1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,160
It's so good to have you guys joining us here today for Trinity Talks.

2
00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:14,360
You are the first Trinity Talks of 2024.

3
00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,600
Maybe we'll also have you be the last one or something.

4
00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:19,600
Maybe we'll bookend you in 2024.

5
00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:20,600
I don't know.

6
00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:21,600
So we've got three...

7
00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,600
See if we're...

8
00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:25,600
Exactly.

9
00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,240
See if we have a good thing going here.

10
00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,200
I think that we will because I've just heard a little bit about your life group.

11
00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:33,760
And you three are all part of a life group.

12
00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,880
And I was hoping we could just chat about that today and learn a little bit about what

13
00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:43,740
it's like in your group, what the benefits are of the group that you see, maybe some

14
00:00:43,740 --> 00:00:47,440
changes and as well what your hopes are for life groups at Trinity.

15
00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:52,080
But I'd love to have you guys introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about maybe your

16
00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:54,440
experience here at the church.

17
00:00:54,440 --> 00:01:02,240
Bob and I are married and we've been coming here for about 18 years to Trinity and enjoying

18
00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,880
it and being part of our life group for longer than that.

19
00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:07,240
But that's another story.

20
00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,160
So your life group has been going on before your time here at Trinity.

21
00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:11,160
So you're Liz, right?

22
00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:12,160
I'm Liz.

23
00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:13,160
Yes.

24
00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:14,160
Liz is right.

25
00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,080
The life group started in another church in Oakville.

26
00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:21,520
And there's still three families that are with us from back in those days, which is

27
00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:27,160
about, I don't know, maybe 25 years ago, who are still in our life group.

28
00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:29,920
And we're still meeting on Thursday night.

29
00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:31,360
That is actually pretty incredible.

30
00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,960
I don't know if we would have another group in our church that has had that longevity

31
00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:37,240
and that consistency.

32
00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,480
Maybe if you are in a life group that is longer than this group, which we're going to get

33
00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:44,080
more into, maybe you can contact us and let us know.

34
00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:46,000
But why don't you introduce yourself?

35
00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:52,840
So I'm Rob, and we started at St. Hilda's in a group.

36
00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:56,160
And St. Hilda's was a church that was fully life group.

37
00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:58,920
It was every member of the church belonged to a small group.

38
00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:03,900
And so when we joined that church, we were assigned a group to go to.

39
00:02:03,900 --> 00:02:05,320
And they all met on Thursday night.

40
00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:07,940
So our group is still meeting on Thursday nights.

41
00:02:07,940 --> 00:02:10,080
We've never broken the tradition.

42
00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:11,080
That's amazing.

43
00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:12,080
Keeping the Thursdays going.

44
00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:13,080
Yes.

45
00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:14,080
And you said that's been for how many years?

46
00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:15,880
Oh, about 30, I would think.

47
00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:16,880
Okay.

48
00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:17,880
Wow.

49
00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:18,880
Amazing.

50
00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:19,880
Hi, I'm Bev.

51
00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:20,880
Yes.

52
00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,800
And I've been with this life group for about a year now.

53
00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:28,600
So we're new to Trinity in perspective of the like, these guys have been here.

54
00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:29,600
Right.

55
00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:30,600
Well, welcome to Trinity.

56
00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,280
And I'm glad that you've tapped into a life group.

57
00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:34,880
I think that they're great.

58
00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:37,960
So Rob, you mentioned that your life group has been around for a while.

59
00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:39,760
Does your life group have a name?

60
00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:41,000
No, it does not.

61
00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:45,440
No, we've never given it a trade name.

62
00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:49,000
The names change over the years depending on who the pastor is.

63
00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:50,600
We started in St. Hilda's.

64
00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:52,280
They were all called host churches.

65
00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,720
And then they became small groups in Trinity when Mark was here.

66
00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,560
Then they became something else, small groups.

67
00:02:58,560 --> 00:02:59,920
And then we became life groups.

68
00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:00,920
You became life groups.

69
00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:02,960
So you keep changing your name, but the core stays the same.

70
00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:03,960
Substance doesn't change that much.

71
00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:04,960
Substance doesn't change.

72
00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:05,960
I love it.

73
00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,480
All right, Liz, I was wondering if you could tell us what an average session looks like

74
00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:10,960
in your group.

75
00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,160
Well, that has changed over the years as well.

76
00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:16,400
We always used to have dessert.

77
00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,960
And we used to have coffee.

78
00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:23,080
And then people stopped drinking coffee at night.

