If you would like to extend this over a week, you can easily do one of the points each day of your devotion.  Here is a printable version.

25 Day Church Challenge: Spiritual Growth
Devotional: To Connect with Others

Day 1:

Question: What types of activities would you want to accomplish if you knew that you would die in just a few months. __________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Question: What would you want your final 24 hours to be like? _________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Question: What activities would you NOT include? _____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Question: Have you ever been in a community group? What were the benefits of the group?
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John 13:1-7 - “It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

Question: What do we learn about the nature of God from this story? __________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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It is amazing that Jesus washes Judas’ feet even though he knows that Judas will betray him.
Question: How does this impact your view of God and how he connects with others?
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Day 2:

Jesus predicted to His disciples about His death several times in the months and years leading up to this moment. Jesus knew that His death was imminent, and here at this meal, He took time with His disciples one final time to prepare them for His continued mission in the world.

Question: In what ways does social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) help and/or hurt your ability to connect with others? ______________________________________________________________
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Question: What are your current activities that bring you into contact with others? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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When Jesus was on earth, He spent the majority of His time with the same small group of friends He was with in that room when He got down on His knees and washed their feet. And this was completely consistent with how He spent His time. The primary focus of His three-year ministry was to invest in this group of friends.

Question: What is one adjustment that you can make in your schedule this month so that you can better connect with others? __________________________________________________________________
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Day 3:

The early church met in homes where people gathered in small groups to enjoy a meal together and the Lord’s Supper. The epistles – the letters written to the early church that became part of the Bible (like Romans, Ephesians, etc.) –are full of what we sometimes call “one another” references.

Spend some time looking up the verses mentioned below and get a sense of the importance of community.

• “love one another”, John 13:34
• “forgive one another”, Colossians 3:13
• “be devoted to one another and honor one another above yourselves” Romans 12:10
• “accept one another”, Romans 15:7
• “serve one another” Galatians 5:19
• “encourage one another daily” Hebrews 3:13
• “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” Hebrews 10:24
• Romans 16:16 (you will have to look this one up and see if your group can handle obeying this scripture or not!)

Question: What is one thing that you can do to live out one of the “one another” statements above with someone to help develop your friendship? __________________________________________
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Day 4:

Outline from Sunday:

1. By PRAYING for each other.

A. Hurts, pains, and health.

B. Spiritual Growth

Question: Who could you pray these verses for? ________________________________________________
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Romans 15:13 - May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Name the person: ________________________________________________________________________________

Ephesians 1:17 - I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

Name the person: ________________________________________________________________________________

2 Thessalonians 3:5 - May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.

Name the person: _______________________________________________________________________________

Day 5:

2. By being REAL with each other.

* ADMITTING your mistakes.

Ephesians 4:25 - Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

Question: How honest are you about your weaknesses? ________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Two benefits:

A. Emotional HEALING from pain.

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Question: What benefit do you find from confessing to others? ________________________________
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B. Power from God to lift YOU UP.

James 4:10 - Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

James 4:6 - But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”

3. By ENCOURAGING others to grow spiritually.

1 Timothy 4:7 - Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

Question: What is godliness useful for? __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
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