View The After Party video here: https://youtu.be/DD7uXA4KSPo
Feel free to share this link with your Life Group to watch ahead of time or watch together as a group.

Connect
Describe the first experience you remember of being inside a church building. What are some of the images and sensations that have stuck with you from that experience? If you were a child, did it have a positive influence or negative influence on how you felt about church?

Engage
Read Matthew 16:13-20
In verse 13, what was the question Jesus asked his disciples? What truth about himself was he trying to draw out of them? Which of the disciples provided the answer Jesus was looking for, and what did Jesus reveal about this response?

In verse 18, Jesus speaks about building his church. Discuss how his disciples might have interpreted that statement. Would this be another version of Jewish synagogue, or something else? What do you think He meant by the statement “and the gates of Hades will not overcome it?”

According to the background Scott provided in his message, Jesus and his disciples were in a city called Caesarea Philippi which had a deep history of idol worship and was home to a famous well spring known as “The Gates of Hades.” Near this spring is where many worshipped a god called Pan (half goat and half Greek god) that incited dark and sexually perverse behavior in revelry. With this in mind, how might this backdrop influence the disciples’ interpretation of Jesus’ statement “and the gates of Hades will not overcome it?” What might the “gates of Hades” represent in their mind?

Apply
In his message, Scott provided a literal interpretation of the Greek word “ekklesia” use for “church” in this context. The word means “called out” or “sent out for a purpose.” How should this definition affect the way we view the purpose of our own church today?

Scott emphasized that the opposition to the church is not certain political policies or social movements, but the opposition is power of hell itself. The job of the church now is to partner with Jesus and put hell out of business. What are some of the ways that the church can partner with Jesus to make this happen?

At the After Party, Jonathan described the act of serving as catalytic to developing community. Have you found this to be true with your group? If so, share how this has changed your view on meeting together.

In his message, and during the After Party, Scott describes going to church or meeting in small groups as analogous to the huddle in a football game. It’s a pattern of meeting together, developing a plan, executing the plan, and then meeting together again. How can this pattern be effective in helping groups serve together? Have you established this pattern in your group?

Challenge
The question Scott asked in his message today is “Where are you serving?” If you are not already serving as a group, take some time to discuss how you might take the message of Christ to the community. Join the Together For Team by visiting https://northshore.church/togetherfor to find out more information, to join a Facebook group or to submit ideas.

Pray together
Pray for opportunities to seize the “kairos moment” in taking the mission of the church beyond the 4 walls of a building, and to serve in the community where the needs of the people are. Even to “the gates of Hades” as Jesus did. Pray for your group, and for those who are not yet in a group. Continue to pray for your “one” as Scott challenged us a few weeks ago.