NEXT Groups

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Groups Begin THIS Sunday!!!

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

10.22 - 10.25 (Session 6) - Session 5 Below!!!

FINAL WEEK

Monday Night // 6:30 pm
West Group
Julie w/ the Kelly's
19612 Wyndham Lakes Dr
Odessa, FL 33556

Tuesday Night // 6:30 pm
East Group
The Friedman’s
20439 Lace Cascade Rd
Land O’ Lakes, FL 34637

Thursday Night // 6:30 pm
Central Group
Bob w/ the Michehl’s
3602 Fyfield Ct.
Land O’ Lakes, FL 34638

M.S. & H.S. Group // 6:30 pm
Wednesday Night
Brian & Cheryl
2938 Mingo Dr.
Land O’ Lakes, FL 34638

Watch the teaching video BEFORE group.
Take notes from each video here on your study guide.
Look over the group discussion questions and answer them.
Show up for group ready to discuss and learn :-)

VIDEO TEACHING

The following are a few key thoughts to note as you watch the teaching.

If we allow hurts and disappointments to affect our soul, we can find ourselves at the end of our lives alone and closed off. It’s a natural desire for self-preservation, but in the long run, it is not where we want to end up.

We need to ask ourselves how we want our lives to end up and where we are headed.

How we want to be at the end of our lives should shape how we live in the present.

Our soul is like a circle. We can either make that circle smaller or larger over the course of our lives.

Rather than closing in a little bit more each time we are hurt, we need to continually forgive people. God designed us to be big people; he created us to be proponents of forgiveness, mercy, and grace.

Jesus is the best big circle drawer in history. He invites anyone and everyone to come to him and receive from him.

We need to adopt the same attitude as Jesus. We want to live, look, and love like Jesus.

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Have you ever been deeply hurt in a relationship? How did that affect?

2. What is the end result of a life that constantly gets smaller with each hurt, disappointment, or tragedy?

3. How can you keep your soul from getting smaller and smaller?

4. Forgiveness necessary for your soul?

5. How did Jesus model a big, generous, accepting soul?

6. What do you want your life to look like at the end? How does that picture affect how you live now?

WEEKLY CHALLENGE

Find some time this week for a bit of deep soul searching. Look back over your life, starting with your childhood all the way up to the present. Make a note, in your head or on paper, whatever you prefer, of times your soul was deeply hurt. The goal here is not to relive the experiences or feel hurt all over again, but simply to recognize the reality of the pain.

Then take your list and give it to God. Spend a few moments in prayer asking God to take control of the emotions, the memories, and the consequences of those experiences. Allow him to heal your soul and lead you to a place where you can truly forgive.

On another day, take a few moments to write down what you want your loved ones to say about you at the end of your life. What kind of person do you want to be? What do you want your values to be? In light of your goal, what changes do you need to make right now? Is the way you're using your time, energy, and resources going to take you where you want to go?

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

10.15 - 10.18 (Session 5)

FIND YOUR PEOPLE

Watch the teaching video BEFORE group.
Take notes from each video here on your study guide.
Look over the group discussion questions and answer them.
Show up for group ready to discuss and learn :-)

VIDEO TEACHING

The following are a few key thoughts to note as you watch the teaching.

The Apostle Paul experienced more than his share of struggles and pain. Yet his writings portray a man who soul was buoyant and alive. He lived a flourishing and effective life.

In 1 Corinthians 16, we see 2 sources of help illustrated in the life of Paul that can allow our souls to thrive.

The first source of help can be seen in the number of times that Paul says things like “perhaps” and “if the Lord wills.” Paul reveals hear that his schedule, his agenda, in his priorities are subject to God. In other words, a healthy soul is a surrendered soul.

The only alternative to a surrendered life is carrying all the weight and pressure ourselves. That is not a healthy place for our souls to be. But when we yield control to God, we are able to cast our cares on him and depend on him.

The second source of help for our souls can be seen in the number of individuals who Paul mentions my name in first Corinthians 16. This illustrates the importance of staying surrounded.