79
00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:28,200
But what we did probably about five years ago was we changed to a meal.

80
00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:32,400
So we actually have a very large dining room table.

81
00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,200
And we have a meal together.

82
00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:38,520
And it's been incredible.

83
00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:43,240
We don't have people with little children anymore that they have to look after.

84
00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,920
But everybody contributes to the meal in some way or other.

85
00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:54,720
And it's been an incredible experience to eat together, to have that fellowship together,

86
00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,160
and to catch up with each other and then have our study after that.

87
00:03:58,160 --> 00:03:59,160
I love that.

88
00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:00,160
I love that.

89
00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:01,160
So you said there's no more dessert?

90
00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:02,160
No, there is dessert.

91
00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:03,160
Oh, there is dessert.

92
00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:04,160
There is dessert.

93
00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:05,160
There's no more coffee.

94
00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:06,160
No coffee.

95
00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:07,160
No coffee.

96
00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:08,520
And then you mentioned that there's a study afterwards.

97
00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:10,240
So the study's not during the dinner.

98
00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:11,600
Then you go and have your study.

99
00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:15,040
Do you follow the sermon questions that we set out here at Trinity?

100
00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:16,720
Or do you have your own study?

101
00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,520
Or have you gone back and forth and done a variety of both?

102
00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:20,520
Back and forth.

103
00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:24,600
We rotate the leadership for the discussion period.

104
00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:28,680
So there's three or four of us that take our turn doing that.

105
00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,400
And if there's something that God is doing with us in our lives and we're studying and

106
00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:36,080
we're acting on it, we often want to share that with our life group.

107
00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:37,920
So we bring that forward.

108
00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:40,280
And sometimes it's just sermon questions.

109
00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:41,280
Okay.

110
00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:42,280
All right.

111
00:04:42,280 --> 00:04:43,280
So it's dynamic.

112
00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:44,280
It's flexible.

113
00:04:44,280 --> 00:04:45,280
Yeah, it's flexible, dynamic.

114
00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:46,280
That's great.

115
00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:48,280
Now, Bev, does your life group stay connected throughout the week?

116
00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:51,800
So you mentioned that this group, I know you mentioned previously to me that it's every

117
00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:52,800
other week.

118
00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:53,800
Yes.

119
00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:58,720
But when you're doing life together, which is often one of our slogans, we're not just

120
00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:00,280
meeting every other week.

121
00:05:00,280 --> 00:05:01,280
We stay connected.

122
00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:02,280
Do you connect in other ways?

123
00:05:02,280 --> 00:05:04,480
Yeah, we are all connected on an app.

124
00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:09,120
It's Signal, which is a secure app for our little group there.

125
00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,560
And we are able to just connect with each other at any time during the week.

126
00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:20,320
So we had a family whose grandson broke his arm and on to Signal it came.

127
00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:23,440
And then the whole group were just in prayer for this little guy.

128
00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,880
And then through the holidays asking, how is he doing?

129
00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:33,080
And it was just a beautiful example of how the family of God loves each other and wants

130
00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,600
to support each other.

131
00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:40,160
Some people just will put a verse up to encourage the group.

132
00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,120
And then everyone can chat about it and share.

133
00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,840
We have a family who are away in India right now and they've been sending us beautiful

134
00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:49,280
updates about it with photos.

135
00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:55,600
And it's a really great way to keep in touch with each other deeper than just the actual

136
00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:56,880
visiting on the Thursday.

137
00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:57,880
Right.

138
00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:00,840
And then I can assume that when you do meet, then you sort of know what's been going on

139
00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:01,840
a little bit.

140
00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:02,840
Definitely.

141
00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:03,840
That's really nice.

142
00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:06,560
So what encouraged you to get involved in your life group?

143
00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:10,680
And Rob, you mentioned that you were, I don't want to say forced, but you were when you

144
00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:15,280
went to St. Hilda's, you were placed in a small group.

145
00:06:15,280 --> 00:06:17,120
The whole church was a house church.

146
00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,080
And I assume that you knew this going into that.

147
00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:20,080
Yes, we did.

148
00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,360
So what encouraged, and I'm going to ask all of you this, what encouraged you to want to

149
00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:28,840
get connected into a life group originally, whether it was a year ago or 30 years ago?

150
00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:30,800
Well, Christianity is a team sport.

151
00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:35,500
Okay, so the first verse of the Lord's Prayer is our, not my father.

152
00:06:35,500 --> 00:06:39,320
So it reflects the fact that Jesus intended it to be a team sport.

