The Invitation is for You - Revelation 22

 

Study Guide for Week of May 15, 2022 

This Week's Scripture:  Revelation 22

Crossroads Community Group Guide

A. Welcome: Welcome everyone, especially new people, and read aloud the purpose of your group.

B. Purpose: Our purpose is to spread the Kingdom of God. We do this by multiplying groups of people who care for each as God's family. We begin by inviting new people to our group and building them to be followers of Jesus. Each person here has the potential to be empowered to start and be the leader of a new group and spread God's kingdom.

C. Worship Time: Spend a few minutes singing a worship song. Here is one you may want to use: Come Now is the Grace Grace   (or pick your own YouTube video that shows the lyrics.)

D. Video Message                                                                   

       

E. Upcoming Events: Crossroads Website        

F. Review:

1. How did you do with what you wanted to apply from last week?
2. Who did you invite to the group for this week?

G. Opening Question (an icebreaker - a simple question to introduce the main theme):

• Who was key in you making a decision to follow Jesus?

H. Background Information for this study: 

This a Revelation that jesus gave to the Apostle John showing him (and us) what will take place in the future. These verses what paridise will be like and who will be allowed in and who will not be allowed in.

Break the scriptures into chunks and follow th e questions below in breaking it down. 

Lets look at 3 parts of God's invitation to us in Revelation chapter 22:   

Part One: The Contents of the Invitation – Verses 1-5 
Part Two: How Do We Respond to the Invitation - Verse 6 - 17 
Part Three: What God Wants Us to do With the Invitation - Verses 18-21.  

I. Verse Outline: Key Points to Discuss

       1. Part One: The Contents of the Invitation – Verses 1-5 

• Key Concept: Jesus desires and invites everyone to be saved and experience wholeness in Him and eternal life.   

• Key Verse: 1 John 4:9-10 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 

• Community Group Application: As we grow in understanding God’s word by attending church on Sunday and a community group during the week, we understand Jesus' invitation to us.

 

2. How Do We Respond to the Invitation: Verse 6 - 17 

• Key Concept: Forgiveness and new life are free we just must open the invitation from Jesus.  

• Key Verse: John 4:13-14 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  

• Community Group Application: We make the decision to admit our sin and turn to Jesus believing He died for us. We demonstrate this in Baptism.  

3.    Part Three: What God Wants Us to do With the Invitation Verses 12-15. 

• Key Concept: There will be a final separation between those who are saved and those who are not therefore we deliver the invitation to salvation to all we know with urgency.  

• Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 11:23 - 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.”  

• Community Group Application: As followers of Jesus, we are called to deliver His invitation to others in our lives both family, friends and contacts

J. Word: Read the scriptures above. Read it in smaller portions aloud together several times. (The goal is for everyone to understand the Bible story or verses by retelling them in their own words; keep at it until everyone knows the story or verses.)

1. What key (important) words do you see in these verses?

2. Tell in your own words what happens in these verses.

3. What are the details?

4. What jumps out at you and catches your attention?

5. What details can you add to what others in the group have said?

K. Discuss the following general questions together. (The goal is to use these general questions to guide a discussion. The leader should not speak for more than 30% of the time; let the group discover what God is saying to them.)

1. What catches your attention in these verses?

2. What new thing did you discover in the story or verses that you did not know before?

3. What did you learn about God (Father, Jesus or Holy Spirit) from the story?

4. What do you learn about people from the story?

5. What important lessons for us do you see in this story?

 
L. Commitment - Obedience - Application

(This is the key - have everyone answer this question.) 

1. What specifically will you commit to apply in your life from this study? 

M. Prayer Time:  Break up into smaller groups of 3-4 - groups of the same sex           

1. Pray for your group to multiply.
2. Ask each other how you are doing spiritually.
3. Pray for the needs of the members of the group.

N. For Next time: Ask each person the name of someone they will invite to the group for next week.