It's easy to allow life to isolate us, but that is dangerous for our souls. Our souls were designed to flourish in conjunction and cooperation with other people.

When we intentionally live surrendered and surrounded lives, we find the help our souls need. It’s not always easy to live this way, but it is worth it.

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What are some areas in your life that are hard for you to surrender to God? Why are they more difficult than other areas?

2. The Apostle Peter wrote, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:7) How does the knowledge that God cares help you surrender your worries to him?

3. How does surrender help your soul stay healthy, sane, and stable?

4. Is it easy or hard for you to make friends? Do only certain personality types need friends, or do all of us need them? Explain.

5. How does staying surrounded help your soul stay grounded and healthy?

6. What are some practical ways to ensure you live a surrounded life?

WEEKLY CHALLENGE

Take time this week to honestly evaluate how surrendered and surrounded you are, keep in mind that these 2 areas will help your soul flourish and thrive.

Surrendered: Spend a few minutes in prayer once or twice over the next few days and ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there are any areas of your life where you have not yielded control. Remember, the more you’re able to surrender, the more your soul will be able to rest and grow.

Surrounded: What personal struggles or dreams have you kept hidden inside? Decided upon one area that you want to share with a trusted friend, and find time this week to be authentic and transparent with that person.

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

10.8 - 10.11 Session 4

Find your people!!!

Watch the teaching video BEFORE group.
Take notes from each video here on your study guide.
Look over the group discussion questions and answer them.
Show up for group ready to discuss and learn :-)

VIDEO TEACHING

The following are a few key thoughts to note as you watch the teaching.

Life is fragile, and challenging moments appear without warning. We need a stable, solid source of confidence and peace.

What Jesus did on the cross for humanity is the ultimate stabilizing, anchoring force for our souls.

Jesus doesn’t always make storms disappear immediately, but he is with us in the storm, and he sees us through the storm.

Our souls need outside help. We need a superhero and Savior. But that source of help can’t be something without a soul; nor can it be someone who has a soul but has the same struggles we do. Only Jesus qualifies to be the anchor for our souls.

It’s not about how tight we hold to the anchor; rather, it’s about the anchor who is holding onto us. Our confidence is not in our ability to follow Jesus but in his faithfulness and power to rescue us.

Jesus will not let us go. He is the rock who is higher than us. He is our connection to God. The only sure thing in life is God’s grip on us.

When we feel overwhelmed, God nudges us toward himself. He reminds us that he is with us, he loves us, and he will see us through.

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Have you ever found yourself in the middle of unexpected turbulence or danger in life? How did you react?

2. What did Jesus accomplish for us that we can’t do for ourselves? How does that function as an anchor for our souls?

3. Why do you think God allows storms in our lives? What should our reaction be in those storms?

4. Why are things or other people insufficient anchors for soul?

5. Do you ever feel as if you are too weak to hold onto your faith? In those moments, who is holding onto whom? Are you holding on to God, or is he holding onto you?

6. How does the knowledge that God will never let you go help you face the storms and turbulence of life?

WEEKLY CHALLENGE

Take a few minutes this week to read the following passages from the book of Psalms. Jot down a few brief thoughts about each one. These can be personal applications, questions, or observations based on the passage. There is no right or wrong answer: the goal is to interact with Scripture and let it shape your day-to-day life style.

Psalm 61:2

Psalm 62:5-6

Psalm 91:1-16

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

(10.1 - 10.4) Session 3

Find your people!!!

Watch the teaching video BEFORE group.
Take notes from each video here on your study guide.
Look over the group discussion questions and answer them.
Show up for group ready to discuss and learn :-)

VIDEO TEACHING

The following are a few key thoughts to note as you watch the teaching.

Have you ever been shocked by your soul or surprised by your feelings? That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The writer of Psalms 42 - 43 addressed this very topic.

How do we find stability and sanity and clarity in life? This artist addresses his own soul and says, “hope in God” (Psalm 42:5). God is the only sure source of hope and stability for souls.

