The sermon for this week from the series “Acts in 3 Acts: Act 1” is titled “Moses: God’s Man for the Hour of Need“.

START IT – Connecting with each other

• As a child, who was the best storyteller you ever heard? What made that person so effective?
• Where did your ancestors come from? Do you have any heroes or “black sheep” in the family?

STUDY IT – Acts 7:17-37

• Read Acts 6:8-8:1. What stands out for you in this passage? What questions do you have?
• What does Stephen’s storytelling (in effect a history lesson) reveal about his respect for the Mosaic Law?
• Looking at vv. 17-37, what big emergency is Moses born into? How did God prepare Moses for his mission of rescuing the Israelites from the Egyptians? What parts of his story got him ready?
• Moses was 40 years old when he killed the Egyptian and 80 when he saw the burning bush. Take a moment to reflect on that length of time. What does that tell us about God’s timing and our need to be patient?
• What parallels does Stephen draw between Moses and Jesus? How does this relate to the charges against him in 6:13-14.
• Read Exodus 32:9, 33:3 & 5, and Deuteronomy 10:16. In this context, what is Stephen really saying about the Sanhedrin’s regard for Moses and the Law? What is Stephen implying by his charge against the Sanhedrin in 7:51-53?

LIVE IT – Applying the truth of Scripture to life

• How has God been preparing you for the mission he has for your life? What parts of your story might be getting you ready?
• Do you have a “prior record” (like Moses did) that you think disqualifies you from doing something significant for God? How might God use your “prior record” to bless others?
• In what way might you be feeling “stiff-necked” this week? How will you begin to bow to God in that area?

PRAY IT

• Application: Share one way in which you believe God might be able to use you to bless others. Pray for the person on your right, asking God to help them fulfill their mission.
• Joys and Challenges: What joys and challenges are you facing this week?
• Here at Northminster: Pray for Nate Landis and Urban Youth Collaborative.
• Beyond Northminster: Pray for those in our neighborhood who are in need this Thanksgiving.

The sermon for this week from the series “Acts in 3 Acts: Act 1” is titled “What’s So Great About a Crisis?“.

START IT – Connecting with each other

• Which responsibility at home or work would you gladly give up?  Never give up?

STUDY IT – Acts 6:1-7

• Read Acts 6:1-7 out loud.  What stands out for you in this passage?  What questions do you have?
• Read Acts 2:44-45 and Acts 4:32.  Given what these verses say, how could the Hellenistic widows be neglected?
• What are some possibilities for how the apostles could respond to this crisis?  What are some negative responses?  What are some positive responses?
• Why would the church choose Greek-speaking Jews to fill all seven positions (v. 5)?
• According to v. 7, what was the result of how this crisis was handled?  Why do you think this was the outcome?  How does this relate to Acts 1:8.

LIVE IT – Applying the truth of Scripture to life

• What issues hinder our church from fulfilling Acts 1:8?
• What principles in this passage could help free our church for a wider mission?
• What are some ways that you, personally, might contribute to the solution of Northminster’s current “crisis”?
• Is there a “crisis” in your life at this time?  How do you think you can respond to that crisis in a way that will lead to life and growth?
• What is God asking you to work on?  How can we help?

PRAY IT

• Application:  On a small piece of paper, write down how you can respond to either 1) Northminster’s crisis or 2) a crisis in your own life.  Place everyone’s paper in the middle of the group and have 2 or 3 people pray over those written responses.
• Joys and Challenges:  What joys and challenges are you facing this week?
• Here at Northminster: Pray for Northminster’s current financial situation.  Ask God 1) to provide for us and 2) to help us be a blessing to those around us regardless of our finances.
• Beyond Northminster: Pray for those in our neighborhood who are barely making ends meet.  Ask God to provide for them, especially during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

Please join us to explore the rich meaning of the lyrics to some of the most beloved hymns of the Christmas season for the first three Friday evenings in December.

Whether it’s memories of caroling, Christmas pageants, or Christmas Eve services, the hymns of Christmas are some of the most evocative parts of the season for many of us.  They refocus our spirits and remind us of the holiness and mystery of God’s incarnation.

