Get your group ready. Beginning the weekend of March 10-11 and taking us up to Easter, Kay Warren will be teaching a four-week series called ALL ACCESS in weekend services. During this series Kay will share life-changing truths about the Tabernacle and we’ll learn what it means to live in God’s presence today.
Every week you can take each weekend’s teaching deeper in your small group by using Talk It Over, the weekly downloadable discussion study guide produced from the weekend message.
A special part of this new series is the All Access Experience, a full-scale replica of the Tabernacle in the wilderness that will be erected on the Lake Forest campus. You and your group can participate in a multi-sensory experience of communion with God by taking a 55-minute audio driven journey through the Tabernacle, participating at each of 9 interactive stations. For more information, click on ALL ACCESS.
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What happens if you’re traveling on the day your group meets? How do you stay up on the lesson with everyone else? How do you remember prayer requests from your group through the week? How do you continue the conversation from your group through the week? Easy. It’s called mysaddleback.com. Just tell everyone in your group to click on http://mysaddleback.com and sign in.
On the first screens are some great tutorials to explain how to use mysaddleback.com and, after “selecting” your small group, you can engage in discussions, share prayer requests, and even watch video sessions for group meetings that you missed. Did you read that? If you miss a meeting you can still catch the video lesson for that week online in your group page at mysaddleback.com. And it’s all private – only for members of your small group. Check out mysaddleback.com today. It’s a great way to experience “better together.”
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Great news! Your small group member can watch the study video and any missed weekend messages online. Here’s how they can do that. Just send the links below to your small group members.
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Study videos – go online to my.saddleback.com. If you have never used My Saddleback, watch the quick “how to” video on the left. You will need to “enable” your group in My Saddleback (just follow the instructions) but once you do that your group members can watch any week’s study videos.
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Weekend messages – go to http://www.saddleback.com/40ditw/ and at the bottom is a blue button for “archived services.” Click that and you can watch past weekend messages.
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As of January 23, 2012:
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Over 1300 new small groups have formed so far!
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2,500 people have signed up to get the Daily verse via email
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1,100 signed up to get the Daily verse via text message
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75 have signed up to get the Daily verse in Spanish via text message
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2,700 have signed up for the Daily 40 Days Email
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900 have signed up for the Daily 40 Days text message reminder
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Would you like memory verses, video devotions, scripture reading and other complementary resources for your personal study time? It's easy. Just go to the 40 Days in the Word study habits page, click on "Grow" and sign up. You can watch daily video devotions, sign up to get daily reminders or verses by text or email, read the Scripture for the week, and access other great ways to get deeper in your study.
Don't miss this terrific online resource!
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Pick up small group materials for your group whether you are getting for the first time or need more for others joining your group. All Hosts – bring a hardcopy printout of your Host eNewsletter (and at Lake Forest you’ll get in the priority line for quickest service!) Materials will be available every weekend at your campus through Feb 5, and at the Lake Forest campus ministry center from 9 -5 weekdays.
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You will get an email from Saddleback when there is someone interested in joining your group. Be sure to call every person who is interested in your group so they can find a group for this important series.
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Call, email or text each person you have invited, to remind them of the group meeting.
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Need more people for your group?
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Get ready by watching the Introductory Small Group Host Training videos and also by reading the “Understanding Your Workbook” section in the front of the 40 Days in the Word workbook.
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Pray for each person in your group by name, prior to your first small group meeting.
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Online Hosts please log in to your Community Leaders Group Online Meeting Room for special instructions for Online Groups.
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Before anyone arrives for your meeting, pray for God’s direction and guidance in your group, pray that everyone makes it there safely, and pray for each heart to be ready for what God has for them to learn from the study.
During your first meeting you’ll be going through Pages 1-9 of the workbook. Most home groups will have a brief time for conversation and a snack, start the group with prayer, and maybe even sing a couple of songs to get everyone in a worshipful frame of mind before opening the workbook. Then they’ll follow the workbook for that week.
End your meeting with letting each person in the group share one thing they would like prayer for and one thing they want to thank God for. This is the last thing on Page 9 this week. Then close your meeting with prayer.
One thing to remember – people appreciate when your group starts on time and ends on time. It will take a little clock watching on your part during the meeting but it will be worth it. Don't assume that because people are actively talking that everyone is able to stay past the allotted time.
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The Homework Club serves at-risk kids in Santa Ana.The kids are putting on a play the evening of Thursday, Dec 15 for their families and friends and your group can help in two ways.
They need help putting some decorations up in the auditorium for the play.
And, they also need some people to bring cookies to give out to the students/families after the play is over.
What a great way to express Christ’s love at Christmas!
To sign up or get more information contact anne.menaldo@sausd.us or phone 949.422.5485.
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One of the big questions we’re constantly asked is “What can I study next?” I have some good suggestions. In two or three weeks here are a few options that your group can do when the current study is over.
- The Purpose of Christmas. A 3 week study with a book, DVD, and workbook.
- The Way of a Worshiper. A great 4 week study with a book, DVD, and workbook.
- Inside Out Living: What Jesus Says About Living a Blessed Life. A 6 week study with a DVD and workbook.
- Talk It Over. If you want to dig deeper into the weekend message go to http://saddleback.com/resources/talkitover/. You can download expanded message notes with small group discussion questions and use this for your group meeting. This is a free resource.
- Check your campus for availability. Most of these titles are also available at the Pavilion on the Lake Forest campus.
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Did you know that serving those in need is an act of worship to God? Join us on the weekend of December 10th and 11th for “Good Neighbor Weekend” where, in place of our church services, Saddleback Church will be going out to show compassion to our neighbors as our act of worship. Since your small group is currently completing Bill Hybels’ “Just Walk Across the Room” curriculum, this will be a great opportunity to put what you’re learning into action!
The two parts of Good Neighbor Weekend:
- Serving YOUR Neighbor: We will help equip you and your family to serve your direct neighbors. Wash their car, mow their yard, babysit their kids. Whatever you do, “Just walk across the street!”
- Serving OUR Neighbors: We have also created several opportunities for your small group to help serve the neighbors of Saddleback Church. Have a heart for kids, seniors, the homeless, or the military? Join us on one of our “Good Neighbor Projects.”
Begin talking with your family and small group about how you want to be a good neighbor on December 10th and 11th. In the coming weeks, we will put a card in the bulletin that tells you specifically how you can participate in Good Neighbor Weekend. Check out some other great serving ideas here.
Join us in showing compassion so that our neighbors can come to know Jesus!
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