Greetings leaders,
We are so grateful for your continued faithfulness as you disciple others in our church. As we continue in our Bible in a Year program, we will be spending time in 1 & 2 Samuel this week. We are reminded that God is sovereign and will accomplish His will, but sin does have consequences. May we be people who have hearts that desire to honor our Heavenly Father and not people of empty and vain actions.
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
Greetings Leaders,
As we spend time in Judges and Ruth this week, our desire is that our local Body would be awed and humbled and grateful that the holy God of the universe chooses to be ever faithful despite the unfaithfulness of His people. Even in the just correction of His people, He is still faithfully gracious, merciful, and loving. The words in Lamentations 3 ring so true: "Because of the Lord's faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is His faithfulness!"
If you are able to take a moment to do so, we'd love for you to send a reminder email to those in your City Groups this weekend as this Sunday kicks off our next round of Equip classes. This semester, we will explore the means God gives us to commune with him and grow into the likeness of Christ. We’ll discuss how to read the Bible, pray, examine ourselves, and live on mission by sharing the Gospel with others. You can check out this semester's schedule and sign up for childcare here.
Thank you for your faithfulness to serve and disciple others! We are very appreciative of you!
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
Dear Group Leaders,
We’re praying for you and your groups. Joshua can be a difficult book to discuss, however we’re confident that you and your groups will be enriched by it. In it we see God's faithfulness yet again in keeping his promises to his people. We also see is wrath and severity toward sin. He shows much mercy to his people and Rahab who ultimately point us to Jesus who took our penalty and bore our shame. What great grace we've received!
We are so grateful for you.
Please let us know if you have questions or feedback.
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be
Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me."
What a beautiful hymn to sum up the theme of Deuteronomy!!! Praise God for His faithfulness in spite of our frequent faithlessness. We pray that your groups are encouraged as we sit in this magnificent truth this week with the discussion guide.
We are incredibly grateful for you all. Please know we are always here to assist you and are happy to point you towards resources or helps as we work through the Scriptures together as a church.
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
Greetings leaders,
Did you know that Leviticus is referenced over 40 times in the New Testament? Theologian Mark Rooker once said, "It behooves the New Testament believer to give more attention to this book, for we base our eternal destinies on the one of whom Leviticus loudly speaks." It is because of this truth that we approach a study of Leviticus with grateful and excited hearts.
We cannot have a proper Biblical theology without Leviticus because it tackles the significant issue of how God's people can maintain a relationship with the holy God of the universe. It is our prayer that we are humbled and awed by God's holiness and respond with grateful hearts for He has always made a way for sinful man to commune with Him. What tender, loving kindness characterizes our Father!!!!
We are grateful for your faithfulness in serving others and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out!
Joe & Kaylan
"With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm"
Greeting City Group Leaders,
The phrase above characterizes much of God's redemptive work in the book of Exodus. We read that "with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm" God saved his people from slavery in Egypt. What's striking about this rescue is the means he used to do so and what these means point to.
With much expectation, we come to the book of Exodus. A big thanks to John Wells for getting this guide together. I'm praying it will be enriching to you and your group as we see God's intention in ordaining the first Passover to point to our true passover lamb who delivers us from slavery to sin and death.
Gratefully,
Joe & Kaylan
We are excited to be diving in to Genesis this week because without the foundation of Genesis, we can't fully understand the rest of the Bible! We see that Satan and sin are absolutely powerless against God's eternal plan which was established from "before the foundation of the world."
It is our desire that this study on the covenantal promise God made with Adam and then Abraham and his descendants encourages your group and propels us towards praise of our sovereign and gracious Father. If you or those in your group enjoy listening to podcasts, we’ve attached the link below to a great episode from the ministry of 9 Marks on Genesis 1-3. Feel free to share with members in your group!
If you have any questions or needs, please reach out to us. We are so grateful for your faithfulness!
Joe and Kaylan
Greetings All,
We hope your groups are off to a great start! Attached is the guide for next week. This is the second week of introduction/overview discussions. The following week, we will dive in to Genesis.
Our passage for this week is Luke 24 which helps us understand the key to understanding the Old Testament - spoiler - it points us to Jesus. I pray this discussion and study is fruitful for you and your groups.
We will be having our first "City Group Connection Point" this Sunday following the 11:00pm service. We're starting these to help people in our church get connected to City Groups. You will hear more about these as we build them, but if you are around following the 11:00 service, please stop by.
We’re grateful for you all. Please let me know how we can best serve you.
Gratefully,
Joe & Kaylan
Greetings Springs 2021 City Group Leaders,
It's here! Spring groups start this Sunday January 3rd. This will mark our first week in working through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation over the next year.
To get things started we've drafted the discussion guide to focus on a passage that call us to reflect on what the scriptures are. This and next week will be discussions that get us warmed up to make it through each book of the Bible this year. After these first two week's we'll work through select passages from most books of the Bible.
