SEPTEMBER 10
ALL YOU HAVE IS NOW
You can’t change your past, but you can create the future. You have been given one life. How are you going to make it count?
Work through the following questions and scriptures on your own, and get together with your running partner, life group, or friends and family to talk through what you are learning.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What is the biggest decision you have ever made that changed the very trajectory of your life?
- Where are you in the story of Gateway? Have you been here since the beginning? What are you grateful for over the time that you have been a part of this church?
- What stood out to you from the message?
- Read Joshua 1:1-6 about the moment God appointed Joshua to take on the mantle of Moses and lead Israel into the long-awaited Promised Land.
Make some observations about this passage (What does the text say?):
- What do you notice and what are you curious about?
Make some interpretations (What does the passage mean?)
- What do you learn about God?
- What do you learn about Joshua?
Now make some applications (what’s my response?)
- How are you encouraged, challenged, or convicted by this passage?
- What should be our response to this passage?
6. Do you tend to revisit the past a lot or look to the future? Why is that?
7. Read Philippians 3:12-14. The Apostle Paul’s deepest desire is to be conformed to Christ and share in His sufferings, and therefore, to know Christ in greater measure. Let’s be honest, do we share this same longing? Is this what we are about- greater obedience to Jesus?
- What do you need to leave behind you and forget in order to pursue Jesus more completely? What is weighing you down that is keeping you from running to Him, unhindered?
- Paul was unquestionably sure of the service God was calling Him into, which helped him keep pressing on. What service is God calling you to do (it could be as small as helping a neighbor or doing something kind for someone who is not kind to you). What has God put in front of you to step into?
- What will need to help you take this next step?
7. Read Psalm 78.
- In what ways are you paving the way for and investing in the next generation? If you don’t think you are, how can you start now?
KEY SCRIPTURE
JOSHUA 1:1-6 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
PHILLIPIANS 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
PRAYER
- Pray for our church and the universal church.
- Pray that we would be people who revere God and pursue Jesus with radical obedience.
- Pray for the next generation, that we would set the example for them in “speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” – 1 Tim. 4:12
- Pray for your own life, that you will contribute to the future of the church in the specific ways God has called you.
TAKE A NEXT STEP
- One great way to be Future Ready is to join a group where you can have influence and also support to step into the opportunities God has for you! https://www.gatewaychurch.com/groups/
- If you are a part of a group, challenge yourself to invite someone to join yours!
FOR THE FAMILIES
Hey, families! Here’s a look at what we’re covering with your kids so you can help them continue to grow at home during the week.
THIS WEEK
This week, kids hear about how God is the master artist and how His creation reflects that! We will be looking at Days 1, 2, and 3 to see how God created light, darkness, sky, land, and sea.
THE BIBLE: Genesis 1:31
THE MESSAGE: There’s a big world out there. Sometimes it’s easy for us to feel invisible or small. But that was not God’s intent. He created this world for us to enjoy. In fact, He created it for us! When you think about everything God made remember that you are His favorite. No one else is like you. You are unique and special and God has given you a purpose on this earth that He hasn’t given to anyone else. Live it out knowing God is going to do great things through you!
THE BIG IDEA: God gives us rules to help us be more like Jesus.
ASK THIS
Because sometimes you and your kid need a conversation starter that isn’t, “So . . . how was church?”
- What does the word create mean?
- What are some things God created?
- How is light and darkness a part of our everyday lives?
- How did God use His creativity to create the sky, land and sea?
REMEMBER THIS
Sometimes we can miss the beauty of the world around us because we don’t take the time to stop and look.
Genesis 1:31, in case you want to work on them together.
Preschool: “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!”
Elementary: “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!”
NEXT WEEK
Next week, we’ll explore how God created days 4 and 5!