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Spiritually Healthy Community   Healthy community was something that Jesus prayed for us, His future Church, to have and to be a part of. Just as He had with His Father and the Spirit. Because of this prayer, healthy community is available to us by way of the Holy Spirit, and we get to operate in it today, if we choose to. Spiritually healthy community takes work and is not easy. It calls us to be honest, broken, and vulnerable; giving space for the Spirit to work in and for us. However, in the same breath, we are called to be a safe space that responds in love to those who come to us and require us to be a safe space for them. “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.” -1 John 4:7 (NLT)- Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

VISION SUNDAY Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

Come and See   Easter 2023: Following Christ demands faith but never blind faith. Come & See. "And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God" -Romans 5:9-11 (NLT)- Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

The Opportunity to do Good   In Galatians 6, Paul calls us to share each other’s burdens and by doing so we obey the law of Christ. Loving people in theory is easy and beautiful but, in reality, is harsh and dreadful. If we want to be a community that lives out Paul’s call in Galatians, we must learn how to handle our own burdens. We also must recognize that our life is often too hurried to notice the burdens of people around us. Lastly, when we recognize that the things we possess are not that important, and the role that God asks us to play is not too small; then we can truly begin to put ourselves in places to carry burdens of others well. "Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone – especially to those in the family of faith.” -Galatians 6:10 (NLT)- Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

How the Gospel Builds a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Family   By the time we get to the fourth chapter of Galatians, we’ve reached the climax of everything that Paul has said so far. In fact, we have reached the climax of the Gospel. Sinclair Ferguson wrote, “The notion that we are the children of God, His own sons and daughters, is the mainspring of Christian living. Our sonship to God is the apex of creation and the goal of redemption.” If we want to understand who a Christian is, and why being a Christian is a privilege, we need to appreciate divine adoption. "But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”” -Galatians 4:4-6 (NLT)- Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

Galatians // The Power of the Gospel Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

The Gift of the Father We have a hard time receiving grace because we live in a, “you get what you deserve world.” We think if we are good, God will be good to us. Without realizing it, we begin to believe our performance dictates how God feels about us. However, if we could make ourselves right with God or obey Him enough to deserve His kindness, Jesus would have died for nothing. By taking our eyes off ourselves and putting them onto Jesus, we will be free from shame, and will begin to understand the love of our Father. "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" -Galatians 2:20 (NLT)- Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

Outline of the Gospel It is very common in Christian circles to assume that “the Gospel” is something mainly for non-Christians. We see it as a set of basic “ABC” doctrines that are the way in which someone enters the Kingdom of God. We often assume that once we are converted, we don’t need to hear or study the gospel – we need more “advanced” material. But in this short letter to the churches in Galatia, the Apostle Paul outlines the bombshell truth that the gospel is the A to Z of the Christian life. It is not only the way to enter the Kingdom, it is the way to live as part of the Kingdom. It is the way Christ transforms people, churches, and communities. "I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ." -Galatians 1:6-7 (NLT)- Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

Training Your Mind Our mind, when left unattended, is being trained by the world whether we realize it or not. Everything we see, hear, and experience is training us to think a certain way; “This is how I should look”, “This is what success looks like”, “This is what will make me happy”. And the more we consume the content we are engaging in, whether healthy or unhealthy, the more we will create deeper neural pathways in our brain to continue to believe the thoughts we are believing. In Romans 12:2, the Apostle Paul gives us the solution to creating new, consistently truthful, and healthy neural pathways. It is what Paul calls “renewing your mind”. It is in the process of renewing our minds that we experience what Thomas A. Kempis called, “…a family friendship with Jesus.” That is what we are after together. "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for, which is good and pleasing and perfect." -Romans 12:2 (NLT)- Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Do you ever look at what is going on around you and wonder how to escape the negativity? Maybe it’s not your circumstances that need to change—it’s your mindset. Most of life's battles are won or lost in the mind. The enemy knows this. The enemy will tell you that change is hopeless, that you are a victim of your circumstance and of your thought patterns. He will tell you to settle and find a way to just survive and be somewhat happy. He will urge you to accept that, “this is just who you are” and that your thinking is rooted too deeply in your personality or upbringing to ever make a shift. Your first objective is to capture the thought – to face that defining and destructive thought and interrupt it. Easier said than done, but with God’s help, it can easily be done. "Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil." -Ephesians 6:11 (NLT)- Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

