Christ Church Spitalfields

The Apostle Paul calls us, as disciples, to keep in step with the Spirit. (Gal 5:16) That is not something we can do alone. He goes on to encourage the Galatians to bear one another burdens. (Gal 6:2) That is why we ask everyone in the church to belong to some form of discipleship, nurture and accountability group which collectively we call Root Groups.

If you don’t yet belong to a Root Group, find one or two others and form one yourself, or else register your interest with your branch community leader who will help you connect with the right people. If you do belong to a Root Group, simply let us know.

Roots Groups meet as often as their members feel appropriate. Some meet every week, others fortnightly or monthly. They can meet at any time of the day at any point of the week at any location. They should involve the bible, prayer and copious amounts of coffee or tea.

We want each Root Group to be shaped by its members, but we do want to offer some suggestions and resources.

Getting Started

Here are two questions that might be helpful as you start meeting together:

1. What is God saying to you at the moment?
2. How are you responding to what God is saying?

Digging Deeper

Each week, we hope to post some questions raised by the sermon preached the previous Sunday. Here are some questions related to this week's Sunday sermon.

Jacob's Prayer - Genesis 32:22-32

1. Walter Wink describes biblical prayer as "impertinent, persistent, shameless, indecorous. It is more like haggling in an outdoor bazaar than the polite monologues of the church." Can you think of any examples from the Old Testament that support this view? How would you describe your own prayers?
2. In this passage, Jacob wrestles God to a standstill. Do you think you can get God in a headlock and extract a blessing from him? If not, what is going on in this passage?
3. Even when Jacob's hip is dislocated he clings on, desperate for a blessing. Share a time you have clung on to God through persistent prayer. What did you learn about God and about yourself?
4. When do you fight back and wrestle with God? Are there area of your life where God needs to break you, where he needs to 'dislocate your hip'?

Daniel's Prayer - Daniel 9:1-19

1. If you are honest with yourself, what really prevents you from developing the patterns of personal prayer you would like?
2. How could your root group help you win the battle for your heart so that it more naturally turns towards God in prayer
3. In chapter 9 Daniel prayed as he felt the tension between his reading of the prophet Jeremiah and the reality of the world around him. In your current reading of Scripture where are the tension points with what you see in the world? When will you pray into them next?
4. Have you read the Rector's Grove booklet 'Three Holy Habits' It addresses some of these issues in greater depth and has some great exercises too.