Breaking Ground
What are you celebrating in this season? Why?
The Dig
This Sunday, E3 celebrated the BEST DAY EVER (aka Baptism Sunday)! Take time this week to reflect upon the Sacrament of Baptism & the role it’s played in your life.
Begin by reading Romans 6:1-10. Here, Paul describes the symbolic ritual (or sacrament) of baptism as being about more than a one-time commitment or affirmation of doctrinal belief. Instead, Paul depicts it as someone choosing to actively adopt Christ’s story of death & resurrection as their own for the rest of their lives.
What are your first reactions to Paul’s imagery & description of baptism here? What stands out to you the most?
What do you think it means to die to our old self or who we used to be? Why is this necessary for experiencing true transformation & becoming a disciple of Jesus? Did your baptism mark such a moment in your life?
Have you ever experienced an ego death or death of self like what Paul describes here? What happened & what did that look & feel like?
Did you experience some form of transformation following what you identified in the last question? How could this be understood as an experience of resurrection or new life?
Close by reflecting on your life right now.
What’s currently holding you back from being who you want to be? What might it look like for you to experience a death of yourself in that area? Consider things like unhealthy thought processes, repeated actions, broken relational patterns, etc.
What might resurrection on the other side of that ego death look like in this area of your life? How might understanding this as taking part in Christ’s own death & resurrection help you surrender & find healing in what you’ve identified?
Getting Out of the Hole
Take time this week to reflect on what baptism means to you.
If you’ve already been baptized, then reflect back on that experience. How does it make you feel in remembering it? What’s changed since? Is there anything about your spiritual life that you need to recommit to in this season?
If you haven’t been baptized yet, then reflect on what it might mean to embrace Christ’s story of death & resurrection in this next season or reach out to the pastoral staff to have a conversation about baptism.
Journal about your answers to these questions & pray for insights. Share your experience with the group next week!
Additional Resources*
TheBibleProject.com
Falling Upward by Richard Rohr
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
Coming Up This Week:*
Sunday, September 1st: Join us next Sunday as we begin our new series Jesus the Christ! * Please see mye3.org for details.