Bethany Community Church

A healthy church is committed to making the invisible God visible in our community and around the world by embodying the reign of Christ in word and deed. We face challenges at many levels when embracing God’s mission, and these challenges are effectively addressed by looking at one single verse in the Bible, Acts 1:8.

Sunday, October, 16, 2011 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt

1. “Mission is making the invisible God visible in our community and around the world by embodying the reign of Christ in word and deed.”  What does mission mean for you?  For BCC?
2. What characteristics of the kingdom of God does your life reflect?
3. How comfortable are you with the reality that your life tells others who Jesus is?
4. How do your actions connect to your intimacy with Christ?
5. We are called to be effective witnesses at home – what is home to you?
6. How is your life and witness counter-cultural to your context?
7. In what ways is your faith characterized by your culture?
8. How do you reflect Christ in word in your daily context?
9. Can you think of a time when you left a comfortable context and were scattered to another place?  How did you step into a new community, secular and/or Christian?
10. How do you cross cultural barriers in your daily life?
11. What keeps you from crossing cultural barriers?
12. What step can you take to overcome the barriers to step more richly into culture?
13. In what ways can we benefit from crossing cultural barriers?
14. How aware are you of God’s presence throughout the day?  What can you do to deepen awareness of Him?

Sunday’s Bulletin

As a part of overall church health, we’re committed to helping each person find their unique voice and calling, and to developing leaders. Faith is passed from one generation to another intentionally, through relationship, therefore leaders must commit to passing the torch of leadership to a new generation.

Sunday, October 9, 2011 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt

1. When has someone passed the baton to you?  What did it feel like?
2. When have you passed the baton to someone else?  Was it easy or hard and why?
3. Have you had a mentor before?  What did you gain?
4. Have you been a mentor before?  How did you gain from it?
5. What emotion does the phrase “Pass the torch” stir in you?
6. What role has presence played in your mentoring relationships?
7. What keeps you from being a mentor?
8. What responsibilities can you entrust to a new leader as a way to encourage and equip them?
9. Are you closer to being Frodo or Gandalf?
10. How easy is it for you to see a mentoring relationship as mutually beneficial?
11. What can you gain from the older generation?  From the younger generation?
12. What have you learned from interactions with friends from different cultures?
13. What keeps you from being curious?
14. What are you curious about?
15. When have you seen curiosity building bridges?
16. How is your Facebook identity different than your true identity?
17. What struggles do you hide from those you seek to impress?  Why?

Sunday’s Bulletin

If we’re to live the fullest life possible, we musn’t customize and brand ourselves like our consumer culture tells us to. Instead we must find the voice and calling that God has given us, and devote ourselves to that. Those who do will be leaders, which is why leadership is a major theme of health at BCC.

Sunday, October 2, 2011 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt

1. What jobs have you held over the years?
2. What has surprised you about your work history?
3. If we define leadership as influence, how does leadership fit in with finding your call in life?
4. What is your sphere of influence right now?  How has it changed over the last 5 years?
5. When have you been a part of some effort, and come to the conviction that it was not a place of strength for you?  What did you do?
6. Can you think of something that you have had to give up because you aren’t good at it?  How easy was it for you to give up?
7. What have you discovered that you are good at?  How did you discover it?  In what ways are you using it?
8. What gets in the way of you discovering and stepping into who you really are gifted at?  What pulls you to other areas where you may not be as gifted?
9. How has Jesus revealed Himself to you through your community?  How has community helped to clarify your sense of call?
10. What place of service might God be asking you to get involved in?  What causes reluctance?
11. How has God orchestrated your life and service in unexpected ways?
12. In what ways has your past prepared and equipped you for your present?  How does this help you trust Christ for your future?
13. What do you need to give up in order to receive what God might have for you?
14. What step can you take to discover more fully what God has called you to?

Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, September, 25, 2011

Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions:

1. Read Galatians 4:19.  Who in your life has yearned for Christ to be formed in you?
2. Where do you see God’s reign visible in your experiences?  In your life?
3. Are you where you want to be?  How is God using you wherever you are?
4. How does God reveal Himself to you beyond scripture?
5. How does intimacy with Christ influence the way you see the world around you?
6. How does intimacy with Christ impact the way you do your job?  Your studies? Your relationships?
7. Where does God have you?  How are you being fruitful where God has you?
8. Jim Elliot wrote, “Wherever you are, be all there.”  How would our life look different if you were all there?
9. What is the source of your confidence?  What would happen if it got stripped from you?
10. What is more important to you than knowing Christ?  Why is it more important?
11. What step can you take to turn or return to Christ?  What holds you back?

If you attended church on Sunday, and heard Pastor Joe Springer teach, use these discussion questions.

Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions:

Pastor Nancy Eckardt

1. In what areas of your life are you in survival mode, and how is it affecting your ability to be fruitful?
2. What does Jesus’ invitation to rest mean to you?
3. What other vines are you tempted to attach yourself to?  What is the fruit of that attachment?
4. Read Galatians 4:19. Who has labored to see Christ formed in you?  For whom have you labored?  What would that look like?
5. When have you felt God’s pruning?  How did you respond?
6. What are you doing to cultivate a relationship with Christ?  How has God revealed Himself to you?
7. How has God’s pruning drawn you more deeply to Christ?  How has it drawn you away?
8. Where does your mind wander to?  What is your mental “homepage”?
9. What would it look like for Christ to be the place you return?
10. Read 2 Corinthians 3:16 – 18. We are exhorted in this passage to “turn & behold” – What does this look to you?
11. What step are you going to take toward abiding?  Who are you going to hold yourself accountable for this next step?

Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions:

Pastor Nancy Eckardt

1. When have you observed outer health that was masking inner sickness?
2. What are the four elements of church health that we will focus on? What do we need to turn our attention away from in order to focus on these? Individually? As a church?
3. What does God find at your roots?
4. What are you hiding in your roots?
5. What is your response for Sunday?
6. Who can you ask to hold you accountable to your next step?

Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Pastor Joe Springer

Discussion Questions:

Pastor Nancy Eckardt

1. How have you been convicted of your shortcomings in light of the upside-down kingdom described in Matthew 5 – 7?
2. What would it look like to “step it up” in your discipleship?
3. Where do you turn for guidance toward spiritual maturity?
4. Can you think of a time when you focused on certain elements of your faith and missed the full picture that Christ was inviting you to?
5. How does humility inform your relationship to Christ?  To those around you?
6. What does the story in Mark 10:17 and following say to you?  What feelings does it stir in you?
7. Can you think of a time when you have asked Christ for something more?  What did he reveal to you?
8. What might Christ be revealing to you that you must do to inherit eternal life?
9. What is at stake in your life and preferences for you to step into obedience to Christ, to follow Him?
10. Who or what competes for God’s place as Lord of your life?
11. Security, comfort, independence – how do these keep you from stepping into the eternal life God has for you?
12. What do you need to relinquish?  What emotions are stirred when you imagine giving it up?
13. What would it look like to surrender to the all-powerful God?

Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions:

Pastor Nancy Eckardt

1. How would you describe your foundation?  What is it made of?
2. What/who do you look to for stability?
3. When have you felt like your foundation was crumbling?  How did you respond?
4. What would it look like for Christ to be your rock, or your foundation?
5. How do you manage your unsatisfied desires?  How easy is it to turn to Christ in your unsatisfied desires?
6. What makes up the lens through which you view the world?  How does Christ’s influence in your life impact your view of life?
7. What keeps you from hearing God?
8. What filters God’s word to you?
9. Who have you dismissed because what they are saying makes you uncomfortable?
10. What is something that you are hesitant to act on?  What makes you reticent?  What do you have to lose? To gain?
11. When has your foundation been tested?  How did your foundation fare and what did you learn from it?
12. What storm in your life is revealing the quality of your foundation right now?  How is it faring?
13. What step can you take to deepen and strengthen your foundation?

Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions:

Pastor Nancy Eckardt

1. When have you seen Jesus’ name used in a way that misrepresents him?
2. What does intentional discipleship look like to you?
3. In what areas might you be letting the world conform you to its mold?
4. How is rest a by-product of your commitment to Christ?
5. What steps do you need to take to find the narrow door?
6. When have you been led astray by something shiny?  How did you come to realize it was empty or unfulfilling?
7. Who do you know who reflects Jesus?  What characteristics reflect Christ’s character in them?
8. How important is it to you to reflect Christ’s character?  What distracts you from taking on his character?
9. Why do you follow Christ?  What threatens your commitment to Christ?
10. Who looks to you as one who reflects the character of Christ?  How do you step into this responsibility to them to reflect Christ?
11. What are barriers to your intimacy with Christ?
12. When have you been confronted by someone you love?  How did you respond?
13. In what areas of your life are you capable of so much more?  What can you do to move into the life Christ has for you?

Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Pastor Joe Springer

Discussion Questions:

Pastor Nancy Eckardt

1. How have your perspectives of yourself, others, and God been influenced by this sermon series?
2. How would you describe your relationship to judgment? When have you experienced being judged? When have you judged?
3. When have you cast judgment without knowing the whole story?
4. When have you lost sight of the transforming work that God wants to do in your life?
5. What have you asked God for? What does yes look like to you?
6. When has God’s answer of yes been different than expected, yet transformative?

Sunday’s Bulletin