ST NICOLAS, NEWBURY

HOME GROUP QUESTIONS

BASIC CHRISTIANITY - 8 - THE SALVATION OF CHRIST

For home groups that would like them, here are some questions based on Sunday morning's teaching material. There's no need to answer them all - just tackle the ones you have time for. You don't need to stick to the areas mentioned here - feel free to discuss any other issues that arise for you.

Having thought about the Cross of Christ as the source of our forgiveness and reconciliation with God, we turn this week to the Spirit of Christ (through whom God intends us to be set free from ourselves) and the Church of Christ (within which he intends us to to be united as a fellowship of love).

1. Read Matthew 7:15-20. How does what Jesus says here apply to human nature in general? What would you say to someone who believed that human beings are fundamentally good?

2. What do you make of the idea of being 'born again'? Read John 3:1-8. Why was it hard for Nicodemus to understand what Jesus was talking about?

3. How would you answer someone who objected to the suggestion that we need to be born again? Why do some people think like this?

4. What does John 16:7 tell us about the role of the Holy Spirit? Why does Jesus suggest that it would be better for his disciples to have the Spirit than to continue having Jesus himself?

5. Read Galatians 5:16-25. In what ways do you experience the conflict Paul describes here? What practical steps can we take to make sure that the right side wins?

6. How would you respond to someone who said that you don't have to go to church in order to be a Christian? Why is the church 'a vital part of what basic Christianity is all about'?

7. Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-13. In what ways is the church like a human body? What is Paul wanting to get across with this illustration?

8. What's the difference between the 'visible' church and the 'real' church? How do we know whether we're part of the second as well as the first?

9. "It is by love that the divisive force of sin is neutralized, for love unites where sin divides, and brings together where sin pulls apart." What experience have you had of this? How could this aspect of what church is all about be strengthened?

* Pray for the life of our church - that we may more closely resemble what God intends us to be and to do.
* Following on from Education Sunday, pray for our schools - and especially our church school, St Nicolas Junior School, and its head teacher Keith Harvey. Pray about what Keith mentioned on Sunday - especially about the possibility of the church becoming a partner in offering pastoral care to pupils and parents who need it.
* Pray for Paul Reisbach, our new youth minister, as he prepares to join us in April.

David Stone
8 February 2009