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Sunday, December 16, 2012 | Pastor Joe Springer Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt What emotions have you felt this weekend as you process the events of Friday, December 14th? What leads you into fear in your life?  How does it reflect or impact the way you view the world? What makes the coming of Jesus good news? What gets in the way of you seeing Jesus’ coming as good news? Why would God choose to announce the coming of Jesus to unconnected shepherds? What have you hoped for in life with Christ that has made it difficult to see him as he truly is? How have you tried to fit God’s kingdom into the world’s view of kingdom? How is God’s kingdom and power reflected in the birth and life of Christ? What do you long for as you wait for Jesus’ second coming? How can your hope in Christ be reflected in how you live today in a world of uncertainty? Sunday’s Bulletin Watch

Sunday, December 9, 2012 | Pastor Joe Springer Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt In what ways do you feel the living between the now and the not yet?  How does that affect you? How are you reminded of the frailty of the world on a daily basis?  How do you respond?  How does this impact how you live into your faith? What difference does it make to know that Jesus is beside you? When has wavering led you toward greater doubt?  When has it led you toward greater faith? When have you experienced right knowledge not being enough to overcome fear? Can you think of a situation that has challenged your belief in something you have always said you believed? In what ways has your fear caused you to forget the promises of God? In what ways does fear hold the place of a god in your life? What do you need to remember about God as His child?  What steps can you take to be reminded? In what ways has God been gracious to you over this last year? Sunday’s Bulletin Watch

Sunday, December 2, 2012 | Pastor Joe Springer Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt What does it look like for Jesus to come alongside and walk with you? What are you waiting for?  What does waiting look like? When have you settled for less because you were unwilling to wait? How would you describe the power found in being able and willing to wait in your circumstances? How can advent be a time of waiting and preparing your heart? In what way may what you want be different from what is wanted for you by Christ?  How does this inform or challenge your faith in Him? When have you experienced your heart burning within you?  What do you do with these experiences? What habit do you need to practice to strengthen your spiritual muscle? How do you experience Jesus sustaining you in the journey? What step can you take to turn your attention toward Christ this season? Sunday’s Bulletin Watch

Sunday, November 25, 2012 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt Can you think of someone you know who is finishing well?  What character qualities or practices do you see that may be contributing to that? How do you see your faith as relevant to the culture in which you live? How do you use culture as a bridge to Christ’s invitation to eternal life? Who do you find it easy to learn from? Who do you have a difficult time learning from?  Why? Who do you know who has endured much, but stayed faithful to Christ? In what ways have you endured difficulty and yet remained faithful to Christ?  How did the experience shape your faith journey? What elements make up your focus in life? What role does God’s purpose for you play in your focus? What are the barriers to contentment in your life?  What steps can you take to remove those barriers and be at peace with where you are? Who has God put in your life for you to serve?  What can you do to serve them this week? Sunday’s Bulletin Watch

Sunday, November 18, 2012 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt Can you think of a time when your words weren’t received because of the timing and/or the way they were said?  How did you discover it and rectify it? Can you think of a time when you found truth to be told offensively?  How did you handle that truth? In what ways are you stepping into the eternal kingdom that is taking place around you? In what ways is your life an invitation to others to live more fully?  In what ways does your faith cause you to live differently? Can you name barriers in your own life that cause you to be less than inviting to those around you?  What is at the root of those barriers? How simple is your answer to, “What must I do to be saved?”  What complicates it and why? How does your faith in Jesus as Lord impact your relationships with others?   Can you think of ways that your faith in Jesus could be better reflected in your relationships with others? How engaged are you with the culture around you, and how does it inform your understanding of God’s interaction with the world today? How does engaging with culture allow you to more effectively build bridges to your friends that may not know Christ?  How easy is it to relate to those who aren’t your Christian friends? What step can you take this week toward building a bridge between you and those in your life who may not know Christ? Sunday’s Bulletin Watch  

Sunday, November 11, 2012 | Pastor Scott Sund Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt When has something seemingly small been extremely distracting to the important things in your life? When have you had a difficult time letting go of preference or tradition in order to see God doing new things? When have you been enriched by someone who sees life and faith differently than you do? How do your actions reflect an open, welcoming heart to others? Does your understanding of faith make it easy or difficult for others to come to Christ? What areas of your life may be a stumbling for brothers and sisters in the Lord?  How willing are you to change your behavior for the sake of others? How does your life with others invite them to encounter Christ? What can you let go of so that you can more freely follow Christ? What is the good news of Christ for you? Who are you walking with?  How willing are you to walk with others who need Jesus? What step can you take to make the good news accessible to those around you? Sunday’s Bulletin Watch