As you'll note in the guide, please take some time in your groups to pray for this year. Pray that God would use it to strengthen and group our church. We’re hopeful about what this year will bring.
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
City Group Leaders,
Happy Thanksgiving! What a year it’s been. We’re grateful for you. We see your leadership of your groups as a kind working of providence of our Lord. Through you our church family are greatly cared for as they are helped to follow Christ.
This year and Thanksgiving season in particular, the words of Psalm 90 ring in our ears. The first two verses provide a great reminder for us of the care our God has for us. Moses writes, “Lord, you have been our refuge in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God.”
In a year full of changes and uncertainty, our prayer for you is that you’ve been able to look to and rest in our great God, the creator and sustainer of all things. Whether you’re with family, “distanced,” or alone this Thanksgiving. We’re praying that we all can rejoice in the gift our God has given us. The gift of him being our refuge, hiding place, and salvation. What a wonderful God we serve!
Happy Thanksgiving dear friends!
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
Faithful servants of Christ,
We hope the time your groups have spent in 1 Peter has been fruitful. As we start our second to last week of our 1 Peter study, we rejoice in the knowledge that God has given us all that we need to endure until the end. Praise God for that comforting truth!
As always, we are here to serve you and if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
As we work through 1 Peter 4, we are thankful for the reminder that God enables us by His Spirit to endure trials for His glory and for our good. As we go throughout our weeks within our communities, how can we remind each other of the joy we have in Christ that helps us endure trials?
Prayerfully,
Joe and Kaylan
Good Evening Leaders,
We thank you all for your continued faithful leadership of your groups. As you'll note in the guide, part of this week's passage is difficult to interpret. We've provided some additional commentary to help you and your groups understand this passage. Please let us know if questions arise you would like help answering.
We're grateful for you!
Joe and Kaylan
As we continue in our studies in 1 Peter, we see that our call to holy living in the midst of persecution and trials calls us to fearless Biblical submission to one another. This passage can be a difficult one to unpack if we don’t understand the context of this letter, but we are thankful for your faithfulness in teaching the Word to others.
Please remind the attendees in your group that we are currently in our series of Equip Classes about basic doctrine. We meet on Sundays from 5-6 p.m. at Sessions. The schedule is as follows (each topic for each week): doctrine of God, doctrine of humanity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This will be a great time to bolster our biblical understanding of these vital doctrines that should infuse every aspect of our thoughts and lives. For more information or to register for childcare, visit www.citychurchtallahassee.com/equip .
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
Greetings City Group leaders,
How grateful we are that you all continue to serve others and our church so faithfully.
As Dean launches his "We The People" sermon series for the next month, we will head back into our studies of 1 Peter in our small groups which has a lot to say about how we conduct ourselves in light of society, politics, suffering, etc. We pray that the next few weeks will facilitate some thought-provoking discussion based on God's word that will yield much fruit in our lives.
Please remind the attendees in your group that we will begin the next series of Equip Classes starting October 18th from 5-6 p.m. at Sessions. The schedule is as follows (each topic for each week): doctrine of God, doctrine of humanity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This will be a great time to bolster our biblical understanding of these vital doctrines that should infuse every aspect of our thoughts and lives. For more information or to register for childcare, visit www.citychurchtallahassee.com/equip .
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
God has given us many gracious gifts to enjoy within His design. As Christ followers, we must avoid the extremes of unnecessary asceticism and sinful licentiousness. Continuing Paul’s thoughts on sexual morality, I Corinthians 7:1-9 focuses on the good gift of sex within the boundaries of marriage between a man and woman and also the gift of singleness. We hope this study of sex, marriage, and singleness has been helpful for your groups.
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
Even though this passage is addressing sexual immorality, what a wonderful reminder Paul also gives us about our union with Christ. Just as a man and a wife become one flesh through marriage and its consummation, so Jesus has become one with His Church through His redemptive work by which He rescued and purchases His Bride. Praise God!
We are grateful for your consistent service for others!
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
It is not an exaggeration when we claim that the gospel changes EVERYTHING! The differences in our eternal destiny and the way we approach our daily lives and everything in between is renewed because of Christ’s work on the cross. The difference made by the gospel should also enable believers to settle disputes within the Church—even if that means allowing themselves to be wronged to preserve unity. We pray that this time together in 1 Corinthians 6 would increase our fervent desire for and commitment to unity.
Thank you for your faithfulness!
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
We’re back in 1 Corinthians for the next few weeks, specifically focusing on the body of Christ. We hope your groups are encouraged in these passages.
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
As we study 1 Peter, remember that Peter’s goal in writing these words is to encourage his original audience and us toward a single aim in our lives. He calls us to put our hope completely in Christ and as we do live lives that testify to the holiness of our great God. By focusing of what we will receive when Christ returns, we are equipped to face many trials with hope and endurance. Christ has secured our hope and is worthy of our lives.
We appreciate your faithfulness in serving others!
Gratefully,
Joe and Kaylan
