Bethany Community Church

Teacher: Peter Reid, August 30, 2009.

Elijah went from vindicating God before the priests and worshippers of Baal to running for his life, full of despair.  It is not unusual for believers to experience darkness in times of fruitfulness.  The question we must ask is how we use those time to grow in fellowship with Christ, and to gain new insights into who God is and what his desires are for us.

Discussion Questions:
Nancy Eckardt

1. Can you think of a time when you have been hesitant to be honest about where you are at for fear of casting your Christian faith in an inaccurate light?

2. Can you think of a time of loneliness and discouragement in your life that immediately followed a powerful, victorious experience?  What triggered the discouragement?

3. Can you think of a time when God has done something in a way that challenges the wisdom of the wise?  Do you see this as an exception to his ways or the rule?

4. When have you been tempted to put your faith on auto-pilot?

5. In his despair, Elijah asked God to take his life.  Have you ever asked God to do something that in retrospect you are grateful he didn’t?

6. What expectations do we put on ourselves or our leaders regarding their well-being?  What does well-being look like to you?

7. What have you been able to see during times of darkness?  What emotions do you associate with darkness?

8. Read 2 Cor. 4:6  Light shall shine out of darkness.  When have you experienced God’s light-filled presence in the midst of darkness?

9. Read Isa. 42:3.  How have you experienced God holding onto you?  How does this verse encourage you?

10. God fed Elijah twice to confirm to him that He was sufficient for him.   In what ways right now do you need to trust in God’s sufficiency alone?

11. Forty is number that symbolizes God’s testing and God’s discipline.  Elijah didn’t think that God was enough and learned during this time.  Can you think of a lesson about God that took a long time for you to believe?

12. Can you think of a time when God did not accomplish his purpose in the way you expected or hoped?  How have changes in your hopes and dreams over the years affected your faith in God?

13. If God whispered to you, what would you want to hear?

14. What does fruitfulness look like to you?  How would your outlook change if you were more concerned about the source of your fruitfulness than the fruit itself?

Teacher: Pastor Richard Dahlstrom, August 23, 2009.

After revealing that pattern of incarnation and self-emptying, which Jesus
began and was demonstrated in Paul’s story, Paul concludes his letter to
the Philippians by calling them to follow in his example of remaining “in
Christ.” He reveals that those who are living day to day in Christ will enjoy
the very fruits that all of us, in Christ or not, long to experience in our lives.
What are those fruits?

Discussion Questions:
Nancy Eckardt

1. What defines your sense of fruitfulness?

2. Read 2 Cor 2:12-14. What doou see as the difference between impact and aroma?

3. What does you being “the aroma of Christ” look like?

4. Phil 4: 6, 7. What effect do events have on your sense of peace?

5. Can you think of an example when your experience of peace was beyond comprehension, in the reality of your situation? How did you explain it?

6. How do you struggle between living in peace and anxiety? How does prayer influence this struggle? How easy is it to bring your anxiety to Christ, and focus on him?

7. How does gratefulness play a role in addressing your anxiety?

8. How good are you at seeing completion in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. When have you seen hints of shalom (completion; wholeness) in your experience?

9. Where does the seeing completeness in the midst of unfinished business come from? How does Psalm 1 speak to this? What is the focus of our meditation?

10. Phil 4:11-13. What is your experience with meditation? What steps are you taking to learn to draw all your resources from Christ?

11. Have you seen your source of confidence change from the past? What do you have to let go of in order to put full confidence in Christ?

12. How does your community (small group, fellowship group, etc) reflect Christ corporately?

Teacher: Pastor Richard Dahlstrom, August 16, 2009.

Paul spoke of joy and contentment in spite of the reality that his context for ministry was never as ideal as he had hoped. He learned to be fruitful, regardless of the place in which he found himself.

Discussion Questions:
Nancy Eckardt

1. Can you think of trials and disappointments you have had as a result of following Christ?

2. How would you describe the distinction between religion and following Christ? How have you seen this distinction in your own experience?

3. What is on your plate today that you haven’t chosen? How do you see it as an opportunity for fruitfulness?

4. How easy is it to thank God for your context? What are the barriers?

5. How has Christ been revealed to you in an unlikely context?

6. How would your work or your approach to work look differently if you lived in greater dependence on Christ?

Teacher: Nancy Eckardt,August 9th, 2009.