Sunday, November 4, 2012 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt Can you think of a time when you lost your nerve?  How did it impact you? In what ways are you tired of enduring or hesitant to move forward? What conditions have you put on your commitment to Christ? Can you think of a time when you have focused on suffering as an end in itself? In what ways have you focused on the avoidance of suffering as an end in itself? When has following Jesus seemed easy?  When has it seemed to be rife with suffering? When have you been tempted to compare your life to others and how did it affect your ability to be transparent before God and with others? Where do you think God is taking you?  How open are you to taking the next step? Where do you see the words of scripture confirmed and reflected in your attitudes, thought, behavior, and actions? What have you lost or relinquished for the sake of following Jesus more faithfully? What in your life is hard to hold with an open hand?  Why is it so important to you? What role does gratitude play in your perspective?  What causes you to miss opportunities to express gratitude? What steps can you take to incorporate gratitude into your life? When have you experienced gifts and difficulties at the same time? What compels you to stay even when you don’t want to?  Are you embracing your situation or just tolerating it?  What steps can you take to embrace what Jesus has set before you? Sunday’s Bulletin Watch

Sunday, October 28, 2012 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt Can you think of a situation when you were in over your head and completely uncomfortable?   How has that affected you long-term? Who has God used in your life to bring transformation to you? When have you been instrumental in God’s transforming work in someone else? When have you encountered Christ through an unlikely person or been an unlikely voice into someone else’s life?  What did it take to receive from them or to give to them? How does your life invite others to welcome you into their lives? In what ways do you seek to live more like Jesus day by day?  What would that look like? Who might God want you to speak to? In what ways have you experienced a dramatic encounter with Jesus?  What impact did this have on your life? When have you been intimidated by someone else, even though they’ve been transformed by Christ? When have you questioned God’s timing?  How did you process this? What does it mean for you to be faithful to God’s timing? In what ways may Jesus be inviting you to step in?  What keeps you from accepting his invitation? When has your belief system been challenged by seeing God work in new ways?  What convictions have you had to relinquish? “Jesus gently asks us to get better together with him”.  In what areas of your life is Jesus inviting you to get better? What distractions keep you from a deeper relationship with Jesus?  What would it take to put away those distractions? In what ways are you discouraged in your faithfulness to Christ?  How can you experience transformation in these areas?  Is there someone you can talk to?  Is there a practice (prayer, journaling, sharing your life with others) you can incorporate to open yourself up to his healing work? Sunday’s Bulletin Watch

Sunday, October 21, 2012 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt Can you think of a time when you were unable or unwilling to see a situation clearly because of fear or ignorance?  How long did it take you to admit that you were not seeing clearly? In what ways does the Holy Spirit help you see more clearly?  How has seeing things clearly made you more confident?  When has it caused you to mourn?  When has it caused you to let go of the status quo and move or act differently? What caused Joseph’s brothers to be unable to see? What caused the children of Israel to not see? How does this resonate in your own life and ability to see? What steps do you need to take to see things more like Jesus sees things?  What do you need to let go of? In what areas of your life do you need to step into your brokenness so you can see Jesus more clearly? In what area of your life do you need to remain faithful even when it seems fruitless? What distractions in your life keep you from seeing Jesus? What truth about yourself or about God are you afraid to face?  Why is it frightening? What in your life has caused you to become more aware of the suffering around you?  How have you responded? Can you think of someone in your life whom you have resisted because they spoke or speak words of truth that you don’t want to hear?  What is behind your resistance? What will it cost you to see?  What is at stake if you don’t? What do you need to do to resist escaping from the pain that seeing the truth may cause you? How is God wooing you to becoming a seer? Sunday’s Bulletin Watch

Sunday, October 14, 2012 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt When have you been limited by your external circumstances? What barriers, real or imagined, do you feel limited by at this point in your life?  How are you responding to this limitation? What would you describe as indicators of a healthy church?  How do you see this lived out in the local church we call Bethany? What external barriers are we experiencing at our church right now?  How does our allegiance to Christ cause external pressure? What about the gospel threatens that which you hold dear?  What is at stake at letting go of that which you hold dear?  What about the gospel would make it worth it? When have you witnessed religious propriety getting in the way of true worship of Christ?  When have you allowed religious propriety to keep you from being honest before God and/or your brothers and sisters in Christ?  What is at stake in true confession? How can you create a safe place in your circle of community for true confession? In what areas of your life do you experience a sense of entitlement? In what ways does another’s sense of entitlement impact you or those you love? Read Galatians 3:27.  What makes it difficult to see all of us clothed in Christ?  What do you value that causes you to see us as something other than one in Christ? What role can you play in the church to help us as a church grow in our unity under Christ?  What do you need to let go of?  What do you need to embrace? Sunday’s Bulletin Watch  

