Missio Church - Bismarck

Love Jesus Live Sent: Transformation Over Information

Verses Used: * James 1:22-25 * Matthew 23:23 * 2 Corinthians 3:18 * 1 John 4:16 * 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 * John 13:35 Takeaways: * Information-based Christianity consumes content, debates theology, appears knowledgeable, and can still lack love. * Transformational Christianity learns and applies the gospel, grows in patience and humility, shaped by grace and truth, and matures in love. Information * Despite all the content we have at our fingertips, we don’t automatically get discipleship or spiritual maturity. Transformation * We can mistake sudden changes in a person’s behaviors as transformation. * A new Christian might stop swearing, stop partying, start attending church, and start listening to worship music instead of explicit music. * Transformation goes deeper than behavior management. * External behavior can change faster than the heart. That’s why Jesus continually focused on the heart. Love * Love is the most important aspect of Jesus’ nature. * 1 John 4:16 says, “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” * The truest measure of spiritual maturity is not how much you know about God, but how well your heart had been transformed by God’s love. Discussion Questions: * How do you think it was possible for the Pharisees to know so much about God, and yet miss the heart of God? What happened? * Why do you think people, including ourselves, often settle for outward change instead of inward transformation? * Who is someone in your life that reflects the love of Jesus well? What characteristics stand out about them? * Why do you think love is such a powerful witness to people who don’t know Jesus? https://missio.life/home [https://missio.life/home]

Love Jesus Live Sent: Culture of Sent People - Grace Over Guilt

Verses Used: * Galatians 1:6-9; 3:1-9 * Ephesians 2:8-9 * Psalm 51:3-4 Takeaways: Grace is the Gospel * The good news of Jesus (the gospel) is a message of grace, not of works. * There are laws God gave through Moses. It included moral laws (do not murder, steal, and commit adultery), civil laws (laws about debt and restitutions, property boundaries, agricultural laws for caring for the poor), and ceremonial laws (animal sacrifices, circumcision, dietary restrictions like clean/unclean foods). * The ceremonial laws pointed to Jesus, the civil laws governed Israel as a nation, and the moral laws still reflect God’s heart for how we live. Grace and Relating to God * Conviction moves us towards God in repentance. Condemnation makes us hide from God in shame. * Conviction says, “I have sinned”, but shame and condemnation says, “ I AM my sin.” * Grace is not just how we begin the Christian life. Grace is how we continue living it. We are saved by grace. We are sustained by grace. We are transformed by grace. * Grace is how we relate to God, at the point of salvation and for the ongoing day-to-day living. Grace Shapes Culture * Grace turns ministry from something we HAVE to do into something we GET to do. * A guilt-driven church culture becomes: performative, self-righteous, exhausting, and unsafe. People start hiding, pretending, and wearing masks because they feel like they always have to look okay. * A grace-driven culture has: trust, safety, humility, confession, and restoration. A grace-filled church is where people can actually tell the truth about their lives. * Grace does not remove passion for obedience - it changes the reason we obey. Discussion Questions: * Why do you think it’s easy to begin the Christian life with grace, but then drift into trying to earn God’s approval through performance? * In what ways can God’s grace free us from shame, pressure, or pretending? * How have you experienced guilt or pressure being used as motivation in church, family, or other relationships? What effect did it have on you? * What might people experience in a grace-filled church culture that feels different from the world around them? https://missio.life/home [https://missio.life/home]

Celebrating Mother’s Day

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Love Jesus Live Sent: On Mission Together. Gospel Fluency: Speaking Good News

Verses Used: * John 4:19-30 * Hebrews 3:12-13 * Romans 1:16 Takeaways: Spiritual Conversation * Jews believed the right place was Jerusalem because God authorized the temple there through David and Solomon, sacrifices were established there, and it remained central even after being rebuilt. * Samaritans only believed the Pentateuch, so they rejected everything about Jerusalem. * Samaritans believed the right place was Mount Gerizim (gare-a-zim) and they saw it as significant because Abraham built an altar nearby, and it was associated with blessings in Deuteronomy. So they built their own temple and continued worship there even after it was destroyed. * For the gospel to be good news, Jesus has to be at the center. Without Him, people try to reach God on their own. The gospel isn’t about being right, it’s about knowing and loving Jesus. Speaking Good News * Gospel fluency is not just saying Jesus is the answer, it’s showing how Jesus is the answer. * The gospel exposes the lies we believed before we knew Jesus and the lies we still believe as we follow Him. The Power of God * The gospel is not just words, the Bible tells us that it is the power of God for those who believe. * When the gospel touches a person’s heart it changes them, it has an impact. * When people experience Jesus and the truth of the gospel in their life they respond. * The gospel is powerful. It saves us and continues to shape us each and every day. We are saved by the gospel and we are shaped by the gospel. Discussion Questions: * Based on her story, what do you think the woman at the well was truly longing for? How did Jesus meet her needs? * How does being fluent in the gospel help us recognize the lies we believe and the lies others believe? * Imagine a friend says, “I don’t get it, I worked hard, I did everything right, came in early and stayed late. I thought for sure I would get the promotion to manager. After 10 years of dedication and effort, they gave the promotion to Chris. He’s only been here for a year. Honestly, it just makes me feel like I don’t matter.” * What do you think they are longing for? * What might they be believing? * What “wells” are they going to for life? https://missio.life/home [https://missio.life/home]

Love Jesus Live Sent: On Mission Together - Gospel Fluency: Learning to Listen

Verses Used: * John 4:1-18 * Colossians 4:5-6 * Ephesians 4:29 * Jeremiah 2:13 Takeaways: Start the Conversation * Mission often starts with ordinary conversation Discover the Deeper Desire * Jesus listened closely to the woman at the well. Jesus knows she’s thirsty for something more than water. People are always expressing their deeper longings. Reveal the Wrong Well * Jesus knows that the woman at the well has been placing her hope in the wrong well. Placing her hope in these things that haven’t satisfied her. * What we do on the outside is driven by what we believe on the inside. Behavior reveals belief. * Some behaviors include: Anxiety, comparison, overspending, and people-pleasing. Behaviors are shaped by what we are believing to be true, even if it isn’t true. * If we want to share the gospel in a way that actually reaches people’s hearts… we need to spend more time listening than talking. * Everyone is longing for something like: purpose, identity, peace, satisfaction, or true love. * With the help of the Holy Spirit we begin to discern what’s really going on. We begin to see the longing in their heart, the brokenness in their story, the emptiness they’re trying to fill. * Jesus is the living water; He satisfies what nothing else can. If we don’t take time to understand someone’s story and what they’re longing for we’ll miss the chance to share Jesus in a way that truly reaches their heart. Discussion Questions: * If a friend says, “Honestly, I just feel like I’m always the one giving in relationships. I show up for people, I care, I invest, but it never feels like it comes back.” * What might they really be longing for? * What beliefs might be driving that longing? * What are some “wells” you have seen people drink from to fulfill the longing of their souls? * What are some of the specific longings in your soul that Jesus meets? How is that good news? https://missio.life/home [https://missio.life/home]