This Advent Study explains the history behind some of our favorite carols and helps us encounter the rich wording anew.  Focusing on the ways in which words and music can speak to the core of our experiences, we will spend time in reflection, conversation, and simple enjoyment of these beloved hymns in the study:

• Dec 4  – “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
• Dec 11 – “Silent Night, Holy Night” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
• Dec 18 – “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”

The Rejoice! Advent Study will be held at the home of Peggy and Vance Belliston on Friday evenings in December at 7:00 pm.  Please feel free to join us for any or all of the sessions.  For further information or directions, please contact the Church Office at 858-490-3995.

The sermon for this week from the series “Acts in 3 Acts: Act 1” is titled “Juggernaut“.

START IT – Connecting with each other

• What has been your experience on either side of jail cell bars? What sights, sounds, and feelings do you associate with jail?
• When you leave home or your car unattended do you always lock it? Why or why not?

STUDY IT – Acts 5:17-42

• Read Acts 5:12-16 out loud. What words (nouns, adjectives, adverbs) would you use to characterize what’s going on in these verses?
• Read Acts 5:17-42 out loud. What stands out for you in this passage? What questions do you have?
• How do you account for the jealousy of the Sadducees?
• As an apostle, how would you feel during the events of vv. 18-21? What would you expect to happen next?
• How did the various people feel in vv. 21-26? The apostles? The Sanhedrin? The “someone” in v. 25? The temple captain? The people?
• Prior to Jesus, there were many zealots who led rebellions against Rome. What is Gamaliel’s point in recalling two such leaders?
• Flogging sometimes resulted in death. How would you react if you were freed from jail, only to experience a more severe punishment? What does the response of the apostles show about them (vv. 41-42)?

LIVE IT – Applying the truth of Scripture to life

• Do you ever feel tired, drained, overwhelmed, constricted, afraid, ineffective, or generally weak? In what way, what area of your life?
• What aspects of this story are encouraging to you when you think of those difficult areas of your life?
• How is joy in suffering related to God’s power?
• How do you explain why God sometimes delivers you out of hardships, but at other times he allows you to go through them?

PRAY IT

• Application: Share an area of your life in which you feel weak (tired, drained, ineffective, afraid, etc.). Have each person pray for what the person to their right shared.
• Joys and Challenges: What joys and challenges are you facing this week?
• Here at Northminster: Pray for all the Sunday School teachers and volunteers and for the children they serve each week.
• Beyond Northminster: Pray for Trinity Life Church a year-old church plant in San Diego affiliated with San Diego Presbytery. Pray for their pastor, Marc Peña, that God would guide him and strengthen him for this ministry.

The sermon for this week from the series “Acts in 3 Acts: Act 1” is titled “Is My Faith Real“.

START IT – Connecting with each other

• What religious practice did you once do “just because everyone else did it that way,” but you have since “outgrown”?

STUDY IT – Acts 5:1-11

• Read Acts 5:1-11 out loud. What stands out for you in this passage? What questions do you have?
• Were Ananias and Sapphira required to sell the land and lay all the money at the apostles’ feet? Why or why not? What was their sin?
• What would Ananias and Sapphira gain by lying about the money they received? How does this compare or contrast to the description of the church in Acts 4:32-37?
• Given that we all to bad things, why do you think God punished Ananias and Sapphira so severely? How might “great fear” be a good thing for the church at this time?

LIVE IT – Applying the truth of Scripture to life

• When have you tried to “fool” God? What happened?
• Did you ever simply “go through the motions” when it came to your spiritual life? In what way? Do you now ever find yourself “going through the motions”? In what way?
• What part of your life are you “keeping back” from God? Why? If you gave that part over to God, how would that affect your life? How might it affect your faith in God?

PRAY IT

• Application: Ask God to help you develop a life of faith that is truthful, honest, and genuine, and to be honest about those things you are “keeping back” from him.
• Joys and Challenges: What joys and challenges are you facing this week?
• Here at Northminster: Pray for the Session (Northminster’s board of elders) this week as they continue to listen to God and discern where God may be leading our church.
• Beyond Northminster: Pray for all those in our neighborhood who have not experienced the life-giving love of God. Pray that we might connect with them so that they might experience God’s love through us.

