Scripture: Mark 1:35-38 (Voice)

Early in the morning, Jesus got up, left the house while it was still dark outside, and went to a deserted place to pray. 36 Simon and the others traveling with Jesus looked for Him. 37 They finally tracked Him down.

People: Everybody wants to know where You are!

Jesus: 38 It’s time we went somewhere else—the next village, maybe—so I can tell more people the good news about the kingdom of God. After all, that’s the reason I’m here.

The Gist:

What is Holy Indifference? It's being present with/for someone without trying to "save" them or be "God" for them. It isn't indifference or apathy, it's loving someone without being consumed.

Jesus was a great example of Holy indifference. He cared deeply, but never let the urgency of others and their demands override His calling and God's plan.

Loving without being consumed requires a deep trust in God. When we practice Holy indifference, we are essentially handing people back to God again and again. We don't stop loving them, we stop holding what isn't ours to hold.

It's a heart that is: tender, not entangled, present, not pressured, and responsive, not reactive.

It's learning to listen instead of solving, care without chasing outcomes or solutions, and love without trying to manage someone else's emotions.

Digging Deeper:

If God asked me to release this particular attachment, what emotions arise in me?

When I imagine letting go of control, what part of my ego resists the most?

What would it look like to trust God without demanding guarantees?

How might holy indifference deepen my capacity to love others without needing them to be a certain way?

As promised, a fun break from the hard heart work! Take these questions to your next girls' night out or dinner party.

If your friendship were a cocktail, what would it be called and what would be in it?

If angels gave "Yelp" reviews, what would they say about you?

Which gospel personality would you invite to dinner?

If you had a podcast, what would you name it?

When do you feel most like your true self?

What's something you wish people understood about your personality?

What's your most unnecessary talent?

If we saw your Google search history, what would surprise us?

What's a habit that you have that drives your family nuts?

What's your favorite new app on your phone?

What's a Bible verse that has always struck a chord with you?

Scripture - Mark 10:17-22

When He had traveled on, a young man came and knelt in the dust of the road in front of Jesus.

Young Man: Good Teacher! What must I do to gain life in the world to come?

Jesus: 18 You are calling Me good? Don’t you know that God and God alone is good? 19 Anyway, why ask Me that question? You know the Commandments of Moses: “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not slander, do not defraud, and honor your father and mother.”[a]

Young Man: 20 Yes, Teacher, I have done all these since I was a child.

21 Then Jesus, looking at the young man, saw that he was sincere and responded out of His love for him.

Jesus: Son, there is still one thing you have not done. Go now. Sell everything you have and give the proceeds to the poor so that you will have treasure in heaven. After that, come, follow Me.

22 The young man went away sick at heart at these words because he was very wealthy,

The Gist

The young man in these verses is the only person in the Gospels (outside the disciples) Jesus personally invited to follow him. He is also the only one in the Gospels to walk away from Jesus's invitation.

Today, we discuss what we can learn from the young man and how we are actually very similar to him. This story illustrates the difference between following commandments and following Jesus.

The tragedy of the story wasn't that the young man had wealth, but that his wealth had him! The only thing worse than being far from God. . . is being close enough to hear His voice, feel His love, and still choose something else over Him.

Digging Deeper

What part of my identity would I struggle to live without?

Is there anything I've quietly decided is "off limits" to God?

Where am I slowly walking away from God, not outright, just not stepping fully toward Him?

Three GREAT Small Group Questions to answer regularly:

1) Where have I said "yes" to God? 2) Where have I said "no" to God? 3) Where have I seen God at work in my life?

Scripture

But that is not the way it will be among you. Whoever would be great among you must serve and minister. 44 Whoever wants to be great among you must be slave of all. 45 Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to be a servant—to offer His life as a ransom for others. Mark 10:43-45 (The Voice)

The Gist

Staying humble in our spiritual maturity and relationship with God is vital to adopting the posture of Jesus as minister and servant. Humility requires:

• Remember where our insight & wisdom comes from
• Continuing to see ourselves as learners, not just teachers
• Speaking from our personal experiences/testimony and not our position
• Remembering where we once were and not comparing ourselves to others
• Let words fall away, and let our lives speak

Digging Deeper

What does it look like for me to have a "gentle and lowly heart" as Jesus does in Matthew 11:29?

Where is Jesus inviting me to take the lower place?

How can I honor Christ in this person, even if I disagree?

Who am I when no one is watching?

Am I more concerned with being right or being loving?

Scripture

Grumbling broke out the next day in the community of Israel, grumbling against Moses and Aaron: “You have killed God’s people!”

42 But it so happened that when the community got together against Moses and Aaron, they looked over at the Tent of Meeting and there was the Cloud—the Glory of God for all to see. Numbers 16:41-42 (MSG)

The Gist

Spiritual maturity doesn't erase our humanity! We take a look at a few reasons we complain before turning to God, and consider how complaining becomes dangerous when it replaces prayer instead of leading us to prayer.

Digging Deeper

Is my delay in prayer coming from resistance, exhaustion, or the need to find truthful words?

What emotions am I sitting with right now that I haven't put into prayer yet?

