How can I Make the Most of My Life - Part 1

Week 6 - How can I make the most of my life Part 1

Below you’ll find some quick training tips for your upcoming SERVE Experience.  Please take a few short minutes to watch the Week 6 Training Video and be sure to review pages 59-62 in your Facilitator Guide for tips on how to lead a Serve Experience.

Story Sharing

• Be sure to give space and opportunity to let 1-2 group members share their faith stories. If you haven’t yet, lead the way to show your group that, though not always comfortable, it’s important to see that you have a spiritual story to share. Remind the group that everyone should be prepared to share & pray in the final 4 weeks together.

Pray for Strongholds

• Continue praying for your group members’ strongholds as they either reflect on (or recently completed) the homework for Week 5 (Strongholds).
• If possible, review why confidentiality and accountability are important.

Serve Experience

• We realize that face-to-face service projects are likely to be difficult, you might have to think about other serving options to help those who may have needs through collections, donations, or celebrations (missed graduation, birthday, wedding anniversary, etc.). 
• Make sure to get something on the books for your experience between or around weeks 6 & 7.
• Try to prioritize something that’s relational with those you’re serving. It’s not a must, but it’s highly preferred.
• Also, consider sharing the SPEAK LORD Devotion in advance to help your group prepare (page 62 in Facilitator Guide)

Note:

The next 2 weeks are so, so important. The previous 5 weeks focus on Jesus’ story and power in spiritually impacting us and our world, generally. Now, it’s time to get specific about how we partner with Him in our individual lives. Followers of Jesus should imitate Him, living out of a posture of service in their homes, workplaces, churches, and community at large. In every sphere of our lives, we’re trying to align ourselves with Jesus’ mission of restoration, renewal, and redemption.

These weeks especially focus on decompartmentalization in our lives and truly letting Jesus become the authority figure of every area. That means His influence extends into our daily, moment-by-moment life.  Use your book to help guide your discussion, but below are some important ideas to bring up in both meetings.

The discussion is meant to start a conversation surrounding an individual’s purpose. We can be really narrow-minded sometimes about our role in the world. Day 5 of Week 6 will hopefully help begin a journey of discovering the way God has uniquely wired an individual to partner with Him in bringing shalom.

The most important idea that most Christians need to understand in these weeks is that their daily tasks, even in their job, should be aligned with God’s mission.

That’s a tough, creative task, but truly the depth to which God wants to impact our lives. Not enough Christians have tried to understand this for themselves, and because of that, we have few Christians actually living out God’s purposes in their lives. This world would be a more heavenly place if the accountants, the graphic designers, those overseeing international factory conditions, etc. would embrace God’s mission within their specific opportunities. Oftentimes I think we can connect it to our job descriptions more than we realize. It’s not just about “evangelizing” at your workplace. 

Many of us want God’s voice when we’re trying to make specific decisions about where to live and work. For most of those things, God is actually pretty neutral. He cares more about the quality of a person, more than the pursuit of a specific career. His Will for each of us first focuses around our love for others, our connection with Him, and our character. It’s actually pretty clear and He will always emphasize that first in a person’s life. We might go to Him asking for a career or parenting decision, but instead, He just says, “You are beloved.” That’s just like Him. He wants to establish the most important aspect of our lives before He establishes those secondary things. As you encourage your group to seek His voice, remember that most of what He says will be simple, but profound and important. 

Lastly, please let us know if you need any additional support. We have been, and will continue to, be praying for your group!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at sarooted@usw.salvationarmy.org