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The Blueprint: The Heart of God

Ready for Impact (10 minutes)

Catch up on how things have been since the last time your Impact Group met. Allow anyone new to introduce themselves. Then ask group members to:

  • Share a story of a time someone went out of their way to make you feel welcome.

Ask for a volunteer to read Ephesians 1:3-14 to the group, praying a short prayer that – however much they’ve come to know Jesus, they’d know him better as a result of your time together.

Watch

Download this video to watch offline.

Impacted by the Word (15 minutes)

Suggested questions to help your discussion.

  • Make a list of all the words that describe God’s people in these verses (e.g. blessed – verse 3; chosen, holy, blameless – verse 4).
  • Which of these descriptions do you find personally most encouraging, and why?
  • Verse 5 says we’ve been adopted as God’s children through Jesus Christ. How did Jesus make our adoption possible? (see verse 7)
  • Paul writes that God lavished grace on us (verse 8). When would you use the word ‘lavished’ normally? What feelings does this word evoke?
  • According to Ephesians 1, what words best describe God’s welcome to you?
  • How does this passage help you understand what motivated early Christians to offer radical and generous welcome?

Paul says throughout this section that Christians are chosen (verses 4 and 11) and predestined (verse 5 and 11). What does he mean by this?

Firstly, Paul is reminding the Ephesians that – whatever their background – each of them is now part of God’s ‘chosen people’. This had been a title for the nation of Israel – but, whether they are Jew or Gentile, the ancient story of the Old Testament is now the Ephesians’ story. The promises of holiness and life that God offered his ‘chosen people’ are now theirs too. They have been brought by Jesus into a body of eternal significance, with an eternal future.

Secondly, Paul is emphasising that God doesn’t appoint people on the basis of their goodness, social status or nationality. None of the Ephesians chose God; he chose them! The Father’s choice in Christ was made before the world began – before any of them (or us) had done anything at all. We have no grounds to boast before God or each other.

Thirdly, in verses 11-12, Paul uses the strongest possible language to emphasise that all those who respond to the gospel of Christ (verse 13) receive the blessings of being God’s ‘chosen’. God has predetermined, for example, that all those who place faith in Jesus become ‘holy and blameless’ (verse 4) and his adopted children (verse 5) – two of the benefits of being his chosen people. God invites everyone to place faith in Christ – then declares that all who do so will be welcomed as his chosen people forever. He has determined it so.

Sometimes Christians tie themselves in knots around these verses. Some wrongly conclude they are pawns being guided by an impersonal, deterministic force. Others worry about ‘unchosen’ friends or family. Paul’s intention is not to worry us, but to give us a solid basis for our confidence. If our welcome into God’s chosen people rests on the work of Jesus, and the purposes God determined before the creation of the world, we really do have a firm foundation for our confidence.

Impacting Our Hearts (10 minutes)

We all tend to put our own plans and relationships ahead of welcoming strangers.

  • Why does welcoming new people feel so costly?
  • How does God’s welcome plan speak into this situation?
  • How can we pray for one another as we seek to be genuinely welcoming?

Now would be a good time to share any requests for personal prayer. Ask for volunteers to lead the group in prayer, praising God as the one who welcomed us at such cost.

Impacting the University (15 minutes)

Watch this video telling how CUs have welcomed students in the past:

Download this video to watch offline.

Start getting in the mindset to welcome new students through discussing these questions.

  • Share what you’ve seen CUs do in the past to welcome new students. (Encourage older students to share what they saw or heard about pre-pandemic).
  • Reflect on the nature of your university. Where are the key places the CU would ideally be physically visible during welcome season?
  • As you go away from this Impact Group session, consider your own summer plans. Could you be part of the efforts to welcome new students by coming back early? (Impact Group reunion anyone?!)

Here are some ideas to start thinking about now!

  • Before new students arrive, social media provides the first opportunity for CUs to welcome them. Where can you create online spaces for community to grow? What would you like to communicate about the CU to new students (both Christians and non-believers)?
  • You’ll soon realise that a vital ingredient to a successful welcome season is getting returners back early to get involved. How might you share the vision with the CU?

Wrap-up

  • Find out who’s in your university city this week. Who’d be up for a walk or meeting socially?
  • Who else could you invite to join your Impact Group next week? These friends don’t need to be followers of Jesus and may really appreciate being invited.

You may have people in your Impact Group who are new to reading the Bible.

  • Ensure that they know there’s a role for them in welcoming new students too!
  • Let them know how much you’ve enjoyed having them, and encourage them to keep coming to your Impact Group!
  • Invite them to explore Uncover, a set of sessions in John’s Gospel, allowing them to investigate Jesus for themselves. Make it easy for those who are keen to opt in.

Confirm the time that you’ll meet next week, and ask someone to close your time together in prayer.

Taking it further – links you might like to share with your Impact Group

  • Rend Collective’s song Boldly I Approach captures something of the wonder of being welcomed as God’s own.
  • Andrew Arterbury looks more closely at just how the early church showed hospitality and welcome throughout the book of Acts.
  • Krish Kandiah’s stunning TED Talk (17 minutes) asks whether hospitality can change the world.
  • Friends International are a brilliant Christian charity who help CUs and churches serve international students – there’s a whole section on their website devoted to welcome!