When emotions run high, we need to be intentional about directing our souls to hope in God.

There are only two real options when we are going through hard times: Either concluded there is no God and life is meaningless, or believe there is a God and our lives are the result of his plan. If God put us here, then he is God enough to know about and care about our every day lives.

Even when our souls are in upheaval, God still in control, and he has a plan and purpose for a lives.

God is a personal God: He is “my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:5-6). His face is toward us; he is paying attention to our needs. That gives our souls hope.

God is greater than our feelings. He is greater than our souls. That means even when we feel discouraged or condemned, we can hope in him. He loves us, he cares for us no matter what we are going through.

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Describe a time when your soul felt hopeless or overwhelmed. What did you do to get out of that emotional place?

2. Are the emotional ups and downs of the human experience a bad thing? Why is it important to evaluate your thoughts and emotions in the light of God‘s love and faithfulness?

3. On a practical level, how can you direct your soul to “hope in God?” What does that mean to you?

4. How does knowing that God is aware of your needs and that he cares for you help you navigate the turmoil your soul sometimes faces?

5. Do you ever have trouble believing God cares for you? Why or why not?

6. What does 1 John 3:20 mean to you: “whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything?”

WEEKLY CHALLENGE

How do you tend to react when you face strong internal turmoil? Take a moment to think about it, and then write your answer down below. (You might say things like: escape such as through sleep, alcohol, vacation, or hobbies. Be in denial, panic, be indecisive, or try to control my environment.) It’s important to note that many of those things aren’t necessarily wrong; however, they might indicate your soul is looking for hope in the wrong places.

When my soul is overwhelmed, I tend to:

_________________________________?

This week, pay special attention to your reactions when your soul starts to feel overwhelmed. Instead of automatically responding, be intentional about placing your hope in God. That could mean taking a moment or two each day to remind yourself God loves you, knows what you’re going through, and has a plan for you. If you feel comfortable doing so, come to next week‘s group prepared to share how hoping in God changed how you reacted in difficult moments.

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

(9.24 - 9.27) Session 2

Find your people!!!

Watch the teaching video BEFORE group.
Take notes from each video here on your study guide.
Look over the group discussion questions and answer them.
Show up for group ready to discuss and learn :-)

VIDEO TEACHING

The following are a few key thoughts to note as you watch the teaching.

Cultivating a healthy soul can seem like a daunting task. What steps should we take? What is good for our souls? The answer is found in Scripture. God has given us a blueprint to live healthy, successful lives on the inside.

Genesis to describes the original environment God created for the human soul. Here we see the context in which the soul can thrive.

When sin entered the human race, it became the most detrimental, destructive, and dominant issue. That is why Jesus came to earth. Now that our sin is covered through Jesus, we can go back to the original creation account and discover the elements that are healthy for our souls.

The Garden of Eden was a beautiful, flawless, sinless Utopia. It was pleasing to the senses and restful to the soul. This illustrates the first element of a healthy social environment: rest.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve could eat from all the trees except one. Besides showing us how gracious God is, this also shows us the second element of a healthy soul environment: restriction. The word “no” is one of the most powerful words for the human soul.

God gave Adam a job: to tend and keep the garden. This shows us the third element of a healthy soul environment: responsibility. Work is a gift from God. God wants us to enjoy our labor and our jobs.

The most important element of a healthy soul environment is seen in God’s creation of eve: relationship. God said it was not good for man to be alone, so he was intentional about giving Adam the perfect companion. This is a picture not just of marriage but also of the importance of friendship and companionship.

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Is it hard for you to slow down and enjoy life? Why or why not?

2. What benefits do you find when you get enough rest?

3. Have you noticed how restrictions and limits actually help your soul? What are some good examples of a “good no,” or areas of life where restrictions are necessary and healthy?

4. Why do you think work tends to have such a bad connotation in our culture?

5. Describe sometimes when you saw firsthand how work and responsibility we’re good for your soul.

6. Are you intentional about your friendships? What benefits have you experienced personally from the relationships in your life?

