Author: Mark Hood

4/4/24

Dear GG Leaders.

I hope you (like me) have had an excellent week with God’s people discovering more of the riches of the resurrection. I’m so glad we’ve got these four weeks to dig into this chapter.

Please find attached some questions for next week’s passage 1 Cor 15:35-49.

And below is the link to the chat concerning these questions.

Programming Note: this little podcast is now having a short holiday. We’ll return with our new Prayer series late in April, for your Growth Groups week commencing 29 April.

As per my earlier message, here is the plan for the coming weeks:

Monday	Growth Group passage	Sunday sermon, passage	Notes
8 April	1 Cor 15:35-49	14 Apr.1 Cor 15:35-49 Spiritual bodies	Resurrections bodies then
15 April	GG Break.  [1Co15:50-58]	21 Apr.1 Cor 15:50-58 Labour in the Lord	Resurrection ministry now
22 April	GG Break.	28 Apr. Ephesians 1:1-14	Jaden preaching God’s big plan
29 April	Prayer passage 1	5 May. Prayer series begins	Our plan is to spend 6-7 weeks…
6 May	Prayer passage 2	12 May. Prayer series continues	…on prayer convictions & practice

We’re due to have another GG Leaders meeting on Sunday 5 May.

In Christ, Mark

Dear Growth Group leaders,

Happy Easter to you. Praise the Lord that Christ is risen.

Find attached some questions and the link to our podcast for our next section of 1 Corinthians 15:12-34.

This week feels like it should be a holiday week – but as school resumes after this long weekend, and because we’ve only been going in our groups 6 weeks, my thought is to continue until the school holidays in later April.

You are in the best position to work out what to do with your group. Perhaps you want to keep charging on until winter! I find a short autumn break helps maintain energy through term 2.

My plans, including for what we’ll be preaching when are as follows:

Monday	Growth Group passage	Sunday sermon, passage	Notes
1 April	1 Cor 15:12-34	7 Apr. 1 Cor 15:12-34 Since he has been raised…	Resurrection life now
8 April	1 Cor 15:35-49	14 Apr.1 Cor 15:35-49 Spiritual bodies	Resurrections bodies then
15 April	GG Break.  [1Co15:50-58]	21 Apr.1 Cor 15:50-58 Labour in the Lord	Resurrection ministry now
22 April	GG Break.	28 Apr. Ephesians 1:1-14	Jaden preaching God’s big plan
29 April	Prayer passage 1	5 May. Prayer series begins	Our plan is to spend 6-7 weeks…
6 May	Prayer passage 2	12 May. Prayer series continues	…on prayer convictions & practice

Hope this helps?

We’re due to have another GG Leaders meeting on Sunday 5 May.

In Christ, Mark

22/3/24

Dear Growth Group leaders

Hope you’ve had a valuable time in Luke 18-20 with your groups these last 7 weeks.

As we come to Easter this week ahead, we’re moving to a new series in 1 Corinthians 15 called ‘made alive’.

On Good Friday, I’ll major on the substitutionary atonement of the cross 1 Cor 15:3.

On Easter Sunday, I’ll preach 15:1-11 Paul’s good news to hold onto.

Find below the questions that Jaden and I have drafted for our groups for our studies this week.

A reminder to invite your group to join us for a Good Friday lunch at Annie & Gerhard’s place (friends welcome).

On our website is also our podcast/ chat about these questions.

Thanks for your group reports and feedback.

in Christ, Mark

18/3/24

Dear Growth Group leaders,

Please find below some questions and discussion for our time in Luke 20 this week.

My apologies this has come late to you this time.

FYI this is our final week in Luke’s gospel for this series. We’ll return and complete Luke at another time. From here, we move to 1 Corinthians 15. We’ll be reading the crucifixion narrative alongside 1 Cor 15:1-8 on Good Friday. And we’ll read the resurrection accounts as we step through the whole chapter in 5 weeks from Easter Sunday.

God-willing, we’ll have some reading guides produced for this, and GG Study questions for this resurrection series later this week.

in Christ, Mark

Dear Growth Group leaders,

We’re getting into the less comfortable parts of Luke’s gospel from here on. This week a confronting challenge about authority.

Jaden and I have produced some questions. And recorded a chat which should hopefully give you confidence to adjust the questions to suit your group.

Go well this week ahead.

And please pray that we can establish a sixth group just outside the city.

In Christ, Mark  

1/3/24

Dear Growth Group leaders,

I hope you’ve been finding these passages in Luke challenging in a good way?

Certainly its clear that Jesus has turned up the temperature when it comes to the urgency and significance of responding to him rightly.

In our next passage, one of the big issues raised is precisely about that: recognising Him in the full – honouring sense of that word. Where the first half seems to rightly recognise & honour him, the second half is so drastically different. This tells us lots about the people he came to save. That he perseveres (rather than cut and run) tells us much about Him!

I’m praying that God, by word and Spirit will be transforming us as we meet. Go well with your groups. See below for the questions and podcast chat with Jaden.

in Christ, Mark

Dear Growth Group leaders,

Thanks for the good start you’ve made with your groups.

And thanks too for your prayers for a sixth group to begin. We’re hoping to see another group commence, perhaps in later March, somewhere just outside the city, such as in Prebbleton.

Please find attached some questions that Jaden and I have drafted for our next passage, Luke 19:11-27 Faithful Servants?

It’s the great parable of the minas, which is likely supposed to jolt us into (and assure us of continuing in) faithful service of Christ while we wait for his coming.

See what you make of these questions, and by all means add / change to suit you and your group.

Here’s our latest Word Dwell Richly episode where we talk about these questions.

In Christ, Mark

Dear Growth Group leaders,

Well done on the good start you’ve made with your group. A few of our groups have had a slowish start (with a number of group member apologies). Don’t let that disappoint you. Press on good and faithful servants!

Please find below some questions that we’ve prepared for Luke 19 – Jesus and Zacchaeus.

And below you’ll find a chat with Jaden about these questions. Hope this helps. All feedback gladly received. And as always feel free to make these questions your own.

in Christ, Mark

Dear Growth Group leaders,

Welcome to another Growth Group year together. How good it is to be gathering our groups around God’s word: thanks for your hard work, love and prayer for God’s people!

Please find below some questions that we’ve prepared for Luke 18.

And below you’ll find a chat with Jaden about these questions. Hope it helps! All feedback gladly taken on board.

in Christ, Mark

Dear Growth Group leaders,

Please find attached our questions for 1 Samuel 20, and an audio file chat with Pip about these questions.

Sorry this is so late.

in Christ, Mark