Announcements:
Baptisms – We are having Baptisms on Sept 9th right after the third service! We invite you to join us after the third service across the street in front of the waterfall. If you are interested in being baptized this weekend, email [email protected] or talk to your GC leader!
New 4th Service- We will begin the new 4th service on Sunday, September 2nd at 8:00 pm in the main space. No childcare provided!
App – Our app is the best place to go to stay connected and up to date with the life of the church! You can find volunteer sign up forms, information about GC’s, and access to any events we have going on during the semester! Search “The Well Abilene” on the app store to get connected!
Internship Application- Looking for an internship at The Well this fall? You can apply by filling out the Fall ’18 Intern Application of the Well Abilene App. These are due September 3rd and the Interview Processes will begin September 4th!
Freshmen Fiesta – This one is for Freshmen! The Freshmen Fiesta this Tuesday night at 6 pm! We are going to have some good Mexican food and hang out as a church family! You can find more info about this event on social media! Instagram: @thewellcollege
Passage:
Exodus 17:1-7, John 4:7-15, Ephesians 2:1-10
Summary:
In this section of the book of Exodus, we find the Israelites freshly saved from hundreds of years of slavery and oppression in Egypt. However, in 17:1-7 we find the Israelites “quarrelling” and “testing” the Lord for not just the first time, but the third time- even to the point of wishing they had never left Egypt! What we find here is a temptation of all God’s people, in which our bent toward sin asks us to forget the unbelievable gift of Jesus’ own righteousness in which we are found secure. We find our bent toward sin once again convincing us to take it upon ourselves to find and earn provision. But in John 4, Jesus reveals himself as the true rock that the water of life flows from. And in Ephesians 2 Paul reminds believers that miracles are not just stories of the past, but that we are recipients of another miraculous resurrection from death in our sins and trespasses.
Context:
Read both Exodus 15:24-25 & 16:2-3. What is a pattern we see in the Israelites towards Egypt? Towards Moses? Towards God?
Discussion:
What reasons did the Israelites have to trust God instead of test God?
Similar to the desert, what areas of your life feel constantly unpredictable, directionless, or beyond your own control? How does surrendering control of these places to the Lord change your heart towards Him?
Read John 4:7-15
What is the difference between the water at Meriba (Ex. 17) and the water Jesus offered the Samaritan woman (Jn 4)?
In what other ways does he provide for His followers today?
Sacraments:
What stories and symbols from the book of Exodus reflect the symbols and meanings of the sacraments of both The Lord’s Supper and Baptism.
Why do you think out of all the things God wanted his church to remember through a tangible practice, he chose the Lord’s Supper and Baptism?
Essential of Discipleship Activity: Living in Worship
JR said, “We don’t actually hate sin- we just hate the consequences. But as a natural outpouring of worship in your life, you will hate sin.”
One way of denying our tendency to grasp divinity for ourselves is by acknowledging and praising God’s divinity!
Prayer: Encourage the entire group to spend some time thinking of what they are most grateful for. You might even give each person a piece of paper and a pen to spend some meditative time listing out what they are grateful for. Then ask people to voice their gratefulness through a “popcorn prayer.” Here’s an outline of how the prayer might go:
(GC Leader) Open with short prayer of gratefulness ending with some phrase that prompts the rest of the GC to begin voicing their own prayers like: “…Lord, now we lift our voices in thanksgiving to you…”
(GC Members) Take turns offering prayers of gratitude like: “I’m grateful for reconciliation with my family…I’m grateful that Your mercies are new every day…I’m grateful to be in a good home…etc.”
(GC Leader) When you feel most have had a chance to pray and enough silence has been allowed, close the time in prayer.
