Begin in Prayer:

Give 1 minute of silence for everyone to calm their minds and bodies. Leader, pray simply for God’s love, presence, and power to be at work in each individual as we grow together.

Read This Overview Aloud:

We are spending the next few months at Redeemer clarifying and aligning ourselves to the God-given vision of our church. This Sunday we heard about Jesus’ vision for his followers to be people that receive the love of God, are aware and identified by his presence, and live by his power.

LOVE: The Good News of Jesus is that God’s disposition to the world is love. We are saved by God’s grace because of his love. The greatest commandment is to love God with our whole being and to love others. Without God’s love we cannot be in relationship with him or in right relationship with others. Redeemer is a group of people that embrace the love of God for themselves and overflow this love to those around them.

PRESENCE: God desires to be with his people. God is not a distant God that saves us from our sins and waits to see us in heaven one day. He is present in our everyday activities. Like Moses who refused to go into the Promised Land without God’s presence, we will not see God’s kingdom come in Modesto if we are not marked by his presence. It is his presence that forms our identity. Redeemer is a group of people that practice the presence of God and have their identity primarily rooted in his presence.

POWER: God’s love and presence bring grace and identity, but transformation into the likeness of Jesus comes through his power. We are not meant to be saved and not transformed and healed. God desires his people to be changed by his power and to access this power in ministry. Redeemer is a group of people that not only believes in God’s power, but seeks to see his power work in salvation, transformation, and healing of our community.

Living as loved is a reality where each follower of Jesus is being continually transformed by the love of God to become more like Jesus. Being like Jesus includes experiencing God’s presence and power through spiritual practices, community, intentional spiritual formation, and radical mission. We look forward to seeing this vision come to life as Jesus’ kingdom comes to Modesto.

Discussion:

• We say “Lived as Loved” a lot at Redeemer. What does this phrase mean to you?

• Between God’s Love, Presence, and Power, is there one you tend to overemphasize or underemphasize? Why is this?

• Is there something you can practically do this week to intentionally focus on interacting with God’s Love, Presence, or Power?

End in Prayer:

Give 1 minute of silence for everyone to calm their minds and bodies. Leader, pray simply for God’s love, presence, and power to be at work this coming week in each individual as we grow together.

Begin in Prayer:

Give 1 minute of silence for everyone to calm their minds and bodies. Leader, pray simply for God’s love, presence, and power to be at work in each individual as we grow together.

Read This Overview Aloud:

God’s love towards humanity is his natural disposition. Since the beginning of creation God has expressed his loving kindness towards human beings. The story of Israel is a story of God passionately pursuing his people in love. No matter how far God’s people have strayed from his plan, he has always chased after them as a lover would his bride.

At the center of the gospel of Jesus is his perfect love. It is only by God’s love we receive grace in salvation and transformation. Jesus declared the greatest love is put on display when one lays their life down for another (John 15:14). Jesus not only wanted his followers to live out this kind of love, but to receive the love that he gives us through his sacrifice.

Part of following Jesus is recognizing the truest thing about us is we are loved by God. His presence and power are only accessible and tangible to us because he first loved us. This love then leads us into loving relationships with others full of service, justice, care, confession, accountability, and much more!

Discussion:

• Has there been a time when you felt most loved by God? What about a time when you found it difficult to receive God’s love?

• Do you take time daily to receive the love of God for you? What does this practically look like? If not, how can you plan this into your daily schedule?

• Is there someone in your community that you need to speak the love of God over? Maybe an encouraging word, a verse, a prayer, etc.

End in Prayer:

Give 1 minute of silence for everyone to calm their minds and bodies. Leader, pray simply for God’s love, presence, and power to be at work in each individual as we grow together through the Holy Spirit this coming week.

Begin in Prayer:

Give 1 minute of silence for everyone to calm their minds and bodies. Leader, pray simply for God’s love, presence, and power to be at work in each individual as we grow together.

Read This Overview Aloud:

God desires to be with his people. He is not a distant God that saves us from our sins and waits to see us in heaven one day. He is present in our everyday activities. From the Garden of Eden to the tabernacle, to the temple, to Christians being filled with the Spirit, God’s presence has always been what sets his people apart.

Like Moses who refused to go into the Promised Land without God’s presence, we will not see God’s kingdom come in Modesto if we are not marked by his presence. God’s presence with his people is what forms our identity. With that being said, we all know that many times it is difficult to consistently be aware of his presence with us. It is one thing to believe that God is with us. It is another to daily experience his presence with us. To become aware of this presence with us, many would argue, takes practice. Our lives are to be shaped in ways that allow for greater awareness of God’s presence with us.

Discussion:

• Do you find the topic of God’s presence confusing, mysterious, exciting, nerve-wracking, etc.?

• Have you ever had an experience where you felt very close to the presence of God? What was that experience like?

• Since it takes practice to become more naturally aware of God’s presence, what step can you take this week to create space to experience God’s presence?

End in Prayer:

Give 1 minute of silence for everyone to calm their minds and bodies. Leader, pray simply for God’s love, presence, and power to be at work in each individual as we grow together through the Holy Spirit this coming week.