MULTIPLYThe Summit Church Middle School Ministry

Oct. 25-Nov. 22, 2015

Scripture Genesis 12:1-3, 15:1-6, 17:1-8, and 22:15-19

Key Points 1. We can learn from God’s promise to multiply and bless Abraham that God wants to bless his people, his children whom he chooses.

2. We can learn from God’s promise to multiply and bless that God will provide, just as he did for Abraham.

3. We can learn from God’s promise to multiply and bless that the journey to the blessing comes at significant personal cost.

Focus Questions 1. After reading all these passages, what similarities do you see and why do you think they are significant?

2. What does God want us to learn about his character through Abraham’s story?

3. Why do you think God gave Abraham the promise decades be-fore Abraham would begin to see it fulfilled?

Week 1: Small GroupsGod, the Multiplier

The Multiplication Principle: You can see it from the very first chapter of the Bible, “God bless-ed them, saying ‘be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.’” (Gen-esis1:28) Throughout the Bible, when God’s hand is in something, multiplication becomes the rule. You and I are part of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. The multiplication was slow at first. Abraham to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob, but then Jacob had 12 sons who had kids who had kids until the nation of Israel had millions and millions of people. And from the Israelites came the most important part of the promise, the Messiah- Jesus Christ who made a way for all people to be blessed through him. In Matthew 28:18-30, Jesus gave us a new way for multiplication: Make Disciples!

Notes

Scripture Read 2 Corinthians 9:10-11

1. What does God promise to supply and multiply? For what purpose?

Reflect and Apply 1. What are some things in your life that have led you to doubt that God will provide for you?

2. How would your prayer life change if you knew that God was going to answer a particular prayer soon? What makes it difficult for you to wait on God’s answers?

Pray Deep 1. Acknowledge that we all lack wisdom and ask God to give it to you knowing that he “gives wisdom generously to all without find-ing fault.” – James 1:5

2. Ask God for more faith by which you may confront doubts in your own heart and trust in him as your provider and reward. – James 1:6

Pray Wide 1. Thank God that “every good and perfect gift is from above” includ-ing bringing people into his family through salvation – James 1:17

2. Ask God for direction in how to be a picture of salvation and blessing to people around us with the gospel. – James 1:18

Week 1: Family GuideGod, the Multiplier

Scripture Genesis 39:2, 21; 41:37-57; 50:20

Key Points 1. We can learn from Joseph’s story how we should interpret God’s work and purpose in our life. Just as he used all Joseph’s suffering and triumphs to preserve family of Abraham, through whom Jesus would one day come, God is working at all times through your life to bring about his purpose for you and for this world.

2. We can also learn about the importance of God’s presence, which was with Joseph in his highest highs and his lowest lows. God’s pres-ence was Joseph’s refuge in all of it, and it can be for you too!

Focus Questions 1. What is God’s grand plan and purpose for this world? Through whom is this plan accomplished and how?

2. Do you believe that God’s presence is available to you? Why or why not?

3. If it is, how should that change the way we relate to God and live with him?

Week 2: Small GroupsStewarding Your Position

The Multiplication Principle: Too often when we think about our position in life – we start with our hopes, plans, dreams, and then try to fit God into it. We want to write the story, and let God be the helper who makes our dreams come true. However, the Bible presents us with the world as it re-ally is – created and run by God himself. God writes the story, and we must find our place in it. Joseph understood his life as one small part of God’s global plan to bless all nations, and then he trusted God through pain and pleasure. How does your life fit into God’s larger plan? God plans to bless all nations through the offspring of Abraham – Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:14). God wants the gospel of his Son Jesus to bear fruit and multiply in all the world – is your life in line with this glorious purpose?

Notes

Scripture Read Matthew 28:19-20

1. What is God’s global plan to bless all nations? Who is he planning to use to accomplish it?

Reflect and Apply 1. Where does God have you in life right now? What are your roles (as a student, teammate, son/daughter, friend, etc.)?

2. What are some hopes, plans, and dreams you have for your life?

3. Do your plans and dreams intersect with God’s kingdom purpose for the world? Why or why not?

4. If, like in Joseph’s story, God has a both a plan for your life and a global plan for the world, then he has you where he has you for a rea-son. Do you see your life that way? Could you honestly say that you are being a good steward of the position that God has you in in life right now?

