Groundwork: Biblical Foundations for Life

It is natural to feel a little confusion about the Christian belief in the Holy Trinity. The whole concept of one God who is comprised of three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—requires some acceptance of mystery. To answer your questions, let’s examine the scriptural foundation for this belief and gain a deeper understanding of the nature of our Triune God and the relationships between the persons of the Trinity. Then we’ll delve into a particularly challenging Bible passage to see how our belief in the Triune God influences our worship and the sacrament of baptism.

We are part of a communal and generational faith. Ever since the days of the apostles, Christians have been sharing the stories of Jesus and God’s work in their lives with the generations of Christians that followed. Whether it’s our children or Christians younger in their faith, God has entrusted us with the responsibility to pass on our faith through our actions and words. Thankfully, he gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us. Join us as we continue celebrating Groundwork’s 15th anniversary by exploring what it means to live our legacy of faith every day and pass our faith to the next generation.

The earliest stories about God demonstrate his continuing faithfulness to his people, from one generation to the next, and the Bible instructs us to be intentional about sharing and passing on our faith. Explore the Scriptures that teach us the importance of cultivating legacies of faith. Along the way, we’ll celebrate Groundwork’s 15th anniversary as we reflect on God’s continued faithfulness. 

We encounter many unexpected situations in life that can have a profound impact on our faith, such as the death of loved ones, a bad diagnosis, serious injury, natural disasters, or job loss. How do we respond with faith when we suffer? How can we be sure that trauma, grief, pain, frustration, and anger won’t shatter our faith? Join us as we study the scriptures together and receive assurance that God cares about all our experiences and emotions, good and bad. Find out what the Bible says it takes, and what God provides, to stay the course of discipleship in the midst of life’s tragedies. 

Sometimes, our actions are out of sync with the faith we profess as disciples of Jesus Christ. We make mistakes and consequently experience setbacks in our discipleship journey. These seasons of stagnation in our spiritual growth are not necessarily evidence of weak faith. Even the Apostle Peter experienced setbacks in his journey of discipleship. Scripture is clear that God is with us even during these seasons, guiding us, helping us understand what he expects of us, and reminding us what his Holy Spirit is doing for us. Join us as we study the scriptures to better understand repentance and the ready abundance of God’s grace and forgiveness for reinvigorating our discipleship growth. 

We should expect to grow and mature as disciples of Jesus Christ. What does that growth look like? What is this “solid food” the Apostle Paul talks about for mature followers of Jesus? How can we be sure that we are maturing? Thankfully, we don’t need to figure it all out on our own. God gives us his Holy Spirit to guide, teach, and supply us with everything we need for spiritual growth. Find out how to live as a maturing disciple of Jesus and discover the signs of dynamic discipleship already apparent in your own life. 

So you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, now what? While Jesus Christ has done the heavy lifting of salvation for us, that doesn’t mean we are fully formed disciples of Christ at conversion. In fact, our discipleship journey is a lifelong one. So, what do Christians mean by the term discipleship? When does discipleship begin?  What does it look like? The Apostle Paul talks about spiritual milk, what is that?  Explore these questions with Groundwork as we look to scripture to help us understand what it means to live as disciples of Christ today and as we explore the importance of community in our discipleship journey.

When we pray, “Your kingdom come…on earth as in heaven,” we demonstrate our trust in what we cannot see. We cannot fully see God’s kingdom around us yet, but our prayer is also our calling to reflect God’s reign in our daily lives. His kingdom is already here, and by studying Scripture, we discover what it means to live faithfully in the kingdom now.

Jesus often used parables to teach his followers about the kingdom of God. His stories and analogies sometimes confused his followers, but Jesus patiently but urgently described what God’s kingdom looks like, what its values are, and how the people of his kingdom should behave. Jesus’ kingdom parables still reveal aspects of God’s kingdom and point the way for his people today. 

When Jesus declared that God’s kingdom was near, his life embodied that truth. In our study of Jesus’ teachings, we’ll discover what it means for the kingdom to show up in real time through healing, justice, and welcome. We’ll talk about how God’s kingdom continues to come near in Jesus today, and how he calls us to participate in his kingdom here and now.

