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The Way - Part 1
Springcreek Church | Senior Pastor Keith Stewart
January 8, 2023
This first installment in our brand new series is to help you better understand how the journey into a new life following Jesus actually begins. No matter how far you may feel you need to travel to get to where you want to be, with God what matters most of all is the direction your life is heading.
SERIES: THE WAY
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” – Jesus
Before we were called “believers,” the early Church in the book of Acts was referred to as “followers of the way.” Christians are supposed to be a people who spend their lives as followers of the way of Jesus Christ. You could say we’re on a journey deeper and deeper into the heart of God. This series explores what that journey looks like, the mileposts along the way and what God is doing to make our lives look more like His Son.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.) Spend some time talking about the many ways Christians are referred to these days, Christians, believers, and converts, and contrast that with Followers of the Way. What are some of the distinctions? How might Christianity be different today had the original designation as Followers of the Way actually stuck and became the dominant way Christians were known?
2.) In the first part of the message, Pastor Keith spent some time talking about soul hunger (craving for the eternal) that God placed in the human heart. He spent some time elaborating on how that soul hunger often gets misdirected and can actually be the driving force behind addiction, obsession with money, or even preoccupation with relationships. Yet, nothing in this world can satisfy the depth of that soul hunger that can only be satiated in God. If you have ever misdirected this appetite, share with the group what that looked like and what your experience was. Have you ever observed this in a friend, family member, or acquaintance?
3.) C.S. Lewis is an example of a man whom God pursued; his youthful deep yearnings for joy, his respect, and friendship with authors who had a Christian worldview and a fellow atheist who shocked him by describing the historical reliability of the New Testament. At the same time, Lewis’ coming to Christ was gradual, even incremental. His first step toward God was simply an acknowledgment that God existed. Can you relate to Lewis’ experience? In a very real sense, as society moves with greater speed away from a Christian consensus, we should expect more conversions like that of Lewis because people will simply lack the knowledge of the most elemental aspects of the gospel. They will begin at a more rudimentary level with first an acknowledgment that there is a God. Share your own thoughts on what Pastor Keith shared about AA and the twelve-step emphasis on God as a Higher Power.
4.) Spend some time as a group discussing bounded versus centered set thinking. Where have you seen this thinking played out? What effects did it have? Have you ever fallen into bounded set thinking when it comes to determining who’s a Christian and who is not? How does thinking in terms of centered sets help us deal with those whom society is prone to judge?
5.) Conversion is truly an ongoing experience. It’s never one-and-done like what is implied in churches that place an emphasis on altar calls. Each and every day, we are surrendering more and more of our life to God – as much as I know of me to as much as I understand about God. Share with the group how that dynamic has played out in your life. As you have grown, matured, and healed, how has the knowledge you have of yourself changed? As you have grown, matured, and healed, how has your understanding of God changed?
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