Pray Deep 1. Ask God to help you “count it all joy when you meet trials of var-ious kinds, knowing that the testing of your faith produces stead-fastness.” – James 1:2

Pray Wide 1. Ask that God would make your position in life useful and uplifting to others, not looking to please ourselves but working that others would come to know Jesus as Savior. – Romans 15:1

Week 2: Family GuideStewarding Your Position

Scripture 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Key Points 1. Jesus’ sacrificial love for us – giving up everything so that we could inherit the riches of heaven, helps us develop a joyful and generous attitude toward our material possessions.

2. When we give cheerfully and generously, we are promised to expe-rience God’s grace in deeper, more powerful ways. (vs. 6-9)

3. At the heart of true giving is a passion to exalt the Ultimate Giver, God Himself. Regardless of what we get in return for our giving, mag-nifying our God is the greatest reason to give.

4. We are all called to be good stewards—to prioritize and sacrifice for King Jesus as an overflow from a heart that is gripped by the gospel.

Focus Questions 1. What do you think missionary Hudson Taylor meant by this state-ment, “God wants you to have something better than riches and gold, and that is helpless dependence upon him”?

2. Does God need you, your time, or your money?

3. If God doesn’t need our time, our money, or us then why does He ask us to give Him these things?

Week 3: Small GroupsStewarding Your Money

The Multiplication Principle: God gives you opportunities to show off the Christ-like character that he has implanted, and promises to complete, in you. This part of God’s multiplication principle is about your growth as a person, which you can display in different ways through riches or pover-ty. Also, when other people see you act generously, they will be reminded of Christ and will multiply their praise to him, which he ultimately deserves. Our possessions are our opportunity to get caught up in a much larger story, which is ultimately about God’s glory!

Notes

Scripture Read 2 Corinthians 8:9 and Hebrew 12:2

1. Why does God ask you to give generously? Why should the gen-erosity of Christ motivate you to give all for Jesus?

Read Philippians 4:10-13

2. Do you find happiness in your stuff (your technology, your sports equipment, your games, your toys, your clothes)? Is your mood af-fected by what you have or don’t have?

Reflect and Apply: 1. Think about all that you have been given when Jesus went to the cross on your behalf. With that in mind, write about the joy that should motivate believers to be “cheerful givers.”

2. List 5 things you own that you treasure most and could not imagine living without.

3. Now think about giving those things away or selling those things to give the money to the mission of the church. Would you describe your attitude as cheerful or begrudging? Joy and delight or reluctant and unwilling?

4. Can you honestly describe yourself as a cheerful, generous giver?

Week 3: Family GuideStewarding Your Money

5. What steps do you need to take in order to have and maintain a godly, generous attitude toward your possessions?

Pray Deep: 1. Thank Jesus for his sacrificial love for us.– 2 Corinthians 8:9

2. God doesn’t want reluctant or obligatory gifts, so ask him to give you a clear and cheerful heart toward generosity. – 2 Cor. 9:7

Pray Wide: 1. Pray that our church would lead many to “glorify God because of our submission flowing from our confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of our contribution” to his kingdom work. – 2 Cor. 9:13

Scripture Mark 10:13-34

Key Points 1. Those who get into the kingdom of God aren’t those who get ev-erything, but those who give up everything they have to follow Jesus.

2. Jesus’ call is clear and sobering: those who are not willing to give up family, friends, money, stuff – really their whole lives for the gospel – will not enter the kingdom of God.

3. The promise of what is on the other side of that sacrifice is tremen-dous: we get God, eternal life, entrance into the kingdom of God, and 100 times what we have sacrificed in this life!

Focus Questions 1. What do we learn about the Kingdom of God from Mark 10:13-34?

2. There are 3 different sets of people in these verses: the children, the rich man, and Jesus’ disciples. How would you describe each group’s commitment to Jesus?

3. What does it mean for you to lay down your life to follow Jesus the way he laid down his life to save you? Be specific.

