Resurrected Hearts
Luke 24:13-35
- Why do you think Luke includes this as one of his three accounts of Jesus appearances?
- Why do you think the men were kept from recognizing Jesus? Why do you think their “eyes were opened” when they were?
- What makes the Christian expectation or understanding of the role of messiah distinct from the Jewish expectation? (it might be helpful to read Luke 1:67-79) What are some OT Scriptures that you think Jesus might have used in his explanation to these two travelers? (You might want to keep the distinction in mind)
- How would hearing the Savior of the world share and explain the Scriptures to you impact your own view of them? Do you think that you would interact differently with them? Why? Is the fact that it might change your perspective a comment on the greatness of Jesus or an indictment of your present view of the Bible? Or both?
- The big idea of the message is that the Resurrection of Jesus enables us to deal with despair. Why is this so? What connections can you make between rectifying personal despair and Jesus’ resurrection?
- Spend sometime in prayer for a despairing world and anyone you personally know that is despairing. Ask God to help you be bold enough to live and speak the light of Christ and the hope of His resurrection to them.
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King Jesus
Luke 19:28-44
- Explain the connection in Luke’s ordering of his Gospel between the parable in Lk. 19:11-27 and his account of the triumphal entry in 19:28-44.
- Last week’s message was called “Who Gets to Say?” and dealt with Jesus authority over our lives as reflected in the Sermon on the Mount. The Triumphal Entry reminds us of Jesus’ kingship and shows us his sovereign control over the unfolding of the events leading up to his death. What insight do the following verses give you regarding Jesus’ sovereignty?
- John 10:17-18
- Colossians 1:15-20
- Hebrews 1:3
- What is the difference between prophecy and typology? Can you think of a biblical illustration of each?
- Why do the Jewish leaders want Jesus to rebuke his disciples? Do they understand Jesus’ claims? Look up the following texts to help: Luke 5:17-26 (note vs. 21); John 8:48-59. How do these texts help us respond when we encounter people who claim that Jesus wasn’t God?
- Why is Jesus weeping in vs. 41? What does this tell you about God’s response to those who reject him and who consequently will be judged? Consider the following quote:
- “Like the prophets of old, Jesus finds no joy in rebuking sin and declaring its dire consequences” – Darrell Bock
- Do you think people speak to glibly about the destiny of the lost? What is the proper heart to have toward those who reject Christ? (You might look up Philippians 3:18). How would such a heart affect your sharing of the message of the Gospel?
- Spend sometime in praise of Christ tonight. Praise the Lord for what is most beautiful to you about Him. Pray for others to see Jesus as King and pray for yourself to live under Jesus’ lordship.
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Who Gets to Say?
- What single thing in the Sermon on the Mount has stood out to you most? What change in your life do you most want to make in light of the Jesus’ words in the sermon?
- Look up the following references to “authority” in Matthew’s Gospel and make some notes about the insight they give you regarding the role of authority and the ministry of Jesus. (pay attention to the surrounding context of each)
- Mt. 8:9 –
- Mt. 9:6 –
- Mt. 10:1 –
- Mt. 21:23-27 –
- Mt. 28:19 –
- What grants someone authority? Why did you choose the characteristics or items that you did?
- How in the Sermon on the Mount does Jesus demonstrate that He has the “legitimate position” to have authority even though He never explicitly claims His deity throughout his talk? (You might start with Mt. 5:11-12 just to get rolling)
- Take your answer to question #1 and write out an action plan for how you will make the change that you want to make.
- Change to be made
- Steps to be taken
- Who will hold me accountable?
- Pray for one another to move forward in this particular area of life. Also pray that each would respond to Jesus by bringing their lives more under His authority.
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The Kingdom Question: Where Will You Root Your Life?
Matthew 7:24-27
- This text contains the last words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. In your own words relate them to the Sermon on the Mount as whole.
- What is a disciple? Is there a difference between being a Christian and a disciple of Christ? Respond to this statement by Dallas Willard:
“I am learning from Jesus to live my life as he would live my life if he were I. I am not necessarily learning to do everything he did, but I am learning how to do everything I do in the manner that he did all that he did.”
