Service: Living a Yielded Life

By Brett Eastman, Dee Eastman, Todd Wendorff and Denise Wendorff

What does it take to build character? How do you instill godly qualities inside yourself that are displayed consistently through words, actions, and attitudes that reflect what Jesus himself is like? Building Character Together takes you and your small group inside the Bible to learn character-building lessons from some of its most compelling figures. In six enjoyable, interactive sessions, each volume in this six-volume series helps you deeply explore the complex issues of developing Christian character. Combining study, discussion, and shared experiences, here is a pathway to growth both individually and as a group. Explore the lives of David, Mary Magdalene, Jacob, and other men and women of the Bible. Learn lessons from their successes and failures and from their relationships with God and other people that you can readily link to yourself and your own life circumstances. Enjoy frank discussions that draw you and other group members deeper into each others’ lives. And put it all into action in a one-day group retreat, a service project, a mini-mission work, and other experiences that help you make the leap from good words to good works.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Sep 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9780310572381

Brett Eastman

Brett Eastman has championed small groups and leadership development at both Saddleback and Willow Creek Community Church over the past decade. He is president and founder of LifeTogether, and one of the authors of the Silver Medallion winner Doing LifeTogether, the adult curriculum published by Zondervan.

Book preview

Service

Life Together Resources

Building Character Together series

Authenticity: Living a Spiritually Healthy Life

Friendship: Living a Connected Life

Faith: Living a Transformed Life

Service: Living a Meaningful Life

Influence: Living a Contagious Life

Obedience: Living a Yielded Life

Doing Life Together series

Beginning Life Together

Connecting with God’s Family

Growing to Be Like Christ

Developing Your SHAPE to Serve Others

Sharing Your Life Mission Every Day

Surrendering Your Life to God’s Pleasure

Experiencing Christ Together series

Beginning in Christ Together

Connecting in Christ Together

Growing in Christ Together

Serving Like Christ Together

Sharing Christ Together

Surrendering to Christ Together

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Zondervan

Service

Copyright © 2007 by Brett and Deanna Eastman, Todd and Denise Wendorff

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

ePub Edition January 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-57238-1

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

ISBN-13: 978-0-310-24993-1

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible: New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois. All rights reserved.

Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are offered as a resource to you. These are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of Zondervan, nor do we vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other —except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

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Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Acknowledgments

Read Me First

SESSION 1: Influential Service — Moses

SESSION 2: God-Directed Service — Deborah and Dorcas

SESSION 3: Community-Building Service — Nehemiah

SESSION 4: Obedient Service — Noah

SESSION 5: Timely Service — Esther

SESSION 6: Giant Service — David

APPENDIX

Frequently Asked Questions

Small Group Agreement

Small Group Calendar

Personal Health Plan

Sample Personal Health Plan

Personal Health Assessment

Team Roles

Gifts Inventory

Performing a Footwashing

Leading for the First Time

Leader’s Notes

Small Group Roster

About the Publisher

Share Your Thoughts

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It’s been quite a ride ever since our first series was published back in 2002. Literally thousands of churches and small groups have studied the LIFE TOGETHER series to the tune of over two million copies sold. As we said back in our first series, By the grace of God and a clear call on the hearts of a few, our dream has become a reality. Now, our dream has entered the realm of being beyond all that we could ask or imagine.

To see thousands and thousands of people step out to gather a few friends and do a Bible study with an easy-to-use DVD curriculum has been amazing. People have grown in their faith, introduced their friends to Christ, and found deeper connection with God. Thanks to God for planting this idea in our hearts. Thanks to all of those who took a risk by stepping out to lead a group for six weeks for the very first time. This has been truly amazing.

Once again, a great team was instrumental to creating this new series in community. From the start back at Saddleback with Todd and Denise Wen-dorff and Brett and Dee Eastman, the writing team has grown. Special thanks to John Fischer, yes, THE John Fischer, for writing all of the introductions to these studies. Also, thanks to our LIFE TOGETHER writing team: Pam Marotta, Peggy Matthews Rose, and Teri Haymaker. Last, but not least, thanks to Allen White for keeping this project on track and getting the ball in the net.

Thank you to our church families who have loved and supported us and helped us grow over the years. There are so many pastors, staff, and members that have taught us so much. We love you all.

Finally, thank you to our beloved families who have lived with us, laughed at us, and loved us through it all. We love doing our lives together with you.

READ ME FIRST: OUTLINE OF EACH SESSION

Most people want to live a healthy, balanced spiritual life, but few achieve this by themselves. And most small groups struggle to balance all of God’s purposes in their meetings. Groups tend to overemphasize one of the five purposes, perhaps fellowship or discipleship. Rarely is there a healthy balance that includes evangelism, ministry, and worship. That’s why we’ve included all of these elements in this study so you can live a healthy, balanced spiritual life over time.

A typical group session will include the following:

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CONNECTING WITH GOD’S FAMILY (FELLOWSHIP). The foundation for spiritual growth is an intimate connection with God and his family. A few people who really know you and who earn your trust provide a place to experience the life Jesus invites you to live. This section of each session typically offers you two options: You can get to know your whole group by using the icebreaker question, or you can check in with one or two group members — your spiritual partner(s) — for a deeper connection and encouragement in your spiritual journey.

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GROWING TO BE LIKE CHRIST (DISCIPLESHIP). Here is where you come face-to-face with Scripture. In core passages you’ll explore what the Bible teaches about character through the lives of God’s people in Scripture. The focus won’t be on accumulating information but on how we should live in light of the Word of God. We want to help you apply the Scriptures practically, creatively, and from your heart as well as your head. At the end of the day, allowing the timeless truths from God’s Word to transform our lives in Christ is our greatest aim.

FOR DEEPER STUDY. If you want to dig deeper into more Bible passages about the topic at hand, we’ve provided additional passages and questions. Your group may choose to do study homework ahead of each meeting in order to cover more biblical material. Or you as an individual may choose to study the For Deeper Study passages on your own. If you prefer not to do study homework, the Growing section will provide you with plenty to discuss within the group. These options allow individuals or the whole group to go deeper in their study, while still accommodating those who can’t do homework.

You can record your discoveries in your