WE WILL HAVE A PRAYER NIGHT 2/20! COME JOIN US!
We are covering Matthew 19&20 on February 27!
Remember to challenge yourself to read through the entire text FIRST before starting your homework and then again as many times as you can after that throughout the week…maybe instead of a scroll through instagram. ;)
There is a women’s conference coming up this month at First Baptist Church hosted by another local women’s ministry called Women of the Word. If you plan on attending, we would love to have all of us sit together!
Let us know if you are coming!
EARLY BIRD PRICE ($60) GOES UP TO $75 on the 17th!
Get your tickets now!!
T’Naya will be leading one of the breakout sessions at this conference!
CLICK THE PICTURE BELOW TO PURCHASE YOUR TICKET
Grab your tickets now if you are going to get the early bird price. The price will go up soon!
Text “devoted” and “devotedmatthew” to the number 68878 to receive the weekly announcements, praise songs for the upcoming meeting, and links to the previous teachings and answer guides.
This week’s HEAD-HEART-HANDS section is focused around #22 in our workbook take some time to read verses 20:1-16, answer the question and reflect on what you wrote.
If you are next up for testimony time in small group, come ready to share how God moved in your heart regarding this section and share the action you took from the “hands” portion below.
HEAD (memory verse):
“So the last will be first and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:16
The disciples expect Jesus—and the kingdom of heaven—to work in ways that match their personal expectations of fairness. When we live in the mindset of “that’s not fair” we have an inward focus, or like our memory verse puts it a “first” focus. When we are focused on ourselves we cannot live for the goodness of those around us. T’Naya taught in the last lesson about the culture Jesus was creating. Specifically, she taught us about the Good Shepherd, the flock and our responsibility to do our part cultivating a culture of care. A “first” focus produces attitudes like jealousy, envy and resentment towards others. A “last” focus puts others' needs in front of what we think we deserve. The story of the Laborers in the Vineyard should bring us humbly back into right thinking. Even when we don’t get what we think we deserve we can trust that God has something even better for us. James 1:17 says “every good and perfect gift is from above.” Life isn’t “fair” but we can trust that God is working it all out for His glory!
HEART (prayer focus):
Repent. Ask the Holy Spirit to change your mindset and give you the power to live in a culture of care instead of a culture of self.
Pray that God shows you the value of the gifts you’ve been given. Specifically the gift of salvation and eternal life. Praise God for being a God that takes every unfair circumstance and uses it to refine His daughters into His image. Ask the Holy Spirit to pour out the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
HANDS (word in action):
Cultivate a culture of care! Sacrifice some time this week for others. Pray over the women in your small group and ask God where you can serve someone this week. At this point in the semester you should be aware of some of the needs in your group. Evaluate your role in the flock. Do you need to humble yourself and ask for extra help? Is God calling you to help someone in Devoted grow spiritually? If the Holy Spirit is prompting you to come alongside someone and team up to learn together, don’t wait!
