraordinary claim.
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die."
This is a claim to divinity. Jesus really is who he says he is.
What difference does this claim make to the way we face the current situation?
How should it affect the hope, peace and joy we have?
The Call of Jesus
After Jesus has made this extraordinary claim, he asks Martha "Do you believe this?" (verse 26).
Jesus is calling all of us to answer this question afresh.
Do we believe and trust that Jesus is resurrection life? That he is good? That he has a plan?
Martha and Mary had nowhere to turn when Lazarus died but to Jesus. We also have nowhere to turn but to him.
How can we encourage each other to trust in Jesus more during this time?
Pray together.
24th March
Read Exodus 2:1-10 together and watch/listen to Mark Wroe's talk from Sunday.
What strikes you about these verses?
In Exodus 2, God's people were in the middle of a national disaster. We are reminded from these verses that in the midst of our national crisis, God is with us.
Where have you seen God's presence in your own life over these past few days?
Share some testimony of what you have seen God doing, even in the middle of this COVID-19 Crisis that we find ouselves in. In Exodus 2, we begin to see God work out his rescue plan for his people (Moses was going to be part of the rescue). God had a plan all along for his people, and he has a plan for your life too.
In what ways do you need to learn to trust God, even in the middle of this crisis?
In what ways does the story of Moses point us to the story of Jesus?
Spend some time praying together:
Thanking God that we know a true and better Moses (Jesus)
Thanking God for his presence with us
Asking that we would learn to trust him more at this time