The concept of God’s kingdom is woven throughout the Bible. Jesus and the apostles taught and preached about the kingdom of God. Kingdom language arcs through the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, defining what God’s kingdom is, what it looks like, and the kind of King we have in Jesus. Studying God’s kingdom helps us recognize our place in it today. 

Amidst all of his judgment in Hosea, God reveals the tender ache of a father’s heart and gives the prophet powerful images of restoration for his people. Let’s study these messages together and discuss how this ancient prophecy still calls us back to God's heart and to restoration. 

Through much of Hosea, the prophet speaks directly against Israel’s spiritual betrayal. Chapter after chapter, God accuses Israel of idolatry, rampant injustice, and misplaced trust. We learn the consequences of their blatant rebellion. We also witness his longing for his people as he pleads for them to remember all he had done for them, to repent of their sins, and to return to him. Hosea’s prophetic message for Israel is a reflection of God’s heart. Together, we’ll discuss what we can learn from Israel’s story about our own hearts today.

God called the prophet Hosea to bring a message to his people, Israel. He wanted them to know they had strayed from their relationship with him; their pride and arrogance in following other gods were the causes of all their troubles. God famously instructed Hosea to marry an unfaithful woman and used his marriage to Gomer as a symbol of all that was wrong with Israel in their relationship with God. Yet, though his judgment was harsh, God offered Israel hope and restoration. Studying the prophetic relationship of Hosea and Gomer invites us as his people today into an honest reflection on our own relationship with God and our need for his grace. 

Jesus often taught in parables, simple stories that illustrated a spiritual truth. Some of Jesus’ most famous parables are unique to the Gospel of Luke. In what we call the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus describes for his followers who would be their neighbor and what it means to be a good neighbor. Telling the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector, he focuses on the condition of the heart and salvation by grace. Jesus’ parables highlight a major theme in Luke: our call to discipleship. Throughout the book, we repeatedly find the invitation to follow Jesus Christ. Together, let’s discover what Jesus teaches about the attitudes and hearts of his followers and discuss honestly what it costs to prioritize Jesus in our lives. 

As Christians, we celebrate God’s victory through Jesus Christ in worship every week. But in story after story in Luke, Jesus extends healing and victory to outsiders, individuals who experienced suffering, rejection, and isolation in the Jewish community. Join us as we study the recurring theme of God's victory for us and for all who are marginalized or far off, and think about what this means for how we live our faith today. 

Jubilee and joy are featured frequently in Luke’s gospel. People are constantly rejoicing. Why? Because they encountered Jesus and salvation. Trace the themes of jubilee and joy in the gospel of Luke with us. Together we’ll study Jesus’ parables and the famous story of Zacchaeus to recognize the importance of these themes, how they connect to and continue the tradition of the Old Testament’s Year of Jubilee, and what this means for how we faithfully respond to our own encounters with Jesus and salvation today. 

Prayer and dependence on God are the heartbeat of the Gospel of Luke. As we read about Jesus’ baptism, the start of his ministry, and his teaching of the Lord’s Prayer, Luke shows us how Jesus modeled a robust and intentional prayer life. Learn how following Jesus draws us into deeper intimacy with the Father, why prayer is key to a resilient faith, and what it means to be people of prayer. 

The stories of Jesus’ life and teachings recorded in the Book of Luke highlight recurring themes of economic justice and Jesus as a prophet in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets. Together, let’s explore how Jesus’ teachings about justice continue God’s emphasis on justice in the Old Testament. Let’s discuss what Luke still teaches us today about how and when we should care for justice as Christians.

Like Matthew, Mark, and John, the gospel of Luke was written to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ. Together, let’s examine the author, audience, and background of Luke to better understand its unique and valuable perspective on Jesus. We’ll also observe the central role of the Holy Spirit throughout Luke’s gospel and discuss the impact of a Spirit-empowered life on our discipleship today.