Invest Yourself In Your Relationship With God

SCRIPTURES FROM SUNDAY:

Colossians 1:20-22, Matthew 13:44-46, John 15:1-11

REFLECT/DISCUSS:

Q: What’s the largest amount of money you would accept from someone if they were paying you in pennies?

Q: Do you really want the things you say you want in life? Does it show in the way you invest your energy, time, etc.?

Q: What do you think/feel about the idea that what God really wanted was us? Think or talk about all that He invested to be able to bring us back to Himself.

Q: Do you relate to Jesus’ imagery of a Vineyard? Do you have any experience with growing a garden or something similar? If this imagery doesn’t hit home for you, what picture would you paint to describe the relationship Jesus offers us?

Q: Of the three ways Jesus mentions in John 15 that we can invest in our relationship with God (submission, obedience & dependence) which is the hardest for you? The easiest? Which seems like it could be most timely for you?

Q: Do you usually associate “obedience” with “love” and “joy”? If you did, how might it change your relationship with God?

TRY IT: Invest in your relationship with God by attempting one or more of the following this week:

· Stay focused on Jesus by praying a simple prayer whenever you think of it throughout the day. Write a sentence that captures something you want to say to God, or use this one:

“God, help me to stay connected to you today.”

· Think about and write down your thoughts to the following questions:

1. How has God been shaping me lately? What is there in my life he’d like to prune away?

2. Jesus says that I live in His love by obeying Him. Is there something that God has been calling me to do in obedience that I’ve been ignoring for a while?

3. As the Vine, Jesus says that He’s the source of life for us (the branches). Where do I need His strength in my life right now?

· Take a “prayer walk” by yourself and use the time to talk with and listen to God.

· Read Luke 8:40-56. What do you learn from the way these folks pursued Jesus? From the way Jesus responded to them?

FOR NEXT WEEK:
“Invest Yourself In A Spiritual Family