If you had to give a definition of the “Church,” what would you include?  Would the definition be positive? Negative? Mixed?  And, could you imagine the Church to be a place where God might change you?  In Matthew 16, Jesus first refers to his followers as the Church, but he give us more than the term.  He gives us a vision.

11.14.10 Changed by God: The Church of Jesus

Our annual fall retreat was Nov. 5-7. The talks from the weekend are now posted. You can access them here.

Need a refresher on leading the study? Check out our overview here.

We are palms up to worship, care, and serve the Prophet, Priest, and King. Prophet, Priest, and King are descriptions of Jesus that we don’t hear as often as King and Lord and, yet, the bible is full of these three images. In these descriptions, we find the music, lyric, and dance of the Gospel.

Rev. Scott Roley, from Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee, joined us for the service after speaking to us at our Annual Fall Retreat. You can listen to his talks on the retreat here.

Generic Sermon Study Guide

Need a refresher on leading the study? Check out our overview here.

Grace DC’s 2010 Retreat, Nov 5-7 featured Scott Roley, Senior Pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN. Scott spoke on “The Prophet, Priest, and King: The Music, Lyric, and Dance of the Gospel.”

LISTEN:
First Fall Retreat 2010 Talk – The Lyric of the Gospel
Second Fall Retreat 2010 Talk – The Music of the Gospel
Third Fall Retreat 2010 Talk – The Dance of the Gospel

Change requires determining the source of the problem-where does change need to happen? And, sometimes the “where” gives us a clue as to “how”. As Jesus engages in debate with the religious leaders of his day, he directs us to the heart of the matter.

Study guide: 10.31.10 Changed By Grace: The Heart of Things Sermon Discussion Guide

Need a refresher on leading the study? Check out our overview here.

There are critical life choices that are clear to us: have the operation or die; evacuate the coastline or perish; sober up or waste away.  There are others that appear less clear-spiritual issues often fall in this category.  However, Jesus teaches that spiritual life is a matter of life and death, and knowing Him as critical as food for living.

Study guide: 10.24.10 Changed By Grace: Eating is Believing Sermon Discussion Guide

Need a refresher on leading the study? Check out our overview here.

Please note: During the first 50 seconds of recording there is some buzzing. It will pass and the remainder of the recording is fine.

The phrase “walk on water” has come to refer to someone with great skill and ability doing amazing things-so amazing they could even walk on water. Often times Peter’s walking on water is treated the same way: his faith and courage is just so good-Peter could walk on water. A closer look at the account leads us in a different direction.

Study guide: 10.17.10 Changed By Grace: Stepping Into the Command Sermon Discussion Guide

Need a refresher on leading the study? Check out our overview here.

Our culture speaks of many different “powers”: purchasing power, political power, class power, star power.  And there are powers which we turn to personally: powers of intellect, powers of persuasion, powers of relation.  Jesus comes to us with a very different kind of power.

Study guide: 10.10.10 Changed By Grace: New Power Sermon Discussion Guide

Need a refresher on leading the study? Check out our overview here.

Once we desire to grow spiritually the next question is how?  Do we take a journey within? Do we undergo a rigorous course of spiritual disciplines?  Peter’s growth is triggered by a different method–seeing God in a new way. This is where we must begin.

Study guide: 10.03.10 Changed By Grace Sermon Discussion Guide

Changed By Grace: Known and Named
The disciple Peter is a case study in how God changes people.  He comes with all his rough edges and glaring flaws, yet Jesus loves and commits to him.  And, their first encounter teaches us two important principles about spiritual growth: God knows us and names us.

Study guide: 09.26.10 Known and Named Sermon Discussion Guide

Stronger Branches, Deeper Roots: Spiritual Growth II

Having considered the first three aspects of how spiritual growth happens, we now consider the place of power, Jesus and love in spiritual growth.

Study guide: 09.19.10 Stronger Branches, Deeper Roots II Sermon Discussion Guide