The War On Truth The problem with truth today: John 8:31-59 There are types of today: A truth: What or be . My truth: What I to be . The truth: What to be . Since we have confused and with , no can be . Three questions that have to be answered: Is my always under the of ? Am I being by walking in ? What am I being ? The best way to connect with us is the Connection Card in the bulletin. For the Digital Bulletin, visit myncc.info. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Support Our Ministry If you found this message beneficial and you would like to help continue our ministries, we would be grateful for your support. Go to northcoastchurch.com/give ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Life Group Study Questions For the week of May 21, 2023 A SPECIAL NOTE Because this is the final week of our Spring Quarter, you will find an abbreviated study allowing you to take some time to reflect on your group experience and then take Communion. You should also have time to fill out Feedback Forms, as a group, and discuss your plans for the fall. Thanks for being a part of Life Groups! SUMMER EVENTS & CLASSES: Check out the end of this week’s Life Group Study Questions for information about summer events and classes offered on our campuses to help you stay connected and grow this summer. MY STORY Summer is just around the corner! Do you have any special plans, activities or prayer requests for the next few months? Looking back at this past quarter and year, how has your Life Group experience encouraged, challenged, helped you follow Jesus, know Jesus better and/or connect with others? THE FREEDOM FROM WALKING IN THE TRUTH One of the keys to the health of our Life Groups is to live out what God’s Word is telling us. Being committed to knowing God’s Word is a window into understanding who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him. How do the following verses convey the power of being committed to God’s Word and the idea that “the truth will set you free”? 2 Timothy 3:16-17 New International Version (NIV)16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Psalm 119:10-16 New International Version (NIV)10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.12 Praise be to you, LORD; teach me your decrees.13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. Hebrews 4:12 New International Version (NIV) 12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. STAYING IN THE WORD THIS SUMMER To allow the truth to set us free we need to get into God’s Word to grow us, change us, and encourage us. Life Group is a great way to help us do this, but once we take a break many of us find the habit of consistently being in God’s Word a challenge. Below are some strategies to stay in the Word: Stay engaged in our current message series in the book of John by reading or listening to the next chapter each week. Subscribe and listen to the Daily Dose regularly (M-F). Text the keyword DAILY to (844) 921-0220. Read or listen to a chapter of Proverbs a day. YouVersion Bible App to find other Bible reading/listening plans, verse a day, etc. Your own idea… Tips to keep it going! Get a friend to join you! -Listen and read at the same time – it can help you focus. Many apps now provide listening options. Find a place and schedule a time to make it happen. If you have a goal to read three times a week and you only do it once or twice, don’t worry about it. Just keep going! REMEMBERING All too often, we want to take our life back and do it our way. Jesus wants us to remember what He has done for us and that He is here to walk through life with us. That’s why Jesus told the disciples at the Last Supper to repeatedly come together and take Communion. Taking Communion is about remembering all Christ accomplished through His death on the cross and resurrection. It is through this sacrifice that Jesus’ grace and mercy are made available to us. This week, your Life Group will conclude by doing as the disciples did, taking Communion together. To prepare for Communion, read the following verses and reflect on Jesus’ commitment and work in your life as you follow Him. Write down a few of your thoughts about the impact each of these verses has on you. Romans 5:7-11 New International Version (NIV) 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. John 15:12-17 New International Version (NIV) 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other. 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 New International Version (NIV) 23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” Take Communion with us this week! If you are not in a Life Group and would like to take Communion with us, see this link to follow along: northcoastchurch.com/communion/ PRAYER ➔ Pray for your group this summer. ➔ Pray that North Coast will continue to be a light in our community and help others follow Jesus. ➔ Pray for the raising up of new Life Group leaders and hosts this fall as many people return to groups or join for the first time. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Summer Events & Classes We have a variety of events and classes offered on our campuses throughout the summer, covering a range of topics including marriage, parenting, spiritual growth, mental health, finance and more! Visit northcoastchurch.com/classes to see what's being offered on our various campuses.