From Pastor Richard Dahlstrom:

Let’s begin, before talking about anything else, by thanking God for some cloud cover and cooler weather.  The crazy weather patterns of this summer, all around the globe, serve as a healthy reminder that, in spite of the vast technological advances we’ve made over the past millennia, we still can’t make it stop raining in Louisville to the tune of 6 inches an hour, or prevent the normally mellow city of Seattle from reaching 103.  All this would be meaningless except for the fact that every shred of food we consume comes to us because the weather patterns of our world sustain life.  Since God controls those patterns in spite of best efforts to do it ourselves, we remain, as always, dependent on His provision!

Closer to home, August will be anything but a quiet month at Bethany, and we who serve on staff covet your prayers on the following fronts:

1. We’re in the midst of searching for God’s choice of the person to fill newly opened position of small groups ministry director.  Pray for us as we interview finalists and seek God’s right choice for this very important decision.
2. We’re also in the midst of budgeting, and as always, there’s healthy tension between our human projections and the vision of where we believe God is leading us.  We tug and pull at these various numbers, utilizing prayer, conversation, consideration, reconsideration, cuts, additions, more prayer, more conversation… you get the picture.  Pray with us that the final product is a representation of God’s heart.  Of course we want to avoid selfish ambition and presumption.  Just as much, we want to avoid any sense complacency or conservatism that is rooted in doubt rather than faith.
3. Pray for me as I teach in Canada this coming week.  I’ll be both plowing through Exodus, and preparing for Philippians 3 for the Sunday that I return.  I’m excited to be with my family (and a family with Bethany) at this conference, but also excited to continue the study in Philippians and preparation for the fall.
4. There are more newly married couples this summer than any in recent memory and literally every one of them that comes to mind fills my heart with gratitude for the love for the Lord, their creativity, and their desire to be a blessing in the world.  Pray for the new marriages in our midst, asking that God would strengthen them.
5. We’re in the middle of preparing for some vast changes this fall, as we become a church with multiple sites.  I’ll be writing and talking much more about this in coming weeks, but the short prayer request for now is simply that Bethany Community Church would be obedient to the voice of our Lord as He invites us to write yet another chapter in the book of Acts; God’s continuing story of His work in the world.
6. Pray for the Tabitha volunteers as they begin ministry again to the women who stay in the shelter here at our church.  Pray that they would be refreshed and renewed, and ready women to continue to serve the women who are here Tuesday through Friday nights.
7. Pray for those in our congregation who are feeling the financial pressure of an uncertain economy.  Pray that God would give them peace and would provide for their needs.  Pray that those who are out of work would find jobs quickly.
8. Pray for the ministry leaders as they begin to prepare for a new ministry year.  In the next month, we will be starting Boundaries, Alpha, and Financial Peace University and more.  Pray that our ministry offerings would be a context for transformation in the lives of those who attend.Pray for our high schoolers as they spend next week at camp in Leavenworth.
9. Pray for safety and a pouring out of God’s spirit in the lives of the youth that will plant in them a desire to follow Christ into the school year and build a foundation for the rest of their lives.  Pray that God would bless the leaders who so faithfully encourage and guide these kids.

Teacher: Pastor Richard Dahlstrom, August 2, 2009.

In Philippians, Paul’s theme of rejoicing always is based on his deep hope in God, coming out of an intimacy with Christ that allowed him to embrace all that came his way in life.

Discussion Questions:
Nancy Eckardt

1. Can you think of a time when hope drove you to accomplish the impossible?

2. Read Phil. 1:6,7.  How does God’s commitment to our transformation give you hope?  Where do you see the need for transformation?

3. When has it been difficult to believe God is transforming you?

4. In Phil 1:12 – 20, Paul affirmed God’s power to use any circumstance for his purpose and glory.  How have your plans changed dramatically?  How has your responded?

5. How have you seen the expansion of the kingdom through someone who has false motives?

6. Can you think of a time when you have entered into an endeavor with false motives?  What happened with you?  What happened with those impacted by what you were doing?

7. Out of his intimacy with Christ, Paul saw that his life more clearly.  How does intimacy with Christ change your perspective about yourself?

8. How valuable is intimacy with Christ to you?  What are the barriers to intimacy with Christ?