1. The Lord’s Prayer is to be seen as an attitude and a pattern of approach in our prayer. The first words in the first line are “Our Father.” What is Jesus implying by using “Our”?
2. What does “Our” mean for our interactions with non-believers? What does this mean for our interactions with each other as fellow disciples of Christ, belonging to the same Heavenly Father? 3. Jesus uses the words "Our Father" in this passage, a word of close familiarity and family. What is Jesus saying about our relationship with God when he encourages us to pray to our Father? What does this say about God’s desire for us? What does it say about our identity? 4. See Luke 15:17-24 regarding the prodigal son. How does this parable reflect the nature of our relationship with God? 5. How does, or should, the church prefigure our heavenly joy as a family? 6. How will you pray to change your attitude towards people and towards God?
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1. How do you feel about public speaking or being the centre of attention? 2. How was the woman and what she was doing perceived by the onlookers? Why? How was it perceived by Jesus? 3. We have discussed before that pretentious and heartless prayer is not welcomed by God. What is true worship? Why is it welcomed by God? (See John 4:21-26 to help discussion.) 4. Why is true worship costly? Discuss in terms of time, talent, money, reputation and life. 5. What type of “righteousness” did Simon the Pharisee have? What sin was it masking or hiding? 6. What is it about our sin that can help drive us to true love, true worship and true obedience from the heart? 7. In what areas of your life are you more concerned about what others think of you? How can you pray and act against it?
1. Do you ever have doubts about the Gospel? What circumstances have led you to doubt?
2. What are the facts of the Gospel? Why are they of “first importance?” 3. Why is the fact of Jesus rising from the dead so important? What are the implications? 4. The ESV translation in verse 2 says of the Gospel: “…by which you are being saved…” What is meant by “being saved”? 5. What does the world tell us to cling to? 6. How do you preach the Gospel to yourself everyday? What aspect do you focus on? How do you think this helps you to grow in love and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? 1. What do you find most perplexing for yourself, or troublesome, in the Book of Revelation? Have you completed any reading or studies in the past to help gain more understanding of the book?
2. To review, what type of literary genre is the Book of Revelation? Are the visions to be taken literally? What are the visions meant to depict? 3. What three key themes found in the book were outlined in the sermon to help us keep Revelation in context and to help us understand the visions that John received? 4. What does the vision in 7:1-8 mean? What is meant by “sealed”? 5. Who are the people in the vision of 7:9-14? What allusions to the Old Testament do you see in this section? 6. Do you ever feel alone in your struggles? How do verses 15-17 and the “multitude” comfort you and encourage you to faithfully endure trials and tribulations? 7. Pray for our sponsored refugee families and ask God that they would faithfully endure their trials and tribulations.
1. When you have been insulted, or when you realize you have been taken advantage of, how do you typically react?
2. What types of oath was Jesus addressing in verses 33-37? Why were these oaths so wrong? Did the people have any control over what they were swearing by? 3. What is the principle behind “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”? (See also Ex 21:23-27) How can this principle curtail feuds and vendettas? 4. How do Jesus’s commands in vs 33-48 regarding integrity, justice and love reflect the character of God? Include the context of “friends” and “enemies” in your discussion. 5. What are key characteristics of the Gospel? What happens when we do not act in accordance with the Gospel? 6. Jesus said we must be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. What does He mean? How do we do this? 7. In the coming weeks, where can you extend grace and mercy to people who do not share the same values or beliefs?
1. Why do you think there is so much anxiety in our culture today? What surprising signs do you see of it?
2. The sermon illustrated 3 attitudes believers should have in suffering, persecution, trials and storms: Humility, Alertness and Hopefulness. Why is humility important? Who are we to humble ourselves before? 3. Why might pride be a source of anxiety and worry? What does Peter mean when he tells us to “cast all our anxieties” on God? Why must we do this? How do we do this? 4. From verses 8-9, why do we need to remain alert? How does the Adversary attack us? What is the target? (See Job 1:9-11; 2:4-6; 2 Cor 12:7 for help as required.) 5. From verses 10-11, what is our reason for hopefulness, no matter what happens to us? 6. In the coming weeks, how will you draw near to God and cast your anxiety on Him?
1. What do you think is the greatest song ever written? What is it that makes it great?
2. Read the following verses in this order: Psalm 139:13-16; Luke 1:76-79; and 1 Cor 4:6-7. How do you view John’s life meaning and purpose in light of these verses? How should you view your life meaning and purpose? Are there any grounds for arrogance and boasting? 3. When John asked his disciples to go ask Jesus if He was actually the Messiah, what expectations do you think John had of the Messiah? (Luke 7:18-20.) 4. Why do you think Jesus responded the way He did? (Luke 7:21-23). What scripture was He pointing to? Why did He encourage John and his disciples not to be offended, or in Greek: “scandalized,” by Him? 5. Jesus said John was the greatest prophet up to his time, yet, “…one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (Luke 7:28) What did Jesus mean by saying this? 6. Do you live in a “Prison of Expectations”? If God does not act in a way we expect or desire, how can that affect our faith and love for God if we are not careful? Do you think that the expectations we place on God are often just about us? 7. The key take away verse from this sermon was John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” How will you pray and apply this verse to your life and ministry?
1. Are there any TV ads that you like or still remember? What tools and techniques do you see advertisers using on us? How can these tools and techniques influence our desires and expectations in this life?
2. James said that if we break one of God’s commandments, we have failed to keep the rest of them (James 2:10.) How can this be? What if you were to approach adultery from the fact that sin is sin in thought, word and deed. Are there any other commandments that are violated in thought, word and deed in adultery? 3. How does Jesus show us that even sin in our imaginations must be taken seriously and dealt with? Why? 4. How do you think lust and covetousness influence considerations for divorce rather than “irreconcilable differences”? 5. See Ephesians 5:20-33. Why is marriage a picture of Christ and the church? How does this compel us to fight and struggle to keep our marriages intact and healthy? 6. In what areas of our marriage can we look to find true beauty, and to find true beauty in our spouse? What part does sacrifice play? What part does fellowship play? 7. What can we stop consuming from pop media and start doing instead to help shape a more healthy perspective on our marriages and other relationships?
1. Have you ever had someone lose it on you? How did you feel afterwards?
2. Have you ever lost it on someone? How did you feel afterwards? What did you do afterwards? 3. Why does Jesus insist that anyone who is harbouring and fanning anger against anyone is subject to God‘s judgment, and not just the murderer? Why do we normally get angry as humans? 4. In Matt 21:12, Matt 23:16-17, and Mark 3:5-6, we see Jesus angry and even calling some people “blind fools.” Was he being hypocritical? What was different or unique about his anger? 5. If you have behaved atrociously towards someone, why does Jesus insist that it is far more important for you to be reconciled to that person, rather than going to court or even going to worship? (See Gal 5:21 and 1 Peter 3:7 also.) 6. Do you think our relationships with each other affect our relationship with God? How so? How do we get help for anger? |
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