7.5.15 | Psalms of the Soul: I've Been Wronged

Dr. David Whitaker | Psalm 17

Have you ever been wronged by someone? Has anyone attacked you for no reason? Have you ever been accused of something you didn't do or say? Maybe you were the subject of gossip or slander. It's probably happened to most of us. It hurts deeply and sometimes, it's so deep, it becomes debilitating.

Download or listen to I've Been Wronged to hear more.

These questions are provided for your further study and application of this message. It is helpful to discuss your answers with others such as your Community Group, family, friends or an accountability partner.

1. What is your take away from this message?
2. When have you felt singled out for punishment - by a parent, teacher, boss? When have you been the brunt of someone taking it out on you? Was it ever for something you didn't do? How did you feel then?
3. When have you felt scared or terrified? Did your worst fears come true?
4. Read Psalm 17. Does David think he is without sin (vv.3-5)? Or is he merely reflecting on a particular issue that he has done right? What is he saying about the one wronging him (vv.9-12)?
5. Although he calls on God as a judge (vv.1-5), how does David relate to him (vv.6-9)?
6. Of the three things that he prays for - justice (vv.1-5), protection (vv.6-9) and the fellowship and conformity to God (v.15) - what does David desire most? Why do you think so?
7. "When I awake" seems to be a metaphor for passing through death to the presence of Christ (Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2).
8. On what basis do you make your plea before God: your integrity? The heartlessness of your opponent? God's love? Some combination? Or do you rarely see God as judge?
9. What makes the biggest difference in how and why you lived compared to those who don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ: God's love? God's righteousness? God's reward?
10. In what situation do you need deliverance from people or forces that seem out to get you? Applying the Scripture to our lives is important. What is the "next step" that God, through this Psalm and Spirit, leading you to take?
11. Write out a prayer in response to what the Lord has taught you through this study and what steps in response He might want you to take.

6.28.15 | Marriage Defined

Dr. David Whitaker

When God created mankind, He created male and female uniquely designed differently, but that together, they would bear the image of God. Together they would display God's covenant of love. Later in Scripture, Jesus says what God brings together, let not man separate. In our culture today, and especially in light of the recent events, this statement is more important than ever.

Download or listen to Marriage Defined to hear more.

6.21.15 | Living Humbly

Dr. Jeff Holmes | Philippians 2:12-18

How do we live humbly? Live like you're saved. When we realized we had salvation in Christ, we became co-heirs with Christ. Why, then, do we have fear and anxiety when we know the One who created everything is in control? When we have worked out and actually realized that God is in ultimate control, we naturally live in humility. There's nothing for which we can take the glory. Worship is worth it.

Download or listen to Living Humbly to hear more.

These questions are provided for your further study and application of this message. It is helpful to discuss your answers with others such as your Community Group, family, friends or an accountability partner.

1. What is your take away from this message?
2. When was a time you were dazzled by the night-time stars? What did that view communicate to you about God?
3. In v.15, we are encouraged to live in a way that causes us to shine like stars. What do you think God intends the world to know about Him through us?
4. In v.12, we are encouraged to "work out our salvation." Because we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-10), what might this working out of salvation refer to? How does v. 13 help bring light to the answer to this question? What difficult situation are you in right now where you are being called to show (work out) your salvation?
5. Why is it so easy to grumble and dispute? Why did the Israelites in the desert find it easy? How does grumbling keep you from shining? Is there anything you are currently grumbling about? When was a time you were inspired by someone shining like a star for God? (v.15) Has God's Word ever served as an anchor in a difficult time for you? Why is "holding fast to the Word" so important to our ability to shine? What is your action step from the passage?
6. Write out a prayer in response to what the Lord has taught you through this study and what steps in response He might want you to take.

6.14.15 | Thinking Biblically

Dr. Jeff Holmes | Philippians 2:1-11

Have you grasped the fullness of God's love? We often reduce the event of Christ's life to just an idea or a concept, but the reality is that it was an actual event for which we ought to be grateful. God tells us how to express our gratitude of what was done on the cross: think like God. The Holy Spirit enfolds us and helps form our thinking so that our thoughts follow Jesus'.

Download or listen to Thinking Biblically to hear more.

These questions are provided for your further study and application of this message. It is helpful to discuss your answers with others such as your Community Group, family, friends or an accountability partner.

1. What is your take away from this message?
2. When was a time you felt "if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy?" (v.1) Please explain.
3. Have you ever set aside personal ambition or seen someone else do it? What happened? (v.3)
4. In v.4, we are told to look to the interests of others. Whose interests might you be being called to put ahead of yours right now? How might you accomplish this?
5. Why is the statement in v.6 such a big statement that serves as our example? Have you ever witnessed someone grasping after "equality?" Have you ever had to stop grasping after equality?
6. In v.9, why did God exalt Jesus to the highest place? What does this say about God's value of the cross and Jesus' humility to take up the cross? When was a time you took up your cross to follow Jesus?
7. The cross is central to this whole passage. Where is God currently calling you to take up your cross?
8. Write out a prayer in response to what the Lord has taught you through this study and what steps in response or trust He might want you to take.

