Cell Praxis

Teaching Text

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Sermon Synopsis

God's desire to dwell with His people runs all throughout the Bible: from the Garden, to the Tabernacle, to the Temple. Now in Ephesians 2, Paul describes the church as a dwelling place for God by the Holy Spirit, through Jesus bringing us together around Him as the cornerstone.

If God is truly at home among His people, then the church should become a place where people feel at home, too. This is a place where the lonely find family, the ashamed find grace, and the wounded begin to heal. And as we make room for His presence, that presence moves through us and into the world.

Key Takeaway

The goal isn't simply to run our church programs well or gather people together, but to be a home for God to dwell, rest, and delight in.

Discussion Questions

1. What makes it difficult to be “built together” with people who are different from us? What might it look like to let Jesus, not our similarities, be the thing that holds us together?

2. How can we intentionally create more space for God to dwell in our cell group?

3. How could what God is doing among us overflow into the people and places around us?

Practice

Paul reminds us, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God….” 

Pair up with someone (by same gender for co-ed groups, or by couples for pairs/married groups) who you did not know as well coming into this season.  Make plans to meet up over a meal, a coffee, or a phone call.  Use the time to share more of your story and get to know each other on a deeper level.  Share a prayer request for the week and commit to pray for each other until you meet up.  Spend a few minutes praying for each other now as well.

Teaching Text

Judging Others

37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit

43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Build Your House on the Rock

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Sermon Synopsis

We are being formed every day by our choices, habits, relationships, and the world around us, whether we recognize it or not.  A disciple is not simply someone who knows what Jesus teaches, but someone who is becoming like their Teacher.  And here, in this context, becoming like Jesus means learning to love when love is not returned, forgive when we have been hurt, and show mercy when we have every opportunity to condemn.

This kind of transformation requires intentionality.  Jesus gives us several pictures of discipleship that ask us to examine ourselves honestly and invite us to put His words into practice.  Spiritual formation happens as we hear His teaching, receive His correction, practice His way, and depend on His grace.  As we begin a new season of community, the question is not simply, "What kind of group do I want to join?" but, "Who is Jesus forming me to become, and how might my community show me where I need to grow?”

Key Takeaway

Who we are becoming is shaped by who we follow.  As disciples of Jesus, we are called to become like our Teacher.

Discussion Questions

Jesus gives us five pictures that point to a question we ought to be asking ourselves in our formation.

• The blind guide – Who is leading you?

• The student and teacher – Who are you becoming?

• The speck and the log – Can you see yourself clearly?

• The tree and its fruit – What is coming out of your heart?

• The two builders – Will you build on what Jesus says?

1. Which of these questions do you feel confident in answering to Jesus?

2. Which of these questions do you want to lead you in your discipleship and growth this season?

3. How have you seen your answers to one of these questions change over the course of your walk with Jesus?

Practice

At Tapestry, our conviction is to be Word-centered, Spirit-empowered, holistic missional disciples.

Jesus says, “Everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.”  Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and show you one small, faithful step you will take this week to move toward becoming more like Jesus.

Split off into pairs to share about this one step and encourage each other.  Close in prayer for each other.

Teaching Text

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Sermon Synopsis

All churches have a center of gravity, whether they recognize it or not.  Sometimes that center of gravity gets put on a leader, a program, a certain style of worship.  At Tapestry, we want to proclaim that our church is built around Jesus alone – that Jesus is always the only answer.  This is the same message that Paul had for the Colossians, who were in danger of treating Jesus as one spiritual piece among many.  We do not need Jesus plus something else; what we need is a bigger vision of Jesus.  It is then we can see who Jesus is – the One who holds the world together, who gives life to the church as its Head, and who reconciled us through the cross.

As our church enters into a new season of community, our prayer is simple: Jesus, stay at the center of our church, our relationships, our discipleship, and our lives.

Key Takeaway

Jesus is not simply one important thing in our lives among many, but the One at the center around whom everything else finds its proper place.

Discussion Questions

1. When life gets busy, stressful, or uncertain, what are some things you naturally find yourself leaning on to keep you grounded?

2. What are you hoping for in a cell group this season?  Where do you see Jesus present or missing in those qualities that come to mind?

Practice

Break into groups of 2 or 3.  Reflect on one area of your life where you may be trying to fit Jesus in as a piece instead of putting Him at the center.  Pray for each other in these things.