The sermon for this week from the series “Acts in 3 Acts: Act 1” is titled “Stuff“.

START IT – Connecting with each other

• At what point and with what group have you sensed the most unity: Athletic team? Army unit? Fraternity/sorority? Bible study? Music group? Your family?

STUDY IT – Acts 4:32-37

• Read Acts 4:32-37 out loud. What stands out for you in this passage? What questions do you have?
• Compare vv. 32-35 with Acts 2:42-47. What qualities describe this community of Jesus-followers?
• According to this passage, under what circumstances did the believers sell their property? Why do you think they were willing to do this?
• What do you think it means that they put the money “at the apostles’ feet” (vv. 35, 37)? Why did they do that?

LIVE IT – Applying the truth of Scripture to life

• If you were to describe our church, which of the phrases in this passage would you use to describe it? Which ones would not fit now? Why?
• How well does v. 32 describe your relationship with others in your church? What would have to change for such sharing to be possible?
• What’s the hardest thing for you when it comes to giving up your “stuff” in order to bless others?

PRAY IT

• Application: Thank God for always providing for you, and ask him to give you the courage to provide for others when they are in need.
• Joys and Challenges: What joys and challenges are you facing this week?
• Here at Northminster: Pray for Northminster’s Worship Band. Let’s thank God for all their hard work preparing music to help us worship each Sunday. And ask God to encourage and guide them as they continue to lead us in worship each week.
• Beyond Northminster: Pray for Floresta, that they would be able to help poverty-stricken communities become self-sufficient. Pray for those communities, that they would discover the love of Jesus as Floresta works with them.

The sermon for this week from the series “Acts in 3 Acts: Act 1” is titled “Clash of the Tenants“.

START IT – Connecting with each other

• Looking back, what “act of kindness” from an unsuspected source was redemptive in your formative years?

STUDY IT – Acts 4:1-22

• Read Acts 4:1-22 out loud.  What stands out for you in this passage?  What questions do you have?
• Why would the Sadducees and the “high priest’s family” oppose the disciples’ preaching?  What were they trying to do (v. 7)—search for information, or intimidate the disciples?  Why?
• What gave Peter the confidence to respond the way he did?  (See vv. 8 and 13)
• Why do you think Peter and John couldn’t “help speaking about what [they] have seen and heard” (v. 20)?

LIVE IT – Applying the truth of Scripture to life

• Do you ever feel “unschooled” and “ordinary”?  In what situations?  Do you ever feel that way in your spiritual life?  Why?
• Think about the confidence Peter had as he spoke to the Sanhedrin.  Based on this story, how can you develop that kind of confidence in your own life?
• On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = “I don’t feel like it at all”; 10 = “I can’t help speaking about Jesus!”), where do you stand in terms of feeling like you can’t help speaking about your experience of Jesus/God in your life?  Why?  What would cause you to move more towards a 10?

PRAY IT

• Application:  Ask God to give you the confidence you need to faithfully express what God has done, both in your actions and in your words.
• Joys and Challenges:  What joys and challenges are you facing this week?
• Here at Northminster: Pray for Northminster Preschool.  Ask God to be with the kids, the parents, and the teachers, and that God would be at work in all of their lives.
• Beyond Northminster: Pray for Reality Changers, a Christian organization in San Diego that helps at-risk teens be the first in their families to attend college.

The sermon for this week from the series “Acts in 3 Acts: Act 1” is titled “Reboot“.

START IT – Connecting with each other

• What is your full name? Do you have a nickname? What is it? Do you love it or hate it?
• Who would you want to write a biography of your life? Why that person? What does that person know about you that you’d like the small group to know?

