How We Do Small Groups

This is a very special day in the calendar of this church.

It's a day that we restart our small group ministry after a bit of a vacation during the summer.

!

As a consequence, because of the significance of this day, last week Pastor opened his scriptures as to the why we do small groups.

Even before the exact dates of his vacation were planned, he had planned last week the why we do small group,

and this week the how do we do small groups.

And as I was considering it and praying about it and what passage to ask you to turn to,

I considered what do we mean by small groups.

I remembered, I don't know why I thought of this, but I did,

one of the significant budgetary changes that we made for small groups was the issue of training.

It is our desire that every one of our small group leaders attend biblical counseling training,

and almost every one of them has done that.

And we want to continue to have that happening.

We've got a couple of, we have one couple that's going to be going three weekends here in the next month,

this leader this month actually,

and then we have already two couples that are planning to go over to Lafayette in Indiana next year.

You see, biblical counseling is simply one step that's used in helping a person grow spiritually.

It's one step in the process.

And Josh is up here because I asked him to come up here.

He's not just ready to remove me if I say something wrong.

Josh has a purpose here, okay?

And what I wanted to do was to give you a picture of what does it mean,

what is biblical counseling?

What is it all about?

What does it mean?

So Josh is going to be my illustration here.

And I've got my iPhone here.

I'm going to just kind of lay right here, okay?

And Josh starts out right over here, okay?

Josh starts out with salvation, all right?

He starts right here, and he looks an awful lot like Josh, okay?

The process, the program for Josh is for him to move across here until he gets over here.

I'm not going to go over there because I don't belong there either.

And he looks where he looks an awful lot like Jesus Christ, okay?

That's discipleship.

That's spiritual growth.

That's what's supposed to happen in every one of our lives.

Unfortunately, sometimes Josh gets started, okay?

And he's going along, but see, he's gotten distracted.

I've got to come along and say, Josh, it's okay.

It's okay.

Just keep moving.

Just keep moving.

Keep going, okay?

Sometimes that's what happens to us, right?

Sometimes, sometimes Josh gets started off, and he's growing spiritually.

He's getting to be more like what happened.

He got completely sidetracked.

He's not even progressing to look like Jesus Christ anymore.

He's stuck on the world.

What are you doing with my phone?

Okay?

And what I need to do is stop him getting to put down my phone and say,

come on, Josh, we've got to keep moving this way.

Sometimes the person gets started.

They're walking along.

They're looking more and more like Christ.

It's like they're almost at the end.

And it goes right back to the stuff that was distracting them before.

Thanks, Josh.

So I thought about biblical counseling, what biblical counseling is and what it's meant to be.

I thought of a passage that is what we want to be the center of our small groups.

Would you turn your Bibles to Colossians chapter 1?

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

I'm going to read verses 24 to 29, which is one long sentence.

Okay?

Apostle Paul liked long sentences.

And then we're going to focus on the last half of the sentence in verses 28 and 29.

Colossians chapter 1 and verses 24.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

Now I rejoice in my suffering for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body.

That is, the church of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you,

to make the word of God fully known.

The mystery hidden for ages and generations, but now revealed to his saints.

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery,

which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Him we proclaim, warning everyone, teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

This morning, as I said, we're going to concentrate on what I believe constitutes the summary of ministry.

That's what we find in verses 28 and 29.

This is how we do small group.

I'm going to relate it in three ways.

First of all, the focus.

Second, the way they function.

And third, who is the true facilitator of small groups.

First one is our function.

I'm sorry, our focus.

Verse 29 says, him we proclaim.

Proclaim, here's the general term.

It's not restricted to formal preaching,

but rather it indicates all of communication.

Paul is saying here that all he talked about was Christ.

He was a one-topic person.

You know any one-topic people?

It's a person that no matter what question you ask them,

they always want to talk about the same thing.

It might be golf.

It might be football.

It might be cooking.

It might be anything.

They're focused on one thing,

and the only thing they talk about is that one thing.

Paul was one of those people.

But for Paul, it was Jesus.