153
00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:43,240
And we can do way more with one another than we can on our own.

154
00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:44,240
So group in.

155
00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:45,240
Yeah.

156
00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:46,240
Yeah.

157
00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:47,240
All right.

158
00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:48,240
Connect in.

159
00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,840
Did you have anything, Liz, in your mind that sort of motivated you to want to join a life

160
00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:53,840
group?

161
00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:58,520
I think it was a great way to get to know people originally in a new church.

162
00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:02,520
And it was a great way to be cared for in a large church.

163
00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:04,640
A minister can't do it all.

164
00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:09,480
And we are all called to be ministers and to minister to each other.

165
00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:12,760
And we were encouraged to meet together.

166
00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:17,440
There was, I think we picked our own study at that point.

167
00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:18,520
But yeah.

168
00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:23,120
And then acts of service in the church that we would do as a group as well.

169
00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:24,120
Wonderful.

170
00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:28,240
And does your small group, just when I hear that, does your small group still do acts

171
00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:30,320
of service from time to time out in the community?

172
00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:34,120
Or have you been able to do anything like that?

173
00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:40,800
We took just last year, no, year before, we helped a Ukrainian family that came from the

174
00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,480
Ukraine in a moment of crisis.

175
00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:48,880
We set up a house for them and we are still continuing.

176
00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:54,120
Even yesterday, I was out with one of them trying to find an apartment and so it brought

177
00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:55,120
her to church this morning.

178
00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:56,120
Yes.

179
00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:58,040
That's a beautiful story and beautiful people.

180
00:07:58,040 --> 00:07:59,040
I know they are.

181
00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:00,040
That's wonderful.

182
00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:01,040
Yes.

183
00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,640
So something you can do on your own, but you can do in a small group.

184
00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:05,640
Exactly.

185
00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:06,640
Wonderful.

186
00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:07,640
Yeah.

187
00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:08,640
Thank you.

188
00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:13,920
For me, we had been involved with life groups and other churches, so we knew the benefit

189
00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:14,920
of it.

190
00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:19,040
When we came to Trinity, it was the most welcoming, friendly place.

191
00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:23,160
We walked in the doors and felt that immediately.

192
00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:27,160
Went to the welcome center to introduce ourselves and asked about life groups.

193
00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:33,160
And before we knew it, we had someone introducing us to someone who is like a neighbor to us

194
00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:37,640
in our local area and we were attending within a couple of weeks.

195
00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:39,520
And so we were right in there.

196
00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:45,000
And I think the beauty of it is, really, as Liz said, you can meet people, but you don't

197
00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,520
necessarily know them on a Sunday.

198
00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,560
Unless you're very intentional to do that.

199
00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:57,880
And within a context of a life church, you really start to have family and know each

200
00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:02,520
other and it's really God's plan for us, I think.

201
00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,600
I think you guys have said that time and time again throughout this session right now.

202
00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:06,600
And I love that.

203
00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:08,320
It's so true.

204
00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,040
So something that we haven't mentioned already.

205
00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:13,780
I'm wondering if you could tell me what is one of the best things about your life group?

206
00:09:13,780 --> 00:09:16,000
Maybe you have a story in your head.

207
00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,400
Maybe it's something that happens every week.

208
00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,600
What is something that would you consider one of the best things about your life group?

209
00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:28,340
I think one of the best things about our life group is that we care for each other.

210
00:09:28,340 --> 00:09:35,560
We have one of our members this week who is having major surgery and we were able to pray

211
00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:40,160
for her on Thursday, lay hands on her, pray for her.

212
00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:43,680
And we will be intentional about caring for her.

213
00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:50,080
And at a moment's notice, as Bev said, we can just put something on signal and we can

214
00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:53,720
just tell people, you know, what is happening.

215
00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:55,120
We need prayer for this.

216
00:09:55,120 --> 00:10:01,400
Yesterday, I put it on, if anybody sees this, please pray that we get an apartment today.

217
00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:02,400
And they did.

218
00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:03,400
They prayed.

219
00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:08,000
It was words of scripture and words of confirmation that came.

220
00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,560
And we got the apartment, which was, praise God.

221
00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:12,560
Praise God.

222
00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:13,560
Yeah.

223
00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:14,560
Amazing.

224
00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:15,560
Wonderful.

225
00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:18,400
So something else is the best thing about your group.

226
00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:25,480
Well, I think we gain from each other when we're together and we're sharing our hearts,

227
00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:31,600
our lives, because now we are maturing with each other.

