GOING DEEPER
08.02.2020 | THEREFORE | Wk 6: “Therefore Make Room”
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Breaking Ground
Who was your best friend growing up? What did you first connect over?
The Dig
Reflect on the value for this week: “When the Holy Spirit is moving in & among us, we choose to make room for others.”
What does it mean to make room for others? What words or actions come to mind?
Why is making room for others important for the health of a community? What prevents a community from making room?
Read Romans 12:13-14. Reflect on how each of these three statements inform what it means for a church to be a community that makes room.
First, Paul instructs the community to give to those who are in need.
What role does generosity play in making room for others, especially those different from ourselves or outside of our normal group lines?
Second, Paul instructs the church to practice hospitality (the term here implies towards strangers).
What role does hospitality play in making room for others? Why does Paul focus on strangers in particular in this context?
Third, Paul instructs the church to bless those who persecute them.
Why is this posture of non-retaliation important for making room? In particular, why would it be important for a community like the Roman church that is fractured along ethnic, cultural, & socioeconomic lines?
Overall, Paul challenges the church to embrace diversity, while rejecting tribalism.
Why is tribalism so counter to life in the Kingdom of God?
Where do you find it hardest to make room by embracing diversity or people who differ from you?
Where do you find it easiest to create & seek out tribal lines that exclude those who differ from you?
If you have extra time, close by reading through the “How We Live It Out” points in the next section.
Getting Out of the Hole
Take each week during this season to reflect on each value.
Make Room – When the Holy Spirit is moving in & among us, we choose to make room for others.
What It Means – God does not lead us into life transformation so that we may keep it for ourselves. To do so would be to lose the essential Goodness of what we have been given. Our posture should always be oriented outwards – welcoming any and everyone into our community, acknowledging and accepting the journeys of others, and generously sharing all we have been given.
How We Live It Out
- We allow for differences in others, and we seek to listen and understand before speaking into others’ lives.
- Generosity is a way to make room for others: we share resources and give generously as a way to provide space for people.
- Everyone deserves to hear the gospel; we make space for anyone who desires to experience God’s love through Jesus Christ.
Journal, reflect, & pray over this value. Note any insights that stand out or really hit home. Share your experience with your growth group next week!
Additional Resources*
To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, & Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World by James D. Hunter
Resident Alien by Stanley Hauerwas
A Community of Character by Stanley Hauerwas
The New Testament & the People of God by NT Wright
Organizational Culture & Leadership by Edgar Schein
Leading Change by John Kotter
Coming Up This Week:*
Sunday, August 9: Join us for the next week of our series Therefore, where we will explore why authenticity is a core value at E3.
* Please see mye3.org for details.