Introduction

Watch the video from “One By One Part 2: Personally Prepared”

1. What are some ways God prepared Pastor Rosenau to be a pastor when he was ….?

a mortician

a detective

2. What were some things Pastor Rosenau and his wife sacrificed for him to serve as a detective?

4. The gospel is always about Jesus - his life, death, and resurrection for us. The gospel shows up in all our lives differently to prepare us for work in his kingdom. What are some ways God prepared the following people for lives of service:

  • Joseph

  • Esther

  • Paul

Getting connected

5. What do you consider to be one of the most fundamental events of your life - what event really prepared you for your work in God’s kingdom?

6. What kind of conversations are you having with pre-Christians?

Bible study

Let’s read Romans 6:1-7

8. According to Paul in this section and especially Romans 6:4, what was the first step in the process? What is the second step or end result?

9. In your own words, what does it mean to be united with Christ in his death and resurrection?

10. Paul says that the body ruled by sin is done away with and we are united with him in his resurrection. We can leave behind our sin, death, guilt, and failure and live God’s new life. What has God left behind for you? What is God making new in you?

11. For most (all?) Christians, this sense of dieing and rising with Christ becomes real at some point. Whether we were baptized as children or adults, we experience a kind of leaving behind of our old life and we embrace a new life. Have you?

Getting it into our lives

12. Learning to tell our own story of God’s work in our lives is very useful. Here is one way I’ve found that isn’t too corny.

  • list three people who have had a deep impact on your life. What advice did they give or what example did they leave?

  • List three books, articles, Bible passages, sermons or sayings that have helped form the foundations of your beliefs, especially leadership beliefs.

  • List at least three significant events that profoundly shaped your life point of view. Then list what you learned from those events.

What story can you tell about yourself?