Kingdom Builders | Fall 2022
Newbreak’s Sermon Study Guide is an in-house resource that serves sermon-based Life Groups and/or individuals who want to reflect further on how the message contributes to their spiritual formation. In this week’s study, we talk about how we can finish strong in making good on our commitments to the various Kingdom Builders initiatives we are fueling and funding all over the world. This is a unique Sunday and one of four a year in which we cast vision for what we get to do through Kingdom Builders.
Icebreakers for Life Groups
- When do you start putting up Christmas decorations? How early is too early? When do you take them down?
- What have been your thoughts on Newbreak’s Kingdom Builder’s weekends?
God invites us to join His mission to: Bring Health, Give Hope, End Human Suffering!
Read Luke 4:18–19; Psalm 82:3–4
Point 1 – Refuse to let injustice be the end result.
Psalm 82:3–4 (NIV) Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
God has always implored his people to play a participatory role in securing justice for those who cannot themselves. Now, “justice” takes a plethora of shapes and forms. Justice might mean rescuing girls from sex trafficking; it might be providing clean and sustainable drinking water; it might be giving medical aid. Justice is everything that rights a wrong in the world. And as Christians, our motivation for justice is two-fold: First, to provide immediate aid to needs that are tangible and provide a better quality of life. Second, and even more importantly, to provide the gospel of Jesus to every person we can. We do good work in the world, but not as an end in itself, but to lead people to the good news of Jesus the Lord.
We aren’t called to accept the way things are. The world is fallen, not as God created or intended it, but God has shown himself to be a Redeemer. He does not settle for the brokenness. He is committed to rescuing creation, and so we are too! We refuse to be desensitized to the pain around the world. If we have connections and a plan to alleviate or even eradicate a problem, we are going to do it. We care because God cares!
For us, injustice is a reality that must be dealt with. Injustice won’t get the final word in God’s story, and we play an active role in relieving suffering and providing ultimate hope in our generation.
Questions for Group Discussion or Personal Reflection
- Re-read Psalm 82:3–4. The four main verbs are defend, uphold, rescue, deliver. Which of those verbs captures your attention the most? Why?
- How does Jesus’ Messianic mission, announced in Luke 4:18–19, inspire our mission as Christians?
- If you are honest with yourself, are you desensitized to the pain in the world? What wakes you up to the reality of the pain in the world but also your purpose in responding to it?
God invites us to join His mission to: Bring Health, Give Hope, End Human Suffering!
Read Psalm 106:3; John 20:21; 2 Corinthians 9:6–9
Point 2 – Participate in sharing God’s blessing with others.
God honors those who “act justly” and “do what is right.” Participating in God’s making right the wrongs in the world is not “extra credit” for us as Christians, it is essential to the core of who we are! And yet, although we cannot always determine what that blessing will look like, God’s blessing does rest on us when we are obedient to the various ways he calls us to live.
We all here have been “blessed” immensely. To not step up and do my part in acting justly is to deny that God has blessed me abundantly. We should always move in the direction that brings healing.
And know this: God’s blessing rests on you and me when we do our part in his mission! So, where do we go from here? What are we to do?
It comes down to this: Pray, give, and go–and watch what God does.
- Pray–because prayer is not the least we can do, it is the most we can do. Leaning on the power of heaven is where we draw upon the God of infinite power and resources–and also–infinite compassion. God unleashes change in the world through a praying Church.
- Give–because when we ask God what our part is the answer is never zero. The bigger our prayers the bigger our participation. That’s because God has determined to bring change in the world through his people. It is no mistake that the Church is called “the body of Christ.” And one primary way to participate is by funding–being gospel patrons in the world. By doing so we are literally extending the arms of Christ over the people and projects we are partnering with on the ground all over the world!
- Go–because we are excited to announce that starting in 2023 there will be more opportunities than there have been the past two years to “go” be boots on the ground for missions both locally and globally.
For more information on Kingdom Builders, upcoming opportunities, and ways to give, please visit Kingdom Builders.
Questions for Group Discussion or Personal Reflection
- How does our own state of “blessedness” in the 1st World of America curb us from taking action in the suffering in other parts of the world?
- Consider a time you have participated in God’s mission of justice. How did you sense God’s blessing on your life in light of your participation?
- What do you see is the relationship between prayer, giving, and going? How are these three actions connected or correlated?
Final Challenge Questions
- How are you going to think or live differently in light of what you have read, heard, and discussed this week?
- How does this week’s message shape or nurture your relationship with God?
- BONUS: For those of you with kids or around kids: What is one truth from this message that you can share with your kids in a way that they would relate to or understand?