Rooted | January 15, 2023 | Stay Planted

What does home mean to you? Home is where your stuff is, where you rest, where your people are, and where you can be you. Home is where the big and mundane moments happen, from milestone celebrations to daily chores. For spiritual life, sometimes it feels like a vacation rental. You like visiting once in a while, and when you do, you have meaningful experiences. But, when you're ready to head back to your real lives, you pack up and head out until next time.

Take a moment to reflect: is life with God more like a home you've lived in for years or a vacation rental you visit for a few days every once in a while? The difference between a vacation rental and a home is how long you stay. There is a way to be at home with God, where he is the one you always return to, rest with, and root deeply in. For a place (or person) to become home, you need a plan to stay. Watch the message to discover your plan to stay!

KEY VERSES

  • Ephesians 3:14-17 NLT -14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources, he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

  • John 14:23 NLT -23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.

  • John 15:4-7 NLT -4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!

  • 1 John 2:3-6 NLT -3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

  • John 14:15-17 NLT -15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

HEARING WHAT GOD IS SAYING

One of the best ways to hear what God is saying right now is to look at what He has said in the Bible with a few friends. Discovery Bible Study is an easy-to-use way to hear from God, make good changes in our lives, and share with others what God is up to. Grab some friends, pick a verse or story from above and dive in deeper to this week’s message.

Recap

+ Reconnect

To begin the study, each person answers these questions:

  • What are you thankful for?
  • What is causing stress for our neighbors and people around us?
  • What can we as individuals or as a group do to help?

+ Recap

  • Have someone retell the story from your previous meeting.
  • Did you live out your response from last week?
  • Did you tell anyone else about the story from last week?

Discovering What God Is Saying

+ Read and Retell the Bible Story

  • One person reads the story out loud to the group.
  • Someone else in the group retells the story in their own words as they remember it, and others fill in what’s missing.

+ Read and Look

  • Read the passage again (different version if possible)
  • What does this passage say about God, Jesus, or His plan?

+ Read and Look Again

  • Have 1-2 more people retell the story as if they were telling a neighbor outside their home.
  • What does this passage say about people in general?

Doing What God Is Saying

+ Consider

  • What in me needs to change to better DO what God is showing me today?
  • How will you respond to/obey this passage in a tangible, perhaps even costly ways in the next 47 hours?
  • Have someone record these for prayer time, and for the beginning of the next meeting.

Sharing what God is saying

+ Praying Together

  • Take prayer requests
  • Pray together

+ Share

  • Who in your life needs to hear this story?
  • Who could you invite to study the Bible like this?

GIVING

Everything that happens at Canyon Ridge is because of your generous gifts. When you give to God through Canyon Ridge, you're helping reach thousands with the Gospel each week and making a difference for the people of Las Vegas and around the world!

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