When I find myself complaining, is it helping me avoid God, or helping me name what I want to bring to Him?

Worksheet for putting our emotions into words while they catch up with what we know intellectually and in our hearts.

Draw four circles: Label them in order: Emotions (what you are feeling emotionally), The Facts (about the situation w/ no emotions involved), Prayer Requests (based on the feelings and facts, what do you need to take to God in prayer), and Revelations (new understandings about the situation from God). You can also check out our social media for a visual of this worksheet.

Scripture:

My soul is exhausted awaiting Your rescue, yet I keep hoping in Your word. My eyes are strained as I look for what You promised, saying, “When will You come to comfort me?” Even though I have shriveled up like a wineskin left in the smoke, I still remember what You require. Psalm 119:81-83 (VOICE)

The Gist:

We often fall into the trap of believing strong faith means always feeling confident and happy, while weak faith brings on sadness, confusion, and exhaustion.

Faith doesn't mean that we never break down or get exhausted; it means never breaking away from God.

Reframe complaining to lament (complaint turns us away from God, and lament turns us toward God).

Examples: (X - instead of, O - Try)

X - Why am I struggling to trust?

O- Am I still bringing my struggle to God? (If the answer is yes, faith is still alive.)

X - Why can't I believe more or have stronger faith?

O - What am I honestly feeling right now? Can I bring that to God?

X - Why hasn't God answered my prayer or resolved this yet?

O - What is helping me endure/get through this day?

X - How do I fix my faith?

O - What is God inviting me to release/turn over to Him?

One great overall question we can ask ourselves to anchor us in times of questioning is: Am I still here with God?

God is always with us, so the question is, "Are we still with Him?" If the answer is yes, even faintly, then faith is still there. As Jesus says, I tell you this: if you had even a faint spark of faith, even faith as tiny as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and because of your faith, the mountain would move. If you had just a sliver of faith, you would find nothing impossible. (Matthew 17:20)

Faith isn't measured by how little we struggle, but how and with whom we struggle.

Digging Deeper:

If I’m exhausted, can I let God be with me as I am rather than as I wish I were?

What kind of struggle am I in right now—resisting, wrestling, waiting, or grieving?

If I allowed myself to lament, what would I say honestly?

What am I trying to resolve that God may be asking me to endure with Him?

What small signs of faith are still present in me, even if they feel insignificant?

Scripture:

Those people in the wilderness heard God’s good news, just as we have heard it, but the message they heard didn’t do them any good since it wasn’t combined with faith. Hebrews 4:1-2 (Voice)

The Gist:

There are many of God's promises that we know intellectually, but resist or have difficulty accepting emotionally.

"I am with you." - Isaiah 41:10, Matthew 28:20

"You are forgiven" - 1 John 1:9, Romans 8:1

"I will provide for you" - Matthew 6:31-33, Philippians 4:19

"My grace is sufficient." - 2 Corinthians 12:9

"God works out all things for good" - Romans 8:28

"You can rest" - Matthew 11:28-30, Hebrews 4

"You are deeply loved" - Romans 8:38-39, Zephaniah 3:17

"Do not fear" - Isaiah 43:1-2, John 14:27

The wilderness is what happens when God's promises are heard, but not trusted. Rest is what happens when faith finally catches up and agrees with God. The core wilderness problem the Israelites faced in the wilderness wasn't rebellion or ignorance - it was an unbelief they expressed as mistrust. They knew God's power, but doubted His heart!

Digging Deeper:

Which of these promises is difficult for you to accept emotionally? Take time to look up the related scriptures and sit with God, asking Him to give you wisdom and insight.

Ask, where is there fear or control blocking faith from mixing with truth?

Consider, am I only hearing God's Word, or am I trusting it?

Scripture

Today we explore Genesis 28:10-22, that includes a vision of a ladder/stairway connecting Heaven to Earth and a literary ladder as well. Showing us eleven steps that occur during Jacob's interaction with God.

But we settle on Step Ten, verses 18-19:

So early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had put under his head, set it up as a pillar, and then poured oil on top of it to commemorate his experience with God. 19 He named that place Bethel, which means “house of God.” Before that the name of the city had been called Luz.

The Gist

Bethel is the Bible's first example of God transforming an ordinary location into a sacred/holy place. We see it continue in the Old Testament: Exodus 3 (burning bush), Exodus 25-40 (tabernacle).

Then in the New Testament, Jesus arrives on the scene and the shift of holy/sacred places shifts from places and things to people.

1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19 - believers become the temple, as God's spirit dwells in us.

1 Timothy 3:15 - the "church" happens when people gather together in God's name. The church isn't holy, but the gathering of "community" becomes sacred because of God's people.

God meets us in unexpected places, transforms common/ordinary things into holy ground, and our everyday lives become sacred and holy places when we take the time to slow down and realize God is with us.

Digging Deeper

Are you in a difficult place right now, where you don't expect to find God?

Is it difficult to trust & believe that your life can become a dwelling place of God?

"Wherever God reveals Himself, Bethel (House of God) happens." How does it feel to read that?