This plan is designed to have a Nurturer guide the study, feel free to have other cell members support any of the sections as part of nurturing. All instructions are identified for Nurturer. A separate document (cell content) is meant to be shared.
This cell plan is based on the sermon shared on Sunday, June 15th, 2025 from Pastor Ted Tham and Sunday, June 22nd, 2025 from Pastor Michelle
Prepare Ahead
- Read Cell Vision Statement
- Meditate on Hebrews 11:8-39
- Pray and discern next steps for your cell for outreach / prayer partners / grad transition
- Link to sharable version for members: Cell Content
Opening
Nurturer: If there are new members today joining for the first time ask everyone to share something about themselves.
- Note: Has it been a while since your cell has reviewed the cell vision statement? Review it together at: Cell Based Ministry
Icebreaker: What is your favourite bible story?
Worship
In addition to the regular musical/prayer/reading worship section, we will be incorporating a bible reading section
Ask: How was your bible reading in the last 2 weeks, share something from your readings with the group!
Note: If sharing is scarce and always the same people, can start a rotation schedule
Go into musical worship if someone is scheduled. Continue to ask if members of the cell are willing to lead this portion in the future.
Please pray for the group to begin the study.
Nurture: For those who would like to allot this portion of the night to something else feel free to use the prayer exercise:
- Prayer Exercise
- Lectio divina
Word
Hebrews 11:8-39 NIV
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents,as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations,whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[c] 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[d]
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon,Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning;[e]they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Discussion
Reminders and Recommendations for Nurturers:
- Spend some time in the sermon review to ensure the group has a grasp of the main point of the sermon
- Ask if there’s anyone who wasn’t able to join, if there is, spend a bit of time to go through the sermon summary being going in to the review questions
- If everyone was at the sermon, skip directly to the review questions
- This plan is written as a prayer meeting with a discussion question focused around faith. It is meant to give space for members to pray together.
Sermon Summary
- Obeying the will of God because
- he is all knowing
- he is all powerful
- God is everywhere
- What does faith look like?
- Courage
- Perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18)
- Choices
- Choosing God’s way over power, prestige, pleasures, playthings
- Continuing
- Keep faith under uncertainty
- Confounding
- We live by faith not by sight (2 Corinthian 5:7)
- My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways (Isaiah 55:8-9)
- Conversion
- Therefore, if anyone is in christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone and the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- Costly Conquering
- Pain and Patience, How much and how long?
- Courage
Sermon Review
- Core theme: Living by faith
- Main Takeaway: Without faith it is impossible to please God
- Review questions:
- Are you familiar with all the stories in this passage?
- How do you see faith on display in our community?
Prayer Prompts:
Below is a set of suggested Discussion questions and prayer prompts to start our prayers, break into small groups and answer each question and pray with each other.
- Question: What is something you want to give thanks for?
- Prompt: Lord I am thankful for…
- Question: What are you burdened with?
- Prompt: Lord I am burdened with…
- Question: Where is God calling you to Obey and what is the cost?
- Prompt: Lord help me obey you in …
- Prompt: Lord thank you for …. help me surrender it…
- Question: Who has God placed on your heart?
- Prompt: Lord I want to lift up …
- Question: In what area do you want to practice faithfulness
- Lord increase my faith in…
Witness
- Grad transition:
- Today: Please confirm July Events details!
- 35th Anniversary Carnival (June 28th):
- The church’s 35th Anniversary Celebration will be held on Saturday, June 28th, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the church. The event is suitable for all ages. This celebration is exclusively for GCGC attendees. Event participants must present the church’s commemorative keychain as an entry pass. Hot dog lunches will be available for $2 each (attendees are encouraged to bring their own water bottles). Lunch tickets and keychains will be available for purchase/pick up after worship at the foyer or at the church office. Ticket sales will close on June 22nd. Many volunteers are needed for the event. Please sign up to volunteer no later than June 13th. For event details and volunteer registration, please visit gcgcny.org/em/carnival/
- Bible Reading:
- This year, we will be going through a 2 year bible reading plan together. Access to plan at gcgcny.link/readbible. Use this to share regularly in your cell about what you’re hearing from God.
- Prayer and Outreach
- As discussed in our last meeting, we will be shifting outreach to be a zone wide initiative to encourage similar life stage members to partner together to witness to their friends, with cell being a place for them to join once they are ready to be a part of the community, as part of this shift:
- New Outreach Chat to invite others along when you are looking to do something with friends
- Establish prayer partners
- Suggestion: Monthly same gender rotations to encourage biweekly checkins to strengthen relationships.
- Note that the above is a suggestion and may not be the best approach based on the make up of your cell, pray and discern how best to approach this for the benefit of your cell
- As discussed in our last meeting, we will be shifting outreach to be a zone wide initiative to encourage similar life stage members to partner together to witness to their friends, with cell being a place for them to join once they are ready to be a part of the community, as part of this shift: