May 12 Stand-alone Sermon

This week is a stand-alone sermon, meaning all Vintage locations pick different passages for the Sunday service. Below you’ll see our Universal Discussion Guide, which you can use with any of them.

As a reminder, this universal guide is based on something called the Swedish Method, a set of simple open-ended questions developed for use with any passage in the Bible, for group discussion or in personal devotions. If you get a chance, share that information with your group; as you’re getting started, tell folks you’ll be working through a special universal discussion guide together (you can explain the whole stand-alone sermon thing or not), and mention that these questions can be used with any passage of the Bible in their own personal studies. Then, after doing these questions in discussion, send out the link to this page or send the questions out another way so your group members can have them for reference. That’ll put helpful Bible reading resources in their hands that they could start using the very next day, or the next time they’re coming up short with options for how to get into the Word regularly.

One thing I hear often from folks wanting to get into the Scriptures is, “I just don’t know where to start.” Often people are daunted by all the options at their disposal, but with this method they can take a passage and maybe pen and paper and jump right in. If folks are stuck at “but which passage do I pick?”, reading through the Gospel of John is a great place to start. If they’ve read a Gospel recently, try Acts, Ruth, or James.

Lastly, you’ll notice this discussion guide is composed of standard fare Vintage CG questions, but I’d encourage you not to stress about them feeling redundant. Consider this another practice round, another opportunity to learn Bible study habits together.

Passages for each location

• Downtown – 1 Timothy 6:11-16
• Chapel Hill/Carrboro – Genesis 2:15-25
• Durham – Ephesians 4:17-32
• North – Mark 10:13-16