Hyde Park United Methodist

God has made us to be a spectacle “theatron” of the world, so we should model the kind of holy life to which we have been called.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsHydeParkUMC.org/GoodandFaithfulReflection Questions:1. What do you think constitutes good character?2. Which of the five qualities do you emulate best, and which do you have to work on?3. What would it mean for you to be a “light of the world” this week?

Jesus calls us to love our enemies, those who are hardest to love, despite what they might have done to us.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. Who are the enemies in your life?2. What does Jesus mean when he says, “pray for those who persecute you”?3. How can you pray for your enemies this week?

Jesus calls us to a selfless love, which regards the dignity and worth of others, regardless of our differences.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. Which character(s) in the Good Samaritan story do you most identify with? 2. When have you been helped by a person who is different from you in some way? 3. What next step will you take to love others across our differences?

Jesus calls us to love God with the entirety of our lives: heart, soul, mind, and strength.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What is your experience each day in trying to figure out what to wear?2. Who in the church has been a spiritual influence in your life?3. How will you be more actively engaged in worship?

There may be many causes of fear in our lives, but in many cases, the greatest and most reliable antidote is the love of God, for “perfect love casts out fear.”HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What would your life look like if you more fully abided in God’s love? How would your family, community, co-workers, church, people in the community know?2. Where do you have fear? How can love enter into it?3. How might you live love without fear this week?

God loved us so much that God gave us Jesus (John 3:16). We are called to love one another, as an expression of the love of God (1 John 3:16)HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What does it mean to ‘lay down’ one’s life for a friend?  Can you give an example of that?2. What are some ways you see our church loving ‘in deed and truth?’3. Where is Jesus standing in front of you, inviting you to boldly show love to a neighbor?

The light of God’s love convicts us of our sins, especially in the ways that we mistreat each other and cause harm.  HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepshttps://www.barna.com/research/christians-more-like-jesus-or-pharisees/Reflection Questions:1. What do you think it means to be a follower of Jesus? 2. How do your answers to the Barna survey make you more like Jesus? More like the Pharisees? 3. What changes will you make in your life to follow Jesus better?

Just as the sun is the source of life and energy for all creation, so is Jesus the source of love and goodness for all humanity.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What animal terrifies you?2. What in your life needs the Light? How are you blocking the Light?3. How do you confess and when was the last time?4.  In what ways will you walk in the Light this week?

In Christ we are never alone. We are connected to God, to each other, and in ministry to the world.HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps Reflection Questions:1. To stay connected to Jesus who is the vine, what spiritual practices do you observe? 2. In your life, what might the ‘keeper of the vineyard’ need to prune? 3. What does it mean to ‘bear fruit’ in your life?

The way of Jesus gives us the clearest, most direct path toward living life as God intends.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. Would it make a difference in your life if you heard Jesus’ “Follow Me” as a command rather than an invitation?2. What trouble is in your heart that you need God to help you deal with?3. What are you doing to care for creation to honor Jesus as the Co-Creator? 

In Christ, death is never the last word, just as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsREFLECTION QUESTIONS: 1. What does it mean to follow Jesus, the one who invites us into the fullness of life and death? 2. What tomb are you being invited to exit? To come out of? 3. Where do you see new life in your midst?  4. Imagine Jesus in front of you, asking, ‘do you believe this?’ How would you respond? 

Jesus cares for us, preserving and protecting us from the power of sin. We must learn to listen for Jesus’ voice, and follow where he leads us.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. In what way are you in need of a “Good Shepherd” today? 2. How do you best hear the voice of Jesus in your life? 3. How will you be less like a cow that needs to be pushed, and more like a sheep that is willing to follow?

Jesus is the means through which we can experience the fullness of God’s presence and enjoy a full relationship with God.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What would you say are the “thieves” in your life? 2. What noises in your life compete with your ability to hear Jesus? 3. How will you learn to better listen to the voice of Jesus?

Jesus meets us in our blindness and gives us the ability to see God’s grace and love, just as he cured the blind man.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. In what ways are you like the Pharisees in these stories? How do you need the light of Jesus? 2. How are you like the woman and the man in both stories? How do you need the light of Jesus? 3. How will you shine the light of Jesus to others this week?

Jesus satisfies our deepest hungers, just as he fed the multitudes.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What favorite memory do you have of communion? 2. What difference do anamnesis and prolepsis make in your appreciation of communion? 3. How will you be the body of Christ for people this week?

The arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost enables the church to be a community of love that embraces diversity and inclusion.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions1. When have you experienced the presence and power of the Holy Spirit with others? 2. How is God calling you to do the work of Tikkun Olam, “repairing the world”? 3. What excites you about being a part of the future of this church?

Faithful love chooses to see reality through the “long view,” and never loses hope, regardless of how bad things might look now.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What is a part of your childhood that you miss? 2. Who are those who loved you into being? 3. What do you think it means for love to be the greatest thing, greater than faith and hope?

A love that forgives actively repairs broken relationships by “turning down the temperature” of heated conflict, and seeking to move forward, rather than live in the past.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. Is it more difficult to forgive others or yourself?2. Why do you think Jesus commands forgiveness?3. How might you love others this week?

A love that is gentle discovers alternatives to unhealthy anger, and seeks common understanding and dialogue.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. When do you think it is okay to be angry? 2. What do you think is the difference between unhealthy and healthy anger? 3. What will you do to be less provoked by angry experiences and people?

A love that is humble recognizes the decency and worth of others, and embraces differences as opportunities for learning.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. Who has exemplified humility in your life? What have you learned from them? 2. In what ways is it hard for you to be humble? 3. How will you practice a healthy sense of humility each day?