Every time he talked to someone,

it didn't matter whether it was the highfalutin people

or the common people,

whether Paul was talking to King Agrippa,

the military commander,

a tradesperson like Lydia,

a common prison guard like in Philippi,

a soldier fastened to him in a Roman custody,

the philosophers of Athens,

or the religious leaders of Israel,

Paul had one topic, Jesus.

Whether we're considering Paul's messages in the book of Acts

or one of the many epistles,

one thing is sure,

you're going to get a full dose of Christ.

But, you know,

despite all of his education

and his training,

Paul doesn't give us a whole lot of ivory tower,

head-swelling information,

theory that doesn't have any practice to it.

Rather, you're going to get a rich theology

that presents the truth of Jesus Christ

and then applies it step by step

in the lives of people.

At the deepest level,

the apostle conceived of his message

not as a system,

not as a collection of rules and regulations,

but as a living and glorious person

who is the fulfillment of the deepest hopes of mankind

and the source of new life to his people.

You find teaching that centers on a person

and change lives.

So what is the connection there to our small groups?

Our small groups are not centered on social interaction,

pragmatic attempts to increase the Sunday evening attendance,

or meeting the felt needs of members,

but to glorify our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

When we forget that,

when we ignore it,

or if we simply don't keep working at it,

making that the focus,

then we've lost the one thing that really matters.

And if you walk out of here today,

and you can only remember one thing that I said,

I would sure like it to be that.

So let me say it again a little bit more simply.

Our small groups are centered on glorifying

the Lord Jesus Christ.

Period.

So what does it mean to glorify Christ?

In Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17,

he begins with this concept of glorifying him.

And in that, he covers ideas such as attention to his word,

being sanctified,

being unified with other believers,

and having the love of Christ.

So if I would summarize,

it comes down to this.

Two of the best ways to glorify Christ

is to obey him and love others.

This really comes out throughout Scripture,

but especially here in the New Testament.

Remember when Jesus was asked to summarize the whole Testament.

Break down the law for us, Jesus,

and tell us what is the one most important thing.

And what was his answer?

Love the Lord your God with all your heart,

with all your soul,

with all your mind,

and with all your strength.

And love your neighbor as yourself.

How do I know that I love him

with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength?

Jesus answered that one too.

He said, if you love me, keep my commandments.

So let me connect it for you,

very plainly,

to ensure that Jesus Christ

is the center of our small groups,

we all need to grow in obeying Christ

and loving one another.

That's what I was pointing out with Josh.

Josh needed to keep moving,

keep moving forward and growing

to be more like Christ.

And the purpose of small groups

is what I was doing,

where I came along beside him

and I said, no, don't pay attention to that thing.

Or pulling him back,

and Josh made it easy for me,

to show you that sometimes

we need to be pulled back.

Sometimes it's not enough

to just say,

well, you know,

you really ought to follow Jesus.

So let's next look at the way

our small groups function.

Colossians 1.28 says,

warning everyone,

teaching everyone,

with all wisdom

that we may present everyone

mature in Christ.

The first thing I want you to notice there,

and I tried to highlight it for you,

is that everyone appears three times.

It appears after each verb in this verse.

I think that's significant.

Spiritual growth in Christ's likeness

is not restricted to the few.

It's not only the pastors.

It's not only the deacons.

It's not only the biggies of the church.

It's not even only the adults.

It is everyone.

Everyone.

Not everyone is capable

of an advanced degree in mathematics.

Not everyone is capable

of running a sub-four-minute mile.

Not everyone is capable

of climbing the corporate ladder

to the place where you're CEO

of the multinational corporation.

But everyone, everyone

is able to come to the maturity

that Paul speaks about here.

Each and every one of us.

Not only are we able,

but we are expected.

Every single Christian

is capable of the maturity

that Paul talks about.

Two things.

Can I encourage you

on the small groups?

The first one is

small groups need to make sure

that everyone is involved,

everyone is growing,

everyone is serving.

What does that mean?

What means this?

That, of course,

the activities must be age-appropriate.

I've worked with twos and threes

off and on for years.

I understand that a two-year-old

cannot handle a 45-minute lecture.

Okay?

Okay?