I Have a Choice In modern psychology a discipline has developed called cognitive behavior therapy. It teaches that many problems from eating disorders to relational challenges, addictions, and even some forms of depression and anxiety are rooted in faulty and negative patterns of thinking. Treating these problems begins with changing what you think. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” In other words, how we think, shapes our lives. Both science and scripture teach us that our lives are moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts. That is why this is so important. "We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ." -2 Corinthians 10:5 (NLT)- Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

The Heart of Our Habits That Matter Most Obedience is central to Jesus’ form of discipleship, as it was to other forms of discipleship within Judaism. But Jesus calls his followers to adhere to the motive behind obedience to God, not simply to carry out external compliance. Motives. Why do we do the good things that we do. "For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son…" -Romans 8:29 (NLT)- Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

How Change Happens 92% of New Year’s resolutions fail by Valentine’s Day. 97% fail before the end of the year. You know that by now. But the desire to change, reset, make progress, and grow cannot be broken. We all desire to “get better”. There is something in the heart of humanity that wants another shot, to try again. But have you ever wondered, “Why don’t I do what I really want to do?” Well, you are not the only one. How do we change? That is what we are talking about in this teaching. "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you which is good and pleasing and perfect." -Romans 12:2 (NLT)- Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

The Habit of Becoming It is not difficult to get a person interested in the message of the gospel, it is however, difficult to sustain the interest. Millions of people make decisions for Christ, but there is a dreadful attrition rate. In the words of Eugene Peterson, “Many claim to have been born again, but the evidence of mature Christian discipleship is slim.” In the Western Church there is a great market for religious experience but there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of Christian character. Little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called Sanctification; the process of becoming like Christ. This process involves learning how to implement healthy spiritual habits. But what stands in our way? That is what this teaching will discuss. "...And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith." -Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)- Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

 Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

Week 4 Advent // Love The work of advent is to believe that God loves the world enough to rescue it from oppression, evil, violence, and death. Many of us have been taught this in concept, and then heard Bible stories used to reinforce that the way God works is always – if there is enough faith or will – dramatic and immediate. We are taught to have faith and wait. But if you really have enough faith, we are told that you will see God move. This, while not ill intentioned, has convinced many of us that the everyday things of our lives are not spiritual enough to count as God “moving”. We may begin to believe that God is not with or for us in the less extraordinary moments of life. This idea has convinced us that our prayers are not spiritual or fervent enough, and that our spiritual activity is not up to par. It has told us that we are not enough because if we were, God would come. The “God-with-us” narrative of advent turns this on its head. The coming of Jesus is much more about a movement than a single spectacular moment. It is about everyday things converging with the divine to make it all sacred and holy. This is a way that God loves us. Allowing ourselves to be immersed in a story where God is making everything, every moment, every bit of growth and change, sacred. Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

Week 3 Advent // Joy Read: Luke 1:39-55 When Mary finds out that she is pregnant, she goes to spend her first trimester with her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, who is in her last trimester. It is likely they are both, given their ages, in the midst of the most challenging parts of their respective pregnancies. It is from this place that they enter into community with one another. We might expect Elizabeth, who has waited her whole life for a child, might approach her cousin with scorn, jealousy, suspicion, or a spirit of competition. But not so. When Mary arrives, Elizabeth literally cries out loudly to bless Mary and the thing that God is doing in her. These women, absent the voices of men in their lives, have a holy moment of honoring the thing that God is doing in both of them. This is an opportunity for them to share their stories, believe with each other, and be together. This community between the women is a gift from God to them for their health, their joy, and their belief in what God is doing in them. Our spirituality may be tied up in finding God in specific ways – reading the Bible, praying, and going to Church. We have been taught a lie that all things spiritual happen separate from community. But one of the greatest “joy gifts” in your life are the people who make you think, laugh, and celebrate your life with you. Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org