FirstSF

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: 1. What is your experience with the Apostles' Creed or other creeds? Did you grow up reciting them in church? Do creeds feel foreign or strange to you?2. Read Romans 10:9-10. Why is both believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth necessary for salvation? What did confessing Jesus is Lord mean for the original audience of Romans? What does it mean for us?3. Read through the Apostles' Creed and discuss how it communicates the gospel. Which of the foundational doctrines mentioned in the Creed do you feel like you most need to grow in your understanding of?4. Do you think that living in an individualistic culture tends to shape the way we think about faith? In what ways? How can reciting the Creed together and with the Church help remind us of the communal nature of our faith?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: 1. What is different from the way Habakkuk speaks at the end of the book compared to the beginning of the book? Is there anything that is the same? How is this instructive to us on what it looks like to live by faith?2. Describe the requests that Habakkuk makes in verse 2. What is the heart behind these requests? What would it look like for you to make similar requests to the Lord?3. Take a few minutes to remember what the Lord has done in your life. How can remembering encourage you to continue to live by faith? How can you make remembering a part of your regular spiritual rhythms?4. What does it mean to rejoice in the Lord? Why is it possible to rejoice in the Lord in even the worst circumstances? What does this look like in your life?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS1. In what ways does this passage teach us not just about Babylon but about all of the kingdoms of the world? In what ways does it teach us about ourselves?2. What idols are most commonly worshipped in our culture? Which idols are you most tempted to worship?3. No matter what kingdom is in power in the world, God is still on His throne. How should this truth impact the way we live in this world?4. Read Habakkuk 2:14. Discuss how this verse can give us comfort and hope during difficult times.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:1. What does it mean that the righteous shall live by faith? Why do you think this phrase is quoted multiple times in the New Testament (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38)? What does it look like for you to live out this truth in your everyday life?2. Habakkuk recounts God's attributes, but complains that he doesn't understand how God's actions match His character in this situation. How is this an expression of faith? What does it look like for you to trust in God's character even when you don't understand His actions?3. Habakkuk commits to waiting on the Lord and taking his position as a spiritual watchman, which was the call of the prophet. What has God called you to do? How can you obey this call even when you have doubts and questions?4. What truths and promises in God's Word will you cling to in the midst of trials?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:1. Why is it good news that God's ways are mysterious? Why can this be difficult to trust in certain times?2. Can you think of a time where you couldn't understand what God was doing in the moment but later on you were able to see that He was working for good? How can thinking of these times help us when we are in the midst of trials?3. Is it ever difficult for you to see how God is moral and just when you look at injustice in the world? What truths can we draw on from Scripture to help us know that God is moral in all of His ways?4. How do we see God being merciful even in the midst of the judgment of this passage? How can we remind ourselves and each other that God is merciful in all of His ways when we can't understand how He is working?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:1. How is the context of Habakkuk relevant to our current times?2. Have you ever been like Habakkuk and felt that God was silent in the face of injustice or suffering? How did you respond?3. Read Psalm 13 and compare and contrast it with Habakkuk 1:2-4.4. What can Habakkuk's approach to prayer teach us about how we can come to God with our doubts and questions?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:1. Do regular rhythms of individual and corporate ever feel monotonous to you? Why is it important that we do these things faithfully? How have you heard God speak in these regular spiritual disciplines?2. Listening carefully to God means listening in community. How have the people of God helped you to hear the voice of God?3. Discuss some different ways that we can send people out (CG's multiplying, church plant in our city, missionaries to other countries, etc.). In what ways do you sense God calling you and/or our church to send people in this season?4. Why is it important that we have times of reunion with those whom we've sent out? How can you be a part of this in our church?

