Dear Small Group Leaders of Christ Church,
The videos of today’s messages “Hiding God’s Word” on Psalm 119:9-16 are available on the church website at www.christchurchsl.org/sermons. This week’s small group discussion guide and leader tips are available here on the www.smallgroupleaders.net site or in the weekly email attachment as well. Please forward the discussion guide and links to the sermon videos in a friendly meeting reminder to your group members this week including any group announcements you may have as well.
Discussion guide- 3-18-18 Sermon Discussion Guide- Hiding God’s Word
This Week’s Leader Tips in Video, Audio and Text Formats:
Video Format-
Audio format-
Leader’s Tip #1- Reading Scripture
The spiritual discipline of the week is reading scripture. This morning we distributed the Monday to Friday devotional readings which you can also see at www.christchurchsl.org/lentscripture or subscribe to the daily email version at www.christchurchsl.org/lent. If those in your group are seeking a recommended daily devotional book for times other than the Lenten season, two that our church are recommending this year are Our Daily Bread which is free online at odb.org or on the app, and God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life, a study in Proverbs by Timothy Keller which is on sale at the Jacob’s Well Coffee Bar for $12.
Leader’s Tip #2 – The Follow Up Surveys
Remember the anonymous pre-participation surveys that were distributed at the beginning of lent to the new small groups or new people who were joining existing groups? Now is the time for anonymous follow up surveys which will allow for comparison to the pre-participation survey and offer some indication of the impact that sermon based discussions are having on people in their engaging with the sermon messages and their sense of connectedness with the congregation. For the most part, it is the same survey as before with an extra page added for open feedback about the small group experience in general. Hopefully, those who listed an ID passphrase on the first survey, will remember their same passphrase to use on this next one, so that I can compare the results in an anonymous way! If you have new people who did the first form in your group, please print out copies of the follow up survey form and provide them at your small group meeting. After they are filled out, please collect them and drop them off in the church office in an envelope marked “follow up survey” whenever it is convenient for you. The Follow up survey form is available here- follow up participation survey v2
Leader’s Tip #3 – Holy Week Schedule
This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week! The following week, on March 29, the Maundy Thursday service, an upper room encounter, is at 7pm in the Family Life Center. The Good Friday service is at 7pm in the sanctuary with music by the choir and with liturgy and a message about the crucifixion of Christ. Easter morning, you can bring a chair to the Jupiter restaurant area in Town Square at 7am and celebrate the resurrection of Christ outdoors and then stay afterwards for chicken and waffles. Our on campus Easter services are all in the sanctuary- traditional at 8am and 11am and contemporary at 9:30am. Hope you can join us! Invitation cards to help spread the word about our services are available on the Welcome Table in the Gathering Hall. Please feel free to pick up a stack of cards and distribute them to your group members for them to use in inviting their friends and neighbors to Easter services at Christ Church!
I’ll be praying for you all in your meetings this week!
Blessings!
Dan Conway
Pastor of Discipleship & Outreach
Christ Church