Week 4: Small GroupsStewarding Your Life

4. What are you more focused on: the largeness of what you are giving up, or the opportunity to follow Jesus?

The Multiplication Principle: The promise of Jesus here is staggering. The call of the gospel on your life is to give up everything, but what you gain in return is 100 times greater! When you sacrifice for him, God multiplies what you have. This is not like a get rich quick plan or some holy way to talk about the benefits of a relationship with God. Jesus, in vs. 30, clearly states that we will receive back a hundredfold of what we give up in this life. No, you wont receive a million dollars if you give $10,000. But, your relationship with God will become the most precious thing to you when you start to follow him. You will become relationally wealthy with the support and love of self-sacrificial peo-ple who join you on your journey of following Christ!

Notes

Scripture Read Mark 10:13-34 again

1. The rich man had one specific blind spot in his commitment to God. Jesus called him to give up his wealth in order to follow him. Why do you think this was so hard for him? And why did he quit following Jesus all together?

Read Mark 10:30 and Ephesians 1:3

2. Jesus says, in verse 30, that we will receive back 100 times what we sacrifice in this life. Ephesians 1:3 defines this for us as well. Do you believe that God has given you every spiritual blessing through Christ? Why or why not?

Reflect and Apply: 1. What do you think God has called/is calling you to give up so that you can follow him with complete commitment? Why?

2. In light of how much God has blessed you, how can you bless some-one else today?

Pray Deep: 1. Thank Jesus for the price he paid in order to ransom your soul! – Mark 10:45

2. Pray for strength to be faithful even when circumstances make it difficult. – Mark 10:44

Pray Wide: 1. Pray that your small group and our church would be marked with the love and compassion that Jesus shows in this story. – Mark 10:45

Week 4: Family GuideStewarding Your Life

Scripture Colossians 1:3-29

Key Points 1. The Bible tells us that the first followers of Jesus had some good news that they could not stop talking about. They had received the good news of the gospel, and it overflowed into their lives!

2. In verse 27, Paul makes it very clear that since Christ now resides in the Colossian believers, they are to be a part of God making the gospel known to the world.

3. God wants us to proclaim his glorious riches to the whole world.

4. If we engage in this mission with joy and perseverance even in suffering, there is no doubt that we will be a part of reaching the lost with the gospel.

Focus Questions 1. Look at verses 13-14 and 21-23. Why is it so important for us to remember what we were before we were Christians and who we are because of Christ?

2. In light of Paul saying he rejoices in his suffering for the sake of the gospel, what is the relationship between Paul’s joy and his willingness to suffer?

Week 5: Small GroupsStewarding the Gospel

The Multiplication Principle: Colossians 1:5-6 says, “The gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing.” This was written mere decades after Jesus’ Resurrection, and already the first gen-eration of Christians could see a worldwide movement developing. Today, there are roughly 2 billion people who claim to be Christians, a movement that is growing and expanding even 2,000 years after its beginning. The promises to Abraham, that all nations would be bless-ed through his offspring, were fulfilled through this movement. People like Epaphras and Paul made Matthew 28:18-20 their new definition of blessed multiplication, and they spend their lives to see it happen. The job is not finished, however as there are more than 2 billion peo-ple who do not currently have access to the gospel. At the Summit, we commit our lives to making our joy and Jesus’ mission complete by making the gospel known to everyone.

Notes

Scripture Read Acts 2:42-471. How did the church in Acts live differently?

2. How did the church in Acts give generously?

Read Acts 1:81. What is the mission for followers of Jesus in this verse?

2. What does it mean to be a witness?

Reflect and Apply: 1. List several of the primary things that keep you from sharing your faith? Why do these stop you? What will it take to overcome these?

2. Francis Shaeffer once said, “We live before a watching world.” What does it communicate to the world if you do not share the gospel with those around you?

3. How do we make this generosity we have been learning about a lifestyle? How should this series change our lives?!

Pray Deep: 1. Thank Jesus for creating and sustaining you. – Colossians 1:16

2. Pray that God will fill you with all fullness in Christ Jesus. – Colossians 1:19

Week 5: Family GuideStewarding the Gospel

Pray Wide: 1. List 5 people in your current circles of influence who you want to see come to Christ. Put them on a notecard and place it in your Bible at Colossians 1. Pray that God would “reconcile these people to him-self” over the next 6 months. – Colossians 1:20

Additional Notes

Additional Notes

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