On the other hand,

a three-year-old,

a four-year-old, maybe,

four-year-old who has come to Jesus

can have a short Bible lesson

and can pray for other people

in a small group.

Small groups should not just be

two hours

where we send the kids off

and give mommy and daddy a break.

Small group ought to be for everybody.

Second thing.

It should not just be

one person teaching many,

but many teaching one another.

There is a leader

in the small group.

There should not be a lecturer

in the small group.

I have to fight this

as much as anybody.

I can obviously talk

without anybody else talking

for 45 minutes,

and it's okay.

Okay?

I understand some people can't.

I can do that,

but I should not do that.

I want to get people involved

because the way that

someone in my small group

like Kate

or the way that Jeff

or the way that Margie

says something

in my small group

may be just the way

that somebody else

needed to hear it

that I couldn't even

think of it that way.

We work together.

We teach each other.

So what are the things

that we should be doing

with everyone?

The first one it says

is warning.

Some translations

use the word admonishing.

Let me start out

with a definition for you,

and then I'm going

to explain it just a little bit.

Sorry, I'm getting

distracted here.

Okay.

It's this.

Biblical warning

or admonition

is the process

of applying the Scripture

to the issues

of our individual lives.

Biblical warning

or admonition

is the process

of applying the Scripture

to the individual issues

in people's lives.

It includes the idea

of setting someone's mind straight

with the idea

that it's not quite straight

right now.

It has to do with will

and emotions,

and it connotates warning.

It can relate

to non-Christians

with the thought being

that the apostle

sought to awaken

each one of them

to their need for Christ,

or it can focus

on warning of Christians

who might be tempted

to stray.

It could be simply

the person

who's distracted.

It could be the person

who's turned aside

and not growing anymore.

It could be the person

who was on his way

and backed up.

So let's see how this relates

to small groups.

Involvement in one another's lives

using Scripture.

Involvement in one another's lives

during Scripture.

Not long ago,

I had a very sad phone call,

and I'm just going to be up front with you.

I'm going to just lay it out.

The person called me,

and they said

that they had this challenge

that they were working on

and that they had already

asked all their friends.

The person was from this ministry.

They'd already asked

all their friends,

and their friends gave them

this advice.

And I listened to the advice,

and I was a little troubled.

So I said,

so could you tell me

what passage

one of them used with that?

And the person said,

oh, nobody used a verse with me.

My comment to them

was,

is that the advice you want?

My brothers and sisters,

that ought not to be.

The advice,

the counsel,

the direction

that we give

to one another

ought to be poured out,

ought to be dripping

with the Word of God.

And if it's not,

it's not good advice.

Second thing,

how do we make sure

this warning takes place?

The pastor mentioned

this one

in his training

for small group leaders,

and he asked me

to repeat it

for everybody.

And that was

making sure

that our prayer requests

are appropriate.

What do I mean by that?

We want to be involved

in one another's lives.

How can you be involved

in one another's lives

if you don't know

what's going on?

There needs to be

a level of transparency

or we can't be involved

in one another's lives.

On the other hand,

every one of you

has been in a situation

where you're in

some kind of a prayer group

or going to pray

for one another,

and one person

uses the prayer time

for manipulation.

I just want everyone

to pray for my wife

who's being very unsubmissive,

and she just really needs

to get right with God,

and so I'm just going to,

I just want you all

to pray for her.

Well, what did I just do?

She can't say anything now,

right?

Except I guess

I need to be submissive.

I beat her into submission

by using her

as a prayer example.

That's terrible.

My prayer requests

need to be appropriate,

not used to manipulate

other people,

not used as a means

of gossip.

Well, I really,

I don't want anybody

to gossip about this,

but I did want to share it

with you for prayer.

Well, if you shouldn't

be gossiping about it,

don't talk about it.

You can tell Jesus about it,

and that's enough.

Those are two ways

that that warning

is to come about.

Admonishing is to be

with all wisdom.

We're going to talk about this

in each one of the two sections,

but the warning

and warning everyone

and teaching everyone

are parallel phrases.

So both of them

are to be done with wisdom.

Wisdom refers to

the practical discernment,

understanding the biblical principles

for holy conduct.