6.7.15 | Your Choice

Dr. David Whitaker | 1 Corinthians 13:4-7; 1 Peter 2:21-23

Do you assume the worst? Or believe the best? In every single relationship, there is a gap. What you put into that gap will eventually determine the direction of your relationship. We come into our relationships with baggage, and often our expectations are built based on that junk we carry.

Download or listen to Your Choice to hear more.

These questions are provided for your further study and application of this message. It is helpful to discuss your answers with others such as your Community Group, family, friends or an accountability partner.

1. What is your take away from this message?
2. What is the best piece of advice you've heard about making a relationship last?
3. What has been the most practical piece of advice from this series that you can apply to a current relationship (or future relationship)?
4. Do you have high expectations from your relationships? Or do you expect very little from those around you? Explain.
5. When there is a gap between what you expect from people and what they actually do, do you fill that gap by "believing the best" or "assuming the worst"? Give an example.
6. In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, the apostle Paul defines love with multiple descriptors. Which descriptors of loving come easy to you? Which aspects of loving do you find difficult?
7. Read 1 Peter 2:19-25. How does Christ's example guide you in your relationships? What specific steps can you take this week to fill the gaps in your relationships by choosing to trust and believing the best?
8. Moving Forward: Gaps occur all the time in relationships. There are gaps between what we expect from others and what they actually do. And in response, we can choose to trust and believe the best or we can choose the opposite and fill those gaps with negative assumptions. Or we can fill it with the description of love found in 1 Corinthians 13. Relationships will grow or die depending on what you choose to place in those gaps.
9. Write out a prayer in response to what the Lord has taught you through this study and what steps in response that He might want you to take.

5.31.15 | The Heart of the Matter

Dr. David Whitaker | Proverbs 4:23

Everything you do in relationship flows from your heart. And no amount of love, commitment and romance that comes from your heart could compensate for the darkness that comes out, too. It’s in all of us, so how do we guard our heart from the temptation to lie, slander, gossip and hurt others?

Download or listen to The Heart of the Matter to hear more.

These questions are provided for your further study and application of this message. It is helpful to discuss your answers with others such as your Community Group, family, friends or an accountability partner.

1. What is your take away from this message?
2. We all bring emotional "baggage" into our romantic relationships. What are some reasons why romantic relationships reveal this baggage more than any other kind of relationship?
3. Our "baggage" frequently results from family or romantic relationships. What are some specific experiences that have most contributed to your baggage?
4. Read Proverbs 4:23. In this verse, Solomon, famous for his wisdom, says to guard your heart above all else. What would tend to be your "pushback" to Solomon's counsel? Why would Solomon place such a high value on guarding your heart? How does Jesus affirm this in Matthew 15:18-19?
5. The condition of your heart will determine your ability to feel certain things. Why is this more important than your partner's behavior? How does the second half of Proverbs 4:23 support this assertion?
6. Unspoken emotions have a great deal of power over us. Why does verbalizing a specific emotion take away that power?
7. Often times, we feel defensive when our partners come to us and say, "When you do (blank), I feel (blank)." God gave us feelings - there are not bad feelings, and when we share feelings, we are providing an observation, not a criticism. From the message, what should be our response when someone provides this observation to their feelings? Why is this so difficult to do?
8. Moving Forward: What's inside of you is coming out. and it's not coming out because of who you are with, but because it was in you to begin with. If you want to stay in love, you have to pay attention to what is in there, so that you can own it. You have to have a plan to guard your heart - a plan that begins with thinking about and identifying specific emotions and then communicating them. Will you commit to this plan?
9. Write out a prayer in response to what the Lord has taught you through this study and what steps in response He might want you to take.

5.24.15 | The Canvas

Dr. David Whitaker | Philippians 2:1-7

Love is a verb. To fall in love, you have to have a pulse. To stay in love, you have to have a plan. It's so easy to fall in love, but it's very hard to stay in love. In a relationship, you have to make a choice: you have to choose to count the other more significant than yourself. What would the world look like if we lived this way?

Download or listen to The Canvas to hear more.

These questions are provided for your further study and application of this message. It is helpful to discuss your answers with others such as your Community Group, family, friends or an accountability partner.

1. What is your take away from this message?
2. Who is the most famous person you have ever met? How did you interact with that person?
3. What is your most valued material possession? Describe this possession and how you treat it.
4. Read Philippians 2:1. How would you answer each of those statements from your personal experience?
5. What are some specific things you can do this week to value someone you love above yourself? (see vv.3-4)
6. Read Philippians 2:5-7. Describe a time when you have seen someone with power choose to serve rather than to leverage that position for his or her own benefit. How did you feel when you saw that?
7. Consider the following statement: "We can't have it both ways. We all must decide between demanding what we think we deserve and choosing to submit." Why can't we have it both ways? What are some ways this week you can choose to submit to the person you love?
8. Moving Forward: to stay in love, you have to choose to love each other the way Christ loved you - to treat the person you love as the most important person in the world. You have to be willing to put him or her first. What is keeping you from doing this? Is it worth missing the love-relationship that God designed for you?
9. Write out a prayer in response to what the Lord has taught you through this study and what steps in response He might want you to take.