GROUPS: I'm Never Lenten You Go

February 18, 2024

Welcome to the first-ever Devoted!

A guide for growing in groups at Door Creek Church. Our hope is that this is a spiritual growth resource you use at church, at home and in your group.

IN THIS EMAIL

A DCC high schooler starts Alpha for her unchurched friends
How to spark spiritual conversations naturally
What's the deal with fish fries?
Your message cheat sheet
The literal sausage party that sparked the Swiss Reformation

SHOUT OUT

Everyday heroes at DCC

Go DCC Students!

Emogen (second from left) is a DeForest Campus high schooler who wanted to share Jesus with her high school friends, so she started a Youth Alpha that meets at the Northside Madison Campus (not far from her school). Pray for her! Two students are very interested and one is attending church to explore Jesus more.

TRY THIS

Everyday heroes at DCC

How do I start spiritual conversations?

Wanna be like Emogen? We do!

Try this.

Ask, "How was your weekend?" After they answer, they'll probably respond by asking about yours. If so, why not tell them about your experience at church, what you learned and why it matters to you? If they seem interested, let them know you'd love to have them come with you anytime.

PARTY TRICKS

Stuff your pastor paid to learn in Bible school

Lent, Jesus and...fish fries?

The Lenten season just kicked off with Ash Wednesday, which means Catholic churches all over Wisconsin will be firing up their fryers until Easter.

Not complaining, but how did this happen?

Lent isn't mentioned anywhere in the Bible, but since the second century, Christians have used Lent (an angl-saxon word meaning "spring") as a period of self-reflection, repentance and abstinence in preparation for Easter. While many Protestants jumped off the Lenten bandwagon during the Reformation, Catholics held on for a lot longer, even, at times even making it illegal to eat meat or eggs for 40 days!

Sounds intense.

Right. Over time, however they relaxed the rules until the mid 1960s when the Catholic church said "How about we just not eat 'warm-blooded meat' on Fridays" (translation: let's replace burgers for fried fish).

So is this just a Wisconsin thing?

No, it's all over, but it's big here. Rumor has it that fish fries started in Milwaukee by German and Polish Catholics who decided if they had to eat fish for Jesus, why not cover it in batter and dip it in tartar sauce? Amen to that!

LEADER CHEAT SHEET

Get more out of the message

JESUS IN UNEXPECTED PLACES

Jesus at a Wedding | Matthew 22:1-14

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As we count down to Easter, we're following Jesus through passion week to learn how to find Him in the unexpected places in our lives.

WATCH: YouTube or Website

The Big Idea of Matthew 22:1-14

God’s chooses anyone who appropriately responds to His persistent grace, but rejects any who treat Jesus with contempt.

Good to Know

This story is the last of three where Jesus responds to the temple elite's question "What gives you the right to talk like this?" (see 21:23)

Wedding feast (vs. 2) is actually plural. This was a massive, multi-course, multi-day party.

Paid no attention (vs. 5) means they treated the king like he was beneath them.

Filled with guests (vs. 10)—this is what the king wanted, a feast that honored his son and the bride.

Wedding clothes (vs. 11)—this guy showing up in his grubby work clothes was probably an intentional snub to the king.

Many are called, but few are chosen (vs. 14). This phrase rhymes in Greek. It's a powerful statement, that although God invites anyone to come to His feast, only those who appropriately respond are chosen or elect.

Conversation Starters

What are some distractions that keep you from enjoying God's feast?
What does it look like to appropriately prepare yourself to be in God's presence? (see Hebrews 13:1-17)

Prayer Prompts

Pray that the Holy Spirit opens your hearts to fully and sincerely respond to His grace this week.

COMING UP

February 20 | Baptism Information Class – REGISTER

February 25 | Steve Berg/David Smith (NSM only) – Jesus in Crisis

March 3 | Jamie – Jesus in debate

March 7, 14 & 21 | Evangelism Class – REGISTER

March 10 | Jamie – Jesus on the Judge's Bench

ONE MORE THING

It used to be illegal to eat meat during Lent, but in 1522, a local priest named Huldrych Zwingli sparked the Swiss Protestant Reformation by throwing a literal sausage party.

Read the sizzling story here.