WEEKLY CHALLENGE

Rest: take a minute to evaluate your sleep patterns and your stress level. What is one practical thing you could do this week to help you truly rest?

Restriction: what is one thing you could decide say no to this week that isn’t necessarily wrong or bad but is not healthy for your soul?

Responsibility: write down the top two things you dislike about your job (or responsibilities, if you aren’t employed). Then decide if you need to (a) change jobs, (b) change something specific about your job, or (c) change your attitude. Which did you pick?

Relationship: who are the people with the most influence in your life? Is there someone specific you should add to your circle of friends who is good for your soul? Is there someone who is influencing you that you need to limit because he or she is actually harming your soul?

Monday, September 10, 2018

(9.17 - 9.20) Session 1

Find your people starting 9/17 - 9/20!!!

You are about to take your next step in groups! So, here is how it works starting September 17 - 20:

Watch the teaching video BEFORE group.
Take notes from each video here on your study guide.
Look over the group discussion questions and answer them.
Show up for group ready to discuss and learn :-)

VIDEO TEACHING

The following are a few key thoughts to note as you watch the teaching.

It is possible to have everything look good on the outside but to be unwell, small, and unsuccessful on the inside. True success is not determined or gauged by the outside but rather by the inside. Much—if not most—of life is the result of who we are on the inside.

When God created Adam, he was just a form. He was just a body. It wasn’t until God breathed his own life into him that he became a living soul. Our outside isn’t what makes us alive, our soul is what makes us alive.

Our souls come from the breath of God. We are living on the borrowed breath of God.

When it comes to our souls, we are often nomadic: our souls don’t have a place to belong, a place to rest. They are restless and homeless. But if our physical bodies need a place to call home, how much more do our souls need homes?

God’s breath is the origin of our souls. Therefore, our souls return home when we use our borrowed breath to return praise to God.

Psalm 150:6 tells us that everything with breath—everything with a soul—should praise God.
Gratitude and worship have incredible power to bring health to our souls.

Mary and Martha illustrate two different approaches to God. Martha was worried and troubled because of what she had to do. She was unwell in her soul. Mary didn’t do anything except listen to the love and acceptance of Jesus. Yet Jesus said she had discovered the one essential thing in life.

Our souls find their homes when they return to the Creator, when they lean into His love, listen to Him, and stay close to Him. That is when we are truly healthy on the inside.

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. How would you define or describe the concept of the soul? What is your soul?

2. How important is it to have a healthy soul? What are some benefits of a healthy soul? What are some negative results of an unhealthy soul?

3. How would you describe the feeling of being home?

4. What does the idea of our souls needing to go home mean to you?

5. What does the origin of the human soul—when God breathed into Adam’s lifeless body and created a living soul—indicate about the soul’s original home?

6. What was the difference between Mary’s approach to Jesus and Martha’s? What do you think the “one thing” was that Mary did?

WEEKLY CHALLENGE

Once or twice this week, set aside ten minutes to just be with Jesus, like Mary did. It would be helpful to find a quiet place with no distractions (no phone!!!) Then spend time just thinking about who God is, what He has done for you, and how much He loves you. If you want, come prepared next time to share how you felt afterward.

Fall 2018 Group Info

Begin September 17 – 20

Find your people! We believe that next steps on your faith journey are most likely to happen circled up in relationships than sitting in rows in our auditorium. With that in mind, we encourage everyone to jump in a group (think 8 – 12 people eating, talking, learning and praying in a living room). Six week groups begin September 17 – 20 at the following locations:

Monday Night
West Group
Julie w/ the Kelly's
19612 Wyndham Lakes Dr
Odessa, FL 33556

Tuesday Night
East Group
The Friedman’s
20439 Lace Cascade Rd
Land O’ Lakes, FL 34637

Thursday Night
Central Group
Bob w/ the Michehl’s
3602 Fyfield Ct.
Land O’ Lakes, FL 34638

M.S. & H.S. Group
Wednesday Night
Brian & Cheryl
2938 Mingo Dr.
Land O’ Lakes, FL 34638