The consistent pattern

of God-honoring ministry

is to link teaching

and admonishment

and bring them together

in the context

of the general doctrinal truths

of the word.

Doctrinal teaching

is invariably

followed by practical admonitions,

and that has to be the pattern

for all of ministry.

Next thing in it

is teaching everyone.

Refers to teaching,

and that refers to

imparting positive Christian truth.

The verb

and its corresponding nouns

of teacher and teaching

are often used

in the New Testament

to denote authoritative communication

of gospel truth,

like preaching.

At the same time,

this truth is reinforced

as believers

teach one another.

So teaching

is the positive sense

in which Scripture

is spoken

to increase

and improve

our understanding

of who Christ is

and what his ways are.

Teaching is to lay out

those two things

so that we grow

in our understanding

and our knowledge.

It does have

the aspect

of more information,

but it has

the aspect also

of that information

applied to our lives.

It's the responsibility

that's given to everyone.

I want you to look

at an illustration of that.

You're in the book

of Colossians.

You just need to turn

a page or two

to Colossians chapter 3

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

and verse 16.

Colossians chapter 3

Colossians 3:16

verse 16.

Let the word of Christ

dwell in you richly.

Teaching and admonishing

one another

in all wisdom,

singing psalms and hymns

and spiritual songs

with thanksgiving

or thankfulness

in your hearts

to God.

This verse is more about

let's do another song.

It points to everyone

as Paul says

because in this verse

the you,

let the word of Christ

dwell in you richly.

the you there is plural.

It's like y'all.

Okay?

It means everybody in here.

Not just one person.

Not just those people

who are teachers.

Not just those people

who are spiritual giants.

Not just those people

who are small group leaders.

It applies to everybody

at the church in Colossae.

So first of all

it applies to everyone.

Secondly,

it ties together

the idea

of in all wisdom

with the word of Christ

dwelling in you.

Those two things

go together.

So in both passages,

this one here

in Colossians chapter 3

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

and back in Colossians chapter 1,

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

both passages then,

with all wisdom

seems to express the way

that the admonishing

and teaching were done.

That says it's not

just about funny stories.

That it has at its core

and at its root

the word of God

and that's the thing

that is being used

to help one another

by admonishing and teaching.

As people need wisdom

to know how to live out

the true knowledge of God

so they need wisdom

to know how to teach

and admonish one another.

And this wisdom

comes only

from the word of God.

Third word there

is presenting.

The aim of Paul's

proclaiming and admonishing

and teaching

was to present everyone

perfect in Christ.

Present refers to

the bringing them

into God's presence

at the return of Christ.

The example that I used

with Josh

as I had him walking

from the point of salvation

to the point

of Christ-likeness

we recognize

that that actually

is vertical.

Right?

That the only time

any of us

is going to be

perfect in Christ

and look just like him

is when we see him

as he is.

Okay?

So that's going

to be vertical.

I tried to illustrate

it horizontally

because Josh

wasn't prepared

to fly.

Okay?

So I couldn't have him

moving up.

This issue

of progressing

growing to be

more like Christ

we recognize

that we're not there.

None of us are.

But said simply

the goal

of the ministry

of small group

is the maturity

of the saints

so that each one

of us hears

well done

good and faithful

servant

when we stand

before him

in the last day.

Shows up

in this passage

in Colossians

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

all the way back

in verse 22.

I didn't start

back there.

I started in 24.

But back in verse 22

it points to the fact

that it was Christ's aim

to present us

perfect before him.

Here in 28

it says

that it was Paul's aim

to present people

perfect before Christ.

I'm here to tell you

today that it's

your leadership's

goal

aim

function

for small groups

to present people

perfect in Christ.

And I pray it's yours.

The Greek word here

that's translated

mature

is kind of challenging

and so you see it

different

in different translations.

Some translations

use the word mature.

Some translations

use the word perfect.

perfect.

The idea of perfect

in the English

speaks of

absolute completeness.

Nothing missing

whatsoever.

Okay?

It's perfect.

Okay?

And that's not

the idea

of the word

in the Greek.