228
00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:40,720
And those in the group that I personally have come to see such spiritual maturity and love

229
00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:47,880
demonstrate that maturity demonstrated in their acts and their love has made me a stronger

230
00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:52,280
person to seek what they know and the God that they know.

231
00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:58,200
So I have just seen the community rising, all the members.

232
00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:04,040
It's just really fascinating to watch all of us growing and becoming more vulnerable

233
00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:09,580
with each other, sharing and loving each other and understanding each other's lives better.

234
00:11:09,580 --> 00:11:14,040
So I don't think you can do that maybe as deeply on a Sunday morning.

235
00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:15,040
Thank you.

236
00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:18,280
And that's something I think we all need.

237
00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:19,280
Thank you.

238
00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:23,920
One woman in our group on Thursday night asked for prayer for a nephew who had broken his

239
00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:24,920
foot.

240
00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:25,920
Right.

241
00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:27,120
And that was fine.

242
00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:32,980
And by the time we finished praying for this nephew, there was such a depth and a well-roundedness

243
00:11:32,980 --> 00:11:36,100
of prayer that nobody could have done this on their own.

244
00:11:36,100 --> 00:11:42,360
It was just shared prayer and we had such insight and such faith to be able to express

245
00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:43,720
it and speak it out.

246
00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:44,720
It was wonderful.

247
00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:45,720
Wow.

248
00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:50,280
And I said to Linda after I said, Linda, nobody could have prayed completely that way on their

249
00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:51,280
own.

250
00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:52,280
Right.

251
00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:53,280
Yeah.

252
00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:54,760
Everyone hears something unique to them and what they exactly.

253
00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:55,760
Yeah.

254
00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:56,760
I love that.

255
00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:57,760
Oh my goodness.

256
00:11:57,760 --> 00:11:58,760
What a great story.

257
00:11:58,760 --> 00:11:59,760
And I'm sure you have lots of stories like that.

258
00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:02,800
That was just that was just from last week.

259
00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:07,520
So I'm going to just remind you what life group starts or stands for.

260
00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:11,600
Stands for learning, insight, fellowship and encouragement.

261
00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:14,880
So which one of those words resonates with you?

262
00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:20,480
Well, I think for me, the learning encompasses all of them because we're learning from each

263
00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:24,240
other because we're fellow shipping, because we're being encouraged.

264
00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:32,200
So for me, the learning just in so many ways, not just factual learning or listening to

265
00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:38,600
the leader that week share an insight, but it's just rubbing shoulders with each other

266
00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:42,440
and listening to each other and learning with each other.

267
00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:45,080
So for me, that's really, really wonderful.

268
00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:50,400
Yeah, I think that for me, it's fellowship because fellowship carries Christian fellowship

269
00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:51,880
carries a vibe.

270
00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:57,040
Jesus said when two or three, so obviously applies for 13 or 15 as well.

271
00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:58,040
Right.

272
00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:05,920
So there's a vibe, there's a dynamic and gathering together in his name that that works.

273
00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,960
And when it's over, you're thinking, wow, was that fabulous?

274
00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:10,960
So good.

275
00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:12,320
So actually, you just you just mentioned 13 or 15.

276
00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:13,880
Is that how many you have in your group?

277
00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:14,880
Yeah, right now.

278
00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:15,880
OK, all right.

279
00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:16,880
So you guys are pretty full.

280
00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:21,160
I can imagine it's a great conversation that you have.

281
00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:22,160
It is.

282
00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:23,160
Yeah, it is.

283
00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:28,040
I think encouragement is probably one of the biggest ones for me is this.

284
00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:30,720
I know that I have this other family.

285
00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:36,200
I have my my biological family, but I have this other family that cares for me, loves

286
00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:41,760
me and would be there in a minute if I needed anything.

287
00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:42,760
Wow.

288
00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:43,760
Wow.

289
00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:47,960
And I think in one of our upcoming sermons, we're going to talk about what family is,

290
00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,160
what Jesus redefines the family.

291
00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:55,760
And I think when you mentioned that being in a fellowship of other Christians, that

292
00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:59,280
that really is can be become our family to us.

293
00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:04,080
Now, what would you say are some hopes and prayers that you have for your own group and

294
00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:06,380
also maybe for the life groups here at Trinity?

295
00:14:06,380 --> 00:14:10,160
Because some people aren't tapped into life groups or some people might be changing life

296
00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:11,160
groups.

297
00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:13,320
Some people may never have heard of what a life group was.

298
00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:17,240
So what are some hopes and prayers that you have for the life groups here at Trinity?

