Redemptive Family - Place

Sentence

'He allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live,  so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us."  Acts 17:26-27

Collect

Heavenly Father, thank you for our adoption into your family, the church; help us be what you call us to be so that the world may be struck by the sweetness of our love and unity and come to know that God is here. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

Readings

• Acts 17: 24-28,
  
• Revelation 3:7-13
  
• Matthew 5:14-16

Questions

Questions courtesy of Redemptive Family Devotional and Workbook by Howard Webb and the Love Your Neighbour team. 2021

Embracing our Place

1. Are you more of a homebody or a “rolling stone that gathers no moss?” How has this played out in your life?
2. Have you ever known someone who seemed to know everybody and always knew what was going on in the neighbourhood? What role did they play in the community?

Dig
Read Jeremiah 29:4-14

1. Look at 1 Peter 2:11-12.  How is our situation as Christians similar to God’s people in exile who are being addressed in this passage from Jeremiah?
2. The false prophets spoken of in this passage were telling God’s people not to settle down.  Why do you think this was an appealing message to Gods’ people in a foreign land?
3. God had a purpose for His people putting down roots in Babylon.  What reasons can you see from the passage?
4. God’s message to those in exile was not that they should assimilate with Babylonians by losing their identity or by giving up their religious practices or hope of future rescue.  What impact do you imagine they had by both “seeking the prosperity of the city” and being true to their God?

Reflect

1. If we as a church family are taking our belonging to our place seriously, what difference can we expect to make?
2. What is one thing this group can do to better embrace the place where God has planted us?