Level Up: Up The Mountain

This Week’s : Video Announcements & Message

Additional Cell Group Resources

Family Meal Discussion

Greeting + Meal

Take the first 45 minutes to gather into the home, share some food, listen to each other.

Storytelling

Transition from the dining table to a more relaxed area, like the living room, if possible.

This weeks story to share:

*Taken from Psalm, Hebrews, and Matthew

Many times the idea of discovering more about the creator has been looked at as if climbing a mountain. We can see in the poetry written in Psalm saying...

Who can climb Mount God? Who can scale the holy north-face? Only the clean-handed, only the pure-hearted; Men who won’t cheat, women who won’t seduce. God is at their side; with God’s help they make it. This, Jacob, is what happens to God-seekers, God-questers. Now you’ve got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since you took my hand, I’m on the right way. (Psalm 16:11; 24:3-6 MSG)

We see how Jesus took us higher than our religious practices, to a more personal level with God in the way he became the better sacrifice that we needed. A sermon, shared among the early church, reminds us...

But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven’s “tent”—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God. (Hebrews 9:11-15 MSG)

Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears. (Hebrews 12:14-17 MSG)

If you haven't seen God face to face, you have to keep climbing!

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. (Matthew 5:8 MSG)

3 Things to do to Level Up God's Mountain

You Have to Want To (Do you find yourself not wanting to discover more of God?)
You Have to Prepare Yourself for It (In what ways do you prepare yourself for your next level?)
You Can't be Content with what You've Already Seen (What's a time in your life where you were content with where you were at?)

Closing + Goodbyes

Ask if anyone has additional thoughts or questions about the story or points. Close with an appropriate prayer time based on the faith level of those there tonight.

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DNA Group Discussion

DISCOVER (PRE-WORK) Before and while you read these passages ask the Spirit of God to illuminate your heart and mind and bring conviction and clarity of his truth for your life. Take some time during your own personal study to read through these four key questions:

1. Who is God (what does this passage tell me about God’s character)?
2. What Has God Done (how do I see God’s character in action here)?
3. Who Am I (How does God’s character and action shape how I see myself)?
4. What Do I Do (if I believe 1-3 how would I respond and relate to others)?

Scripture: Psalm 24:3-6, Psalm 16:11, Hebrews 9:11-15, Hebrews 12:14-17, Matthew 5:8

QUESTION: What did you DISCOVER during your study?

NURTURE Confess out loud to one another areas of personal struggle or unbelief that the Spirit revealed during your personal study.

In light of this week’s sermon, consider these questions together:

Do you find yourself not wanting to discover more of God?
In what ways do you prepare yourself for your next level?
What's a time in your life where you were content with where you were at?

QUESTION: How will you REPENT and BELIEVE the gospel?

ACT In light of your time together, what steps will you take to act on your new discoveries and affirmed beliefs?

Consider these questions:

1. What is a tangible way that you can bear witness to the gospel in your school, workplace or neighborhood this week?

2. How can you demonstrate God’s involvement in your life? How can you be more aware of it and draw attention to it?

3. What does it look like to bear witness in the midst of adversity? What adversity are you facing currently and how can you bear witness to God’s control?

4. Is there someone in your life that you think struggles with the secular narrative they hear around them? Who are they and how can you bear witness to the greater reality of the transcendent God this week?

QUESTION: What will you DO and who will you TELL about what God has done?

ESV brought to you by Crossway (a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers)

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What Child is This?Diversity ChurchFebruary 4, 2018Luke, Matthew, Hebrews, John