05 | Building a Trellis

John 15:1-17

The Christian life is characterized by 3 fundamental priorities - being with Jesus in a transformational way, being connected with his people in a real-life, and following Jesus into the world as disciple-makers, from our neighborhoods to the nations. Every disciple of Jesus is called to these priorities, though we have a great deal of freedom to discern how to live them. As we conclude our Trellis series, we’re summing up these priorities, looking at how Jesus empowers us to be about his purposes in all of life. We’ll dig into our Trellis document, and offer practical suggestions for creatively living as disciples in the coming season.

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

1. Looking at John 15.1-17, what seems to be Jesus’ main emphasis? What is he after for his disciples?

2. Take some time to work through the Trellis document (link), asking the Spirit to highlight areas that need attention in this season. Are there specific patterns or themes you see emerging?

3. There is a great deal of peace and flourishing that comes when we align our daily practices with our priorities. What specific practices do you need to add (or remove!) from your life in this season, and why?

October 4, 2020 - Steve Hart

04 | Bear Witness

John 15:1-17

We’re concluding our September series, looking at our priories - gospel formation, life in community, and everyday disciple-making mission - in John 15. In John 14-16, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his coming departure, and his main theme is the continuation of his mission and ministry through them. Jesus says that all who believe in him will do his works, and that he will give the Spirit to empower believers to fulfill the mission. In John 15, he commands the disciples to do the Father’s business, the same work they saw him doing. He promises to make them fruitful as they go about this mission, and that he will assist them by the Spirit and prayer. Ultimately, they will be fruitful in this mission because Jesus will make them so. Every disciple of Jesus is called to be a disciple-maker, and the church is called to be a disciple-making community.

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

1. Soma is strong in our gospel-centeredness and a in our practice of community, but we’re weaker in mission. To what degree would you say that is true for you personally? Can you help us grow in this area?

2. Who has God given you favor with in this season? What are a few simple next steps for deepening relationship and having gospel conversations?

3. Using John 15.16 as a promise, ask the Father to soften hearts, create opportunities, and draw your neighbors and friends to himself, using us as he desires.

September 27, 2020 - Steve Hart

03 | Love One Another

John 15:1-17

In John 13, Jesus washes his disciples' feet, a visceral picture of his servant-hearted, sacrificial love for them. In John 15, he tells his disciples to love one another in the same way he has loved them, a direct reference to his foot-washing in John 13. For Jesus, there is no such thing as being a disciple without being deeply connected to a community of disciples. The foot-washing imagery tells us that real Christian community is messy, intimate, mutual, and redemptive. It cannot be done from a distance, cannot be a product of our imagination, and cannot be done in our own power. Only as we come to Jesus as needy sinners - in full acknowledgment of the stinky mess of our own feet! - can we know his love in a way that frees us to build life-giving community together.

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

1. When Jesus says “love one another as I have loved you,” he is looking back to having just washed the disciples feet (see John 13). What does this imagery tell us about the kind of love Jesus is commanding?

2. What makes community difficult for you? Why is it hard to stay with people and create authentic and meaningful relationship over the long haul?

3. What aspects of the love of Jesus - and all that he has given us in the gospel - makes community possible? How can you help build the kind of community Jesus commands here?

September 20, 2020 - Steve Hart

02 | Abide

John 15:1-17

Over the month of September, we’re digging deep into John 15, exploring Jesus’ imagery of the Vine and Branches, and considering how we’ll live our 3 Biblical Priorities - Gospel Formation, Life in Community, and Everyday Disciple-Making Mission. This week we’re looking at Gospel Formation and unpacking what Jesus meant when he told his disciples “Abide in me, and I in you.” Jesus says abiding means having our lives shaped by his words, his love, and his commandments. Abiding means we allow his words and teaching to shape our vision of life, and we trust his ways. We also learn to believe and receive the love he has for us, allowing all that is ours in him to fill and delight us. But abiding also means we submit to Jesus, surrendering and obeying him, especially when his ways contradict our own. The end result of this kind of abiding is the joy of Jesus being in us and filling our lives - Jesus calls us to abide because he wants our joy to be full!

September 13, 2020 - Steve Hart

01 | A Framework for Fruitfulness

John 15:1-17

In John 14-16, Jesus is preparing his disciples to carry on his ministry after he is gone. In the middle of all that, he gives them a simple image to describe exactly how he envisions them becoming fruitful in their mission. Jesus is the True Vine, the source of love, life, and joy. The Father is the Vine Dresser, pruning for fruitfulness and cutting off dead wood. And the disciples are branches, fragile offshoots, wholly dependent on the vine but surprising in their capacity for fruitfulness. Over the month of September, we're digging into this rich metaphor, exploring the kind of fruitfulness Jesus promises to create in us and what our role is in that process.

September 6, 2020 - Steve Hart