Jesus’ Call to Community - Three: A Dynamic Community

Written By Hayley Lotter

Opening Prayer:

Holy Lord,
Give us the strength to uphold each other;
Show us the way to love each other;
Grant us the grace to see You in each other.
May Your love be evident in each of us and in our community,
In the name of Jesus,
Who was the Way and who shows us the Way.

Amen.

Key Scriptures:

“10 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”
— Matthew 10:1-4
“17 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.”
— Matthew 17:1

Summary:

Jesus seems to form community with lots of people and seems to engage with groups within that community differently. He has a close 3, within the 12, within the 70+, within the crowds of people that followed his teaching. It seems that Jesus purposefully and deliberately cultivated relationships and community in several different ways. What could that mean for us today? Check out the summary below:

Questions to Consider:

  • Do you notice the 3, 12, 70, and crowd in scripture? What could this mean for you?

  • Do you have any stories of hope where you see the benefits of a dynamic community?

  • Do you have any stories of lament where you haven’t seen the benefits of a dynamic community? How could you pray as a result?

  • Do you have an equivalent of Peter, James and John — those with whom you travel more closely? What brought you together?

  • Can you identify your 12-20ish community, how do you together relate to the wider community?

  • What is God saying to you?

  • What are you going to do about it?

  • Who are you going to tell?

Practices to Consider:

  • What is an activity, event, or action you could do this week in a larger or smaller grouping than you might normally do? What possible permanent rhythms might this lead to?

Prayer Prompts:

  • That we as a community would be able to experience more and more this dynamic family like community that Jesus describes.

Additional Resources:

Hayley Lotter
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Jesus’ Call to Community - Four: A Community of Hospitality
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Jesus’ Call to Community - Two: Centred on Jesus