Study Guide for

“BEYOND: Beyond the Walls”

March 29, 2009

Open Up

Ask your group to share stories about serving with a non-church organization: PTA, Boy Scouts, sports, Habitat for Humanity, etc. How was it similar to serving with a church? TRANSITION: Following Jesus beyond the walls of the church building will bring us side by side with others who share many similar values.

Dig In

(1) Read Matthew 5:13-16. Jesus contrasts situations in which salt and light are useless versus situations where they are being used effectively. What are some examples of God’s people “losing their saltiness” or “hiding their light”? Who should get the praise when the church is going beyond the walls?

(2) Read James 2:1-9. How do churches in our culture, intentionally or unintentionally, sometimes favor one economic class above another? Do well-intentioned Christians sometimes act patronizing to those they are trying to help? How can we avoid being patronizing in welcoming people to MCC, and when we are serving beyond our walls?

Work On

(1) Discuss with your group the question, “If Mountain Christian disappeared from our community would anybody who is not already part of our church notice or care?” Discuss similar questions for your small group and for yourself as an individual, “What am I (are we) doing that those outside my family (our group) would miss?”

(2) From last Sunday’s message and from the experiences of your group, talk about “beyond the walls” reaching-serving opportunities. What have your group members already done? What is your group interested in doing? Remember, you are NOT limited to existing opportunities, you can create your own, making use of your group members’ passions or connections to go beyond racial zones or reconnect with the places from their past (Edgewood, Dundalk, Baltimore city, etc.).

(3) OPTIONAL Check the new MCC message boards available through the Beyond page on our website or from the LEARN drop-down menu on the website homepage. How can you use the message boards to help people in our church and beyond our walls find jobs, donate items, etc.?

Lift Up

Thank God for one of the many Jesus-honoring ministries at Mountain that goes on beyond our walls. Pray for the Spirit to encourage and empower the hearts and hands of the people in that ministry.

Another Step – Advanced Study

Read Deuteronomy 24:17-22. These laws, given by God to Moses for the Jewish people, make the connection between what God did for the Jews and what they should do for the disadvantaged orphans, widows, and immigrants. (1) Has anyone in your group been in extreme economic distress? If he or she is comfortable sharing, ask them how he or she recovered. (2) Some people have never had the kind of extreme situations these Bible verse describe, but all of us are indebted to God for rescuing us from sin. What are modern equivalents to these agricultural practices? How can your group carry out these modern equivalents?