Sunday, October 7, 2012 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt When have you entered an entirely different world, where you have had to learn a new way of doing things?  How easy was it to do that? When have you been a part of a public Christian experience that was not understandable to those watching? When have you been like Peter and been afraid to associate with Christ?  What was/is at stake? In what ways have you been emboldened to speak of Christ? When have you experienced Christ’s spirit working in and through you? How easy is it to believe that God can transform you?  Can you name areas where you are being transformed or where you would like to be transformed? What takes the place of the Holy Spirit in your life?  What are the strongest influences on you? How do you see the resurrection as a critical part of your faith in Christ?  What does resurrection life mean to you? What would repentance look like in the areas you desire God to transform? Have you been baptized?  If so, in what ways was this a significant moment for you? What gifts has God given you that you may be overly-focused on and distracted from living life fully? What steps can you take to focus more fully on Jesus and to be in relationship with Him. Sunday’s Bulletin Watch

Sunday, September 30, 2012 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt When have you been surprised by how much is required of you and how worth it it has been? In what ways do you see passivity in your life and experience? What are you waiting for, and how does that affect your participation in the world? God has entrusted his life on earth to us, his broken followers.  Are you more aware of your brokenness or your role as a follower of Christ? In what ways do you misunderstand the purpose of the kingdom and our role in it? When have you been in a place where you acknowledged your dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit? How does seeing witness as a noun, not a verb change your sense of our call as Christ’s witnesses? In what ways are you a witness of Christ?  How do you reflect Christ in your everyday life? How easy is it for you to live in your world, and interact with others with “no strings attached?” Who do you interact with outside your Christian community?  What makes it comfortable or uncomfortable to be in your non-Christian community? How can you more fully step into who you are as a witness of Christ in the world? Who is someone in your life that you can be praying for and to whom you can be a witness in word and deed? Sunday’s Bulletin Watch

Sunday, September 23, 2012 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt Do you look at September as a time of new beginning for you?  What time of year represents most an opportunity for new beginnings and why? What practices do you have in your life that are putting you on a trajectory to finish well?  What practices might become barriers to you finishing well? Where does simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ fit into your long-term plan? In what ways has your devotion to Christ brought healing to your life?  In what way has it brought deeper intimacy with Him? In responding to Christ’s invitation to “Come to Me,” what would the promise of rest look like to you? What keeps you from admitting your weariness or heavy heart and coming to Jesus? In what ways have you orchestrated your own life so that you don’t need to be dependent on Christ to live into what is expected of you? What opportunities would open up if you acknowledged your dependence on Christ and lived into all he has for you? In what ways do you rely on human wisdom and cultural influences when discerning what is best for you and those closest to you? In what ways do you value your physical health over your spiritual health? How does your financial status influence your sense of identity?  How does it impact your dependence on Christ? What practices do you have to know God better?  What reactions or emotions do you have around your relationship with Christ?  Guilt? Boredom? Joy? Safety?  Uncreative?  How does this affect your desire to spend time with Him?  How do you keep Jesus in mind throughout the day?  What touch-points do you have or could you cultivate to see him throughout your day? Sunday’s Bulletin Watch

Sunday, September 16, 2012 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt How have you responded to the 2020 vision?  Where are you stepping into the vision? When has your situation turned out to be completely different than what you intended, but to be planned by God? How easy is it for you to see negative experiences as ordained by God? What are barriers to your sense that you can serve God wholly right now? When has living into your call been a hardship for you?  How have you responded to the difficulty it has brought? What might you need to relinquish in order to live into your calling? What is God calling you to today, in your specific context right now? Where in your community are you building relationships?  What keeps you from connecting with the people in your community? What would it look like to love your neighbor as yourself? How has participation in the ministry of the church helped you build relationships in the church? How comfortable are you with being with non-believers in a secular context?  What makes it uncomfortable? In what ways are you hesitant to engage with the culture of the community in which you live?  What expectations of culture do you need to let go of in order to “seek the welfare of the city.” How do you discern how to be in the city and to transform the city?  In what ways have you taken on cultural values in a way that diminishes your effectiveness as a light for Christ? What is the next step God is stirring in your heart to take?  Who can you share this this with and ask them to come alongside you? Sunday’s Bulletin Watch

Sunday, September 9, 2012 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt When have you experienced your body fail? In what ways do you see Bethany’s life as an incarnation of Christ on earth?  How do you contribute to this? In what ways have you seen the transformation of Christ in your own life through forgiveness, reconciliation and/or healing?  Are there other ways you have experienced transformation? What elements make up your understanding of the gospel?  What place does transformation play in your understanding? In your context, in what ways do you see leadership expressed in service? How have you discovered your gifts?  In what ways have you fanned your gift into flame? Have you discovered through serving something you are not good at?  How did you respond? When have you resisted serving?  What made you resistant? How important in your time and attention is seeking God and spending time with him? What gets in the way of your intimacy with Christ? What do you choose over relationship and why?  What do you think it is costing you in the short run?  In the long run? In what way do you cross a social divide to be the hands and feet of Christ? Who do you resist in your context?  What would it look like to reach out to them?  What is at stake? How are your interactions with others characterized by love? What can you do to make serving, intimacy with Jesus, being involved in your community, and love for others reflected in your life. Sunday’s Bulletin Watch