299
00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:24,280
Well, one of my prayers is that nobody will be alone and that we won't have to walk this

300
00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,080
walk alone.

301
00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:30,400
We won't have to feel the pain of loneliness, which is a deep, deep pain.

302
00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:33,600
It was not God's created intention for us.

303
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:41,720
And so it would just be horrible to try and live out all the Christian life on your own

304
00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,660
without a relationship.

305
00:14:43,660 --> 00:14:47,600
And so I just wouldn't want to see anyone have to go through that.

306
00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:49,100
I think it's very similar.

307
00:14:49,100 --> 00:14:52,280
We did something unusual this Christmas.

308
00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:56,780
We for the first time ever, we didn't have a family Christmas on Christmas Day.

309
00:14:56,780 --> 00:15:03,480
And we invited people who are on would have been on their own on Christmas Day to come

310
00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,080
to our house for dinner.

311
00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:11,320
And we had all kinds of other plans because there was a number of languages involved as

312
00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:12,320
well.

313
00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,760
And we had games that maybe we could have played or things we could have done.

314
00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:20,280
But the reality, those people just wanted to talk to each other in whatever way they

315
00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:22,860
could and to be with each other.

316
00:15:22,860 --> 00:15:29,440
And I think that's what we're what is so hard in this world where we've become so isolated.

317
00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:33,120
And this gave an opportunity for people to to be together.

318
00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:38,060
So that's my prayer for other small groups that they can really know each other and be

319
00:15:38,060 --> 00:15:39,060
known.

320
00:15:39,060 --> 00:15:40,060
Thank you.

321
00:15:40,060 --> 00:15:41,060
Thank you.

322
00:15:41,060 --> 00:15:42,060
Yeah.

323
00:15:42,060 --> 00:15:45,680
So Rob and Liz are the hosts of our house church.

324
00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:48,840
And I said to Rob, well, you sit there because you're the leader.

325
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:53,400
And Rob beautifully said, no, Jesus is our leader.

326
00:15:53,400 --> 00:16:02,020
And for everyone to understand and experience that within a context of a group is is really

327
00:16:02,020 --> 00:16:07,340
a beautiful thing because his Holy Spirit works in such different ways based on the

328
00:16:07,340 --> 00:16:10,600
individuals that are are present within the group.

329
00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:16,480
And so he's going to move us into different things and understandings to help the whole

330
00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:17,580
of the community.

331
00:16:17,580 --> 00:16:21,720
And so my wish is that everyone would experience this.

332
00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:23,400
Absolutely.

333
00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,280
And so if you are interested in joining a life group, you can actually message Sally

334
00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,000
at Sally at Trinity streets, Phil dot org.

335
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,800
And she will make sure to connect you in with a group.

336
00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:36,320
We even have groups that are on line.

337
00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:39,960
There's a new online group starting up in I guess it started up in December and they're

338
00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:41,560
still looking for some members.

339
00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:44,120
So if you're interested in joining a group online, we have one.

340
00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:48,240
And we also have one beginning or beginning soon in South Mississauga that is looking

341
00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:50,440
for some new members as well.

342
00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:55,880
But that got me thinking and this isn't on our script here, but you meet in person and

343
00:16:55,880 --> 00:16:59,500
you said you've been meeting for 30 years, whether or not you've joined early or not.

344
00:16:59,500 --> 00:17:02,000
How did you make it through those covid years?

345
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:03,960
Did you stop your life group altogether?

346
00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:05,840
No, we increased our life group.

347
00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:11,160
We jumped up from once every two weeks to twice a week, twice a week, twice a week during

348
00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:12,160
covid.

349
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:13,160
Yes, on zoom.

350
00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:14,160
Yeah.

351
00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:15,160
Wow.

352
00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:16,160
Yeah.

353
00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:17,160
Yeah.

354
00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:20,560
It was more important in covid for us to be meeting as a as a life group than it was other

355
00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:21,560
times.

356
00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:25,480
Well, I can hear how important it is, as you said, not to be lonely, to know that you have

357
00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:26,480
one another.

358
00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:29,400
And in covid, those were some of the darkest, loneliest times.

359
00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:32,160
So what a way to what a way to pivot.

360
00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:33,160
Even that's inspiring.

361
00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:37,640
Well, thank you to your group for joining me here on Trinity Talks today.

362
00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:41,040
And I hope that if you're listening in, that you're inspired to join a life group or even

363
00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:45,080
meet up with Rob, Liz or Bev and chat with them a little bit more about their experience

364
00:17:45,080 --> 00:18:05,600
in life groups.