So consequently

some people

have translated it

mature

just kind of saying

well it's not

really perfect.

the trouble

with using

the word

mature

is that we

have the idea

that if we're

older

bigger

stronger

then we must

be mature

okay?

And it ain't

necessarily so.

And we don't

want to have

that idea

of relativeness.

I can have

a teenager

that's more

mature in

Christ

than

an older

person.

The question

is

are they

focused

solely on

Jesus Christ

and is that

the goal

and the highlight

of their life?

Because that's

the term.

One commentator

put it pretty well

I thought.

He said

it is the

complete

and undivided

way

in which

a person

with all

of their

positive

and negative

attributes

is oriented

towards God

or towards

Christ.

I thought

that was

pretty good.

I got an

even better

one for you.

Turn in

your Bibles

to Philippians

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

and verse

13 and

14

because I

think

Paul

under the

leading of

the Holy

Spirit

put it

even better.

Philippians

3

13 and

14

Brothers

I do not

consider

that I

have made

it my

own

but one

thing I

do

forgetting

what lies

behind

and straining

forward

to what

lies ahead

I press

on towards

the goal

for the

prize

of the

upward

call

of God

in Christ

Jesus.

Finally

let's think

about the

facilitator

of our

small group

ministry.

Colossians

Colossians 1:29

chapter 1

verse 29

For this

I toil

struggling

with all

his energy

that he

powerfully

works

within me.

The

balance

of

Christian

living.

Paul

says

he gave

the effort

to serve

and honor

God

with all

of his

might.

Labor

refers

to working

to the

point

of

exhaustion.

Striving

is where

we get

the

English

word

to

agonize.

It refers

to the

effort

required

to

compete

in an

athletic

event.

Let's say it

explicitly

and simply

and then I'll

explain a little

bit more.

We're to put

the same

kind of

effort

into

this,

namely

growing in

our

Christlikeness.

We're to put

the same

kind of

effort

into

this

that we

put

into

a

career

accomplishment

or an

athletic

achievement.

Time for

a grandson

story.

Yesterday

I went

over,

we've been

driving over

pretty well

once or twice

a week

to see

our

grandsons

run

cross

country.

So yesterday

we drove

over to

Lafayette,

well actually

we drove

over Friday

night and

then we

came back

yesterday.

Both of

them did

their best

that they've

done this

year.

But that's

not what I

want you to

hear.

What I want

you to

hear is

this,

that one

of them

he did

just amazingly

good.

He's coming

to the end

and he

was really

sprinting to

the finish.

He got

done and

he said,

I thought

I was going

to puke

right there

at the

finish line

in front

of everybody.

And I

thought,

that's it.

That's it.

we ought

to feel

like we're

working so

hard to

get to the

finish line

that I'm

going to

puke right

there,

right in

front of

everybody.

I hope

you think

about that.

Being

Christ-like

should be the

most important

thing in your

life.

Being Christ-like

ought to be the

thing that drives

you.

It's the thing

that pushes

you, keeps

you going when

you're tired,

when you're

wore out.

And ministry,

guess what,

can wear you

out.

Paul doesn't

go about his

work half-heartedly

hoping that,

you know,

God's good and

I think I'm

going to take a

nap this

afternoon and

just, you

know, God

will take care

of the lesson.

God will take

care of my

small group,

I'm sure about

it.

He doesn't

expect God's

grace to fill in

the gaps that he's

too lazy to work

at himself.

Nor, however,

does he think

that it's all

up to him.

So unless he

burns himself

out with

restless,

anxious toil,

nothing is going

to be achieved.

Because he knows

that it's Christ,

it's God's desire

to bring Christians

to maturity.

And that while

God has called

him to have a

share in that,

it is God's

job to do it.

So he can work

hard.

You can work

hard without any

of the stressful

motivation of

either pride or

fear.

Pride that you

can do it all

or fear that you

can't.

He becomes,

Paul becomes an

example of the

kind of maturity

that he's trying

to develop in

these other

people.

Paul can work

himself to the

point of exhaustion.

Paul can work

himself, if I had

been writing this

yesterday, I wrote,

Paul can work

himself to the

point of puking

and know that it's

all of God and not

of him.

Let's look at a

similar passage,

1 Timothy chapter

1 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

4.

I just suddenly got

this feeling that

all the children

are going to

remember, the

only thing they're

going to remember

today is puking,

especially the

boys.

But anyway,

1 Timothy chapter

1 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

4.

1 Timothy chapter

1 Timothy 4:10

4 verse 10.

For to this end we

toil and strive,

because we have

our hope set on

the living God,

who is the

savior of all

people, especially

to those who

believe.

Why should each

one of us work

at small group?

Because our hope

is set on the

living God, that's

why.

So what does it

call us to do?

It calls us to

serve rather than

show up.

to serve, it

means to serve

one another by

helping.

It may be in

hosting.

It may be in

setup.

It may be in

cleanup.

It may be in

childcare.

It may be in

preparing for the

meal.

It may be in

preparing your

heart and your

mind for the

lesson that the

small group is

going to look at.

And the reason

we do those

things, unlike

something that was

on Facebook this

week, or last

week, is

not because it's

good for us.

It is because we

want to glorify our

Lord Jesus Christ.

On the one side,

we don't forget that

the effect of

striving or work

with spiritual and

eternal results is

always being done by

God, even if it's

through you.

It is only his

energy, his power,

working through us

that can accomplish

anything of value

to the kingdom.

All our toil and

hard work is

absolutely useless

apart from God's

power in our

lives.

God gave Paul the

strength to work

hard at his

ministry.

ministry.

And in fact, as

we know, he gave

his life for that.

He worked hard at

it.

And God can do the

same thing in each

one of us.

Galatians 2.2,

I'm sorry, 2.20,

sums it up.

These two components

of human and divine

action.

Paul says, I've been

crucified with Christ.

Christ.

It's no longer I who

live, but Christ

lives in me.

And the life which I

now live in the

flesh, I live by faith

in the Son of God

who loved me and

delivered himself up

for me.

So being centered on

Christ, making God's

word the means and

the foundation of

ministry.

ministry.

Working to the

point where we're

tired, but trusting

that all accomplishments

come from the Lord.

This is how we do

small groups.

Come to think of

it, Colossians 1.28

and 29 looks an

awful lot like building

relationships that

build saints.

The theme idea that

we've used for, I

forget how long it's

been, eight years or

something like that.

And the question we

ask ourselves is, are

you involved or are

you a bystander?

Do you show up or do

you serve?

Are you a

participator or are

you simply an

observer?

The purposes of our

small groups are to

help each one of us

grow to be more like

Jesus Christ.

There may be someone

here this morning and

you say, well, I don't

even know Jesus Christ.

Well, this would be a

good day to change

that.

And then you can come

to a small group and

that small group will

help you grow to be a

little more like

Christ.

You may be here and

you're not really

involved in small

groups and in fact

you're not really

involved in growing.

Maybe going back to

the illustration with

Josh, maybe it's

because you just

keep looking at the

world and it has this

drawl.

Maybe you find you've

actually gotten off the

track and you're just

standing over there

involved with the

world.

Maybe you were on the

track.

Maybe you were

progressing and

something happened and

you just kind of turned

aside.

building relationships

that build saints.

That's the purpose of

our small groups.

Let's pray.

Our great God, our

Savior, all to be

like thee.

we need to be

changed.

There's not a single

one of us in this

auditorium that doesn't

need change.

There's not a single

one of us in the

auditorium that has

accomplished, that has

gotten there, that's

reached the goal.

And yet, Lord, we are

so quickly and so easily

distracted that it's

embarrassing.

Even when we're going

on the path, we're

more often just jogging

along.

Father, I pray that you

would bring conviction in

all of our hearts.

Lord, that we might be

drawn to the cross and

drawn to act more like

you, to want to be more

like you.

That our small groups

would grow in their

pointedness with one

another.

Not harshness, but

pointedness in the

scriptures.

That we would be more

transparent with one

another without ever

using our prayer time or

our small group time as

simply a gossip session.

Or manipulation time.

Father, help us to use our

small groups first and

foremost to bring glory to

your son, Jesus Christ.

First in his name we pray.

Amen.

that we have the

small groups that

have the

!

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