Vision Sunday

About this talk:

This Sunday, we hear from Russ as he sets out our vision for the year to go deep & wide.

Audio only

Life Group conversation

This year, we're being encouraged to be deeply connected and widely inviting. Today we're going to look at practical ways in which we can connect more deeply and be widely inviting.

A. Deeply Connected through Prayer

Read: Acts 2:42

We often use this verse to talk about a beautiful, well-connected community. 

Get someone to read the previous verse out loud. 

Isn't that fascinating? It was a community of 3000, and yet they were able to be deeply connected - devoted to teaching, to fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer! 

Discuss:

• What does the word devoted suggest about how prayer was practised?

• How does prayer connect us not just to God, but to each other?

• "The enemy doesn't tremble at a busy church, but at a praying church."
  To what extent might you say that we are a praying church? Given that we are the church, how might we grow in being devoted to prayer? 

B. Deeply Connected As a Generous Community

Read: Acts 4:32–35

Discuss:

• What stands out to you about how radical this generosity was?

• Why do you think generosity deepens connection? (Matt 6:21)

• What forms of generosity matter most right now—time, attention, hospitality, money, vulnerability? 

C. Widely Inviting

Inviting Friends with Faith

Read: Luke 14:23  & 1 Peter 3:15

Discuss:

• Why is it important that we go both deep and wide? What do we stand to lose if we focus on one and ignore the other? 

• What holds us back from inviting friends into faith conversations?

• How does being deeply connected make our invitation more authentic?

Practical moment regarding Generosity and Widely Inviting

Think of:

A. Prayer - what's one practical step I could do to strengthen my prayer life as an individual and as part of a community?

B.  Generosity - if, on a scale of 1 - 10, the church in Acts was a 10 in terms of generosity, where would you place yourself? What small step of obedience might God be calling you to in this area that you know you need to act on? 

C. One person God may already have placed in your life. One small step of invitation (a conversation, a meal, prayer, a question—not an event)

Give 2 minutes to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal something. Then get into pairs and share what you’ve written/decided re prayer, generosity and invitation. 

Pray with and for each other.