REFELECTION QUESTIONS: 1. What are the idols in our city? Is your heart broken over the worship of these idols and the lostness of our city?2. Paul went to the synagogues and the marketplace to engage the lost. What does this look like in our lives? What will you do this week to go to the lost?3. What beliefs do your lost friends and family tend to hold? How can you grow to better understand and engage with their beliefs?4. How does the good news of Jesus speak to the people of our city? How does the gospel tell a better story than the story others believe?5. Who will you share the gospel with? Encourage each other and hold each other accountable to share the gospel.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:1. “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” What is the main thing for the Church? What things tend to distract us from the main thing?2. Have doubts ever made you feel unqualified for the mission? How can seeing the doubts of the disciples and the grace of Jesus encourage you?3. In what ways is Jesus' authority the foundation of our mission? How should Jesus' authority practically change the way you live each day?4. How have you been involved in disciple making? How is God calling you to step into new ways of carrying out the mission of making disciples?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:1. What did Jesus mean when he called the church in Laodicea lukewarm? Have you ever been lukewarm in your Christian life? Have you ever been in a church that was lukewarm?2. What caused Laodicea to be lukewarm (see v. 17)? How might we be in danger of this?3. What does Jesus mean in verse 18? What does it practically look like for you to buy from Him?4. How have you experienced the discipline of the Lord in your life? Are you able to see that He did it out of love? Is there an area where you need to be reproved or corrected by the Lord?5. After studying all 7 of the letters, what do you think Jesus would say in a letter to FirstSF?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: 1. How can a church or an individual Christian have the reputation of being alive, but really be dead? Is there anything we can do to see past a false reputation?2. Jesus said that their works were incomplete in the sight of God. What do you think that means? What might that look like in your life?3. What kinds of things does God use to help us to recognize our true state?4. Have you ever experienced being revived by the gospel? What things can we do to help see this revival happen in our lives and church?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: 1. In what ways should the church be tolerant? In what ways should the church be intolerant?2. Jesus commended the church in Thyatira because their latter works exceeded the first. What does this mean? In what areas of your walk with Christ have you grown? Where are you stagnant?3. How should the church in Thyatira have responded to Jezebel? To those who were following her teachings? What would it look like for us to apply this in our church?4. We are drawn away from sin as we are drawn to Christ. Why do we sometimes lose sight of who Christ is? What can we do to be drawn to Christ and away from sin?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS1. Why does Jesus describe himself as the one who has the sharp two-edged sword? Why do we often think of God's judgment first coming to the outside world? Why is it important to remember that judgment begins at the household o God?2. How does opposition to Christianity look different in our culture than it did in Pergamum? Are there any similarities?3. In what areas do you think we as Christians are most likely to compromise today? What can we do to prevent compromise in our lives and in our churches?4. Jesus points out the error of some to the whole church. What should we take away from this? How can we restore those who are caught in sin with a spirit of gentleness (Gal. 6:1)?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS1. In what ways has suffering been a part of your story? Have times of suffering ever made you question your faith? Have you seen suffering be used to help strengthen your faith?2. The church in Smyrna was poor and suffering but Jesus said they were rich What does this mean? Does anyone come to your mind when you hear this description? What should this mean for our lives?3. Jesus mentions the work of the devil in verses 9 and 10. Do you think we often neglect the spiritual component of our lives? How might keeping spiritual realities in view change the way we approach times of suffering?4. How can God's sovereignty and Jesus' resurrection help us endure trials and sufferings? How can we keep these truths in mind and how can we remind each other of them?

INTERSECTIONS is a FirstSF podcast series that discusses the merging of faith and life from different members of our FirstSF family.

Sermon Discussion Questions1. How do we see Paul's love for the people of God in these verses? Do we have that same type of love for other believers? What are some things that tend to diminish our love for those in the Church? What are some things that help our love to grow?2. Read 1 Thessalonians 3:9-10. How are these verses similar to what we've read in other passages in this series? Is there anything that is different?3. Discuss the connection between a loving community and a holy community (as we see in verses 12-13). How have you seen this be true in your own life? How can our community grow in our love and holiness?4. Do we pray with passion and purpose? How can we grow in this? Spend sometime earnestly praying for others.