Following Jesus Together
Jesus has called you and me to be his apprentices. The goal of being an apprentice of Jesus is to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do the things that Jesus did.
But how do we do that? How do we start?
Small Groups is one important way to walk in the Jesus way. We are designed by God to live in community and do life together.
This Fall
Starting September 18
This Small Group Study is designed to help get you started on the journey of spiritual formation, help you get unstuck if you’ve stalled out, or just guide you into taking your next step. Ultimately, its goal is to train you to live as an apprentice of Jesus: to be with Jesus, become like him, and do as he did.
Week One – Following Jesus (Sept 18)
Following Jesus is more than going to church or believing the right things; it is practicing a way of life. The meaning of “follow Jesus” is rooted in 1st-century practices of rabbis and apprentices, practices that inform our understanding of how to follow Jesus today.
Week Two – Formation Part One (Sept 25)
Whether we realize it or not, all of us are being formed — by our habits, relationships, the stories we believe, and our environment. This session explores the six primary forces shaping individuals: habits, relationships, stories, environment, time, and experience.
Week Three – Formation Part Two (Oct 2)
Many of us desire to become more like Jesus, but we feel stuck. We need a training program, a reliable pathway to transformation. We find this in the Way of Jesus, which shows us how to intentionally engage formation.
Week Four – The Practices (Oct 9)
The Practices are disciplines that create space for the Spirit to transform us from the inside out. Learn about practicing ancient disciplines that open us up to God to change us at the deepest level.
Week Five – Meeting God in Pain and Suffering (Oct 16)
The Practices can expose pain as our soul begins to process and discharge suffering. This session explores the three primary ways people deal with pain (deny, detach, or drug), how unhealed pain sabotages transformation, and how God can meet us in pain to bring lasting change.
Week Six – Healing From Sin (Oct 23)
This session covers three dimensions of sin — sin done by us, sin done to us, and sin done around us — and explores four layers of sin we move through in our healing: gross sins, conscious sins, unconscious sins, and attachments. Finally, the session covers our part in healing, the practice of confession.
Week Seven – Crafting a Rule of Life (Oct 30)
Transformation is possible, but it’s not inevitable. Learn how to build an intentional plan, or what the early Christians called a “Rule of Life”: a schedule and a set of practices and relational rhythms that create space for us to be with Jesus, become like him, and do as he did.
Week Eight – Life Together (Nov 13)
To sustain a lifelong journey of following Jesus, we need to key in on one final critical truth: You are meant to follow Jesus in community. Learn how to cultivate a community of depth, vulnerability, and commitment to transformation.