STUDY IT – Genesis 12:1-3, Matthew 21:33-45, Acts 1:1-11

• Read Genesis 12:1-3 out loud. What is God’s promise and God’s calling to Abram and his descendants?
• Read Matthew 21:33-45. Who is represented by each of the characters? What is the point that Jesus is making with this parable?
• Read Acts 1:1-11 out loud. What stands out for you in this passage? What questions do you have?
• What do the disciples think will happen when they receive the Spirit (v. 6)? What are some major ways their idea of the kingdom differs from Jesus’ (vv. 7-8)?

LIVE IT – Applying the truth of Scripture to life

• As a follower of Jesus, what is the impact on you of Jesus’ words in v. 8? Of Jesus’ departure (v. 9)? Of the angels’ promise (v. 11)?
• Where is your “Jerusalem” to which you are called to bear witness? Where is your “Samaria” (that place or people that you have a hard time loving or feel uncomfortable with)? How do you sense a need for the Spirit to help you?

PRAY IT

• Application: Ask God to help you live out your call to be a blessing to the world.
• Joys and Challenges: What joys and challenges are you facing this week?
• Here at Northminster: Pray for all of the small groups, that God would reveal himself in new ways to every person who is in a group.
• Beyond Northminster: Pray for CCSA, that God would provide for them what they need to serve those in need, and that those in need would be blessed by CCSA’s ministry.

Starting the week of October 4, Small Groups at Northminster will get back into full swing!  And I hope you’re excited!

Over the course of this next year (between now and next June), we’ll be studying the entire book of Acts (with some breaks in between).  This will be a great series to discover how this thing called Christianity really started to spread.  Most of us know about Jesus–but what happened in the years immediately after Jesus?  That’s what we’ll be exploring!  And we’ll discover how the things that happened in the early church connect with our lives and our church today!

The series this fall will be called, “Acts in 3 Acts:  Act 1″ (followed by “Act 2″ in the winter and “Act 3″ in the spring) and we’ll be looking at the first eight chapters of Acts.  If you want to, it would be great to start reading Acts now!  If you read one chapter a day starting today you’ll be well into the story by the time the series starts!

If you want to sign up for a small group, you can do that before or after church on the patio on Sunday, or you can sign up online right HERE.

For specific information about each group, click HERE.

The sermon for this week from the series “Strong: Putting on the Full Armor of God” is titled “Talking God’s Ear Off“.

START IT – Connecting with each other

• Did you grow up in an openly “religious” home?  Or was religion a private matter, unseen by you until later years?
• Were you taught any rote prayers as a child?  What was one of the earliest prayers you can recall?

STUDY IT – Ephesians 6:18-20, Romans 8:26-27

• Read Ephesians 6:18-20 out loud.  What stands out for you in this verse?  What questions do you have?
• What are the things that Paul asks the Ephesians to pray for in these verses?  How do these things relate to the “full armor of God”?
• Why do you think Paul closes this section on the “full armor of God” by talking about prayer?  What’s the connection between prayer and the “full armor of God”?
• What do you think it means to “pray in the Spirit”?  Read Romans 8:26-27.  How does this help us understand what it means to “pray in the Spirit”?
• Looking again at Ephesians 6:18, what does it mean to pray “on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and requests”?  Is this difficult to do or easy to do?

LIVE IT – Applying the truth of Scripture to life

• What are some obstacles in your life that keep you from praying (or praying more)?
• What could you do to make prayer more of a habit in your life?
• What can you learn from this passage about your prayer for others in your small group? For friends in ministry and/or missionaries?  For others in general?  What can you learn from Paul’s prayers in Ephesians 1:16-18 and 3:14-19.

PRAY IT

• Application:  Pray for “all the saints” in your small group.  Take turns praying for each other, particularly their ongoing spiritual growth over the summer.
• Joys and Challenges:  What joys and challenges are you facing this week?
• Here at Northminster: Pray for the middle schoolers and high schoolers who will be going to Young Life camp this summer.  Pray also for the leaders who will be going with them.
• Beyond Northminster: Pray for Trinity Life Church a new church plant in San Diego affiliated with San Diego Presbytery.  Pray for their pastor, Marc Peña, that God would guide him and strengthen him for this new ministry.