Think about one particular area or role in your life. Imagine how Jesus would act in it. How does what you imagine differ from how you act in that same area or role? - Read Luke 9:23-27. Explain vs. 26. Why is there such an emphasis on Jesus’ words? You might also look at Matthew 24:35 and John 12:47-50.
- Think about how a foundation relates to a house. What parallels can you draw to Jesus words as a foundation for building your life? Share a story of how building your life on something different led you down a wrong path. Share a story of how building on Jesus’ words enhanced your life.
- Read Luke 14:25-33. Summarize the main thrust of the text in your own words. What do you glean from the two illustrations in 28-33? What specifically will it cost you to build a tower with your life?
- Pray for one another to take seriously that there are only two alternatives for what you will build your life on and pray that each of you in the group will put Jesus words into practice.
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The Narrowness of the Kingdom Way (Part 2): The Non-Marks of a Disciple
Matthew 7:21-23
- How is this week’s text different from last week’s? If you were to summarize this text in a sentence what would you say?
- What is the Gospel? Do you think the church in America accurately communicates the Gospel? What about the Gospel do you think the church represents accurately? How do you think the American church fails at giving an accurate picture of the Gospel? When you share the Gospel with someone, what are you inviting them to?
- What are the marks of a true believer? What are marks we often mistake for true marks? Why do you think that we are prone to establish our own template for what a Christian is or isn’t?
- Read Matthew 13:24-30. What is the point of the parable? Explain what it means to say that “the kingdom of heaven is like” this parable. Who are represented in the parable by:
- the wheat –
- the weeds –
- the enemy –
- the sower -
- Read 2 Corinthians 11:13-15. How does Satan masquerade as an angel of light today? How do you determine whether you are observing a satanic counterfeit of the real thing?
- Read 1 John 2:3-6. Summarize this text in your own words. What are the implications of this text for our understanding of what it means to have a genuine interactive relationship with God?
- Pray for each other to obey Christ and show yourselves to be true believers.
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A Glorious Father in a Great Kingdom
- To be sure it is cemented in your mind, write down how 7:7-12 fits in its context in the sermon.
- Read James 4:1-12. How does it parallel this sermon’s text? What was the central problem that James is dealing with in this text (especially the early part)?
- What do you think forms the basis of manipulation? Why do you think we are prone to manipulate people rather than trust God?
- How do you feel when you are manipulated by others? How do you manipulate others? Can you remember a time when you consciously chose to talk to God rather than yield to the temptation to manipulate? Share about it.
- What is the point of prayer? Why should you pray? Why would at least some of God’s gifts to you be dependent on you asking?
- Look up the following verses:
- Genesis 6:5; Ps. 51:5; Ephesians 2:3; Romans 5:12: what do these verses tell you about man’s condition?
- Genesis 1:26-28; 9:6; Psalm 8:4-5: what do these verses tell you about man’s nature?
- What are the implications of these two doctrines coexisting in human beings?
- Pray for each other to look to God and trust His workings in the world rather than manipulation.
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Condemnation – The Clotting of the Kingdom Heart
- What are the two primary ways that “judging” is used in the New Testament? How do they differ? What does each look like in practice?
- Have you ever been condemned by another? What did it feel like? Have you ever condemned another? Why?
- How are you condemning towards others? What individuals or groups do you struggle not having a “condemning attitude toward?
- Why is condemning another wrong? What does it say about the one doing the condemning? Describe the kind of person he or she is. Why are appraising ideas and appraising actions vitally necessary to life?
- Why is condemnation in the home so destructive? Do you agree with C.S. Lewis’ quote when he says that he has “been far more impressed by the bad manners of parents to children than by those of children to parent?”
- Read through Galatians 6:1-5. How should a brother or sister in sin be dealt with? What principles of restoration do you glean from this text? How does the approach Paul suggests here differ from an attitude of condemnation?
- Read Matthew 10:11-16. Discuss the implications of Matthew 7:6 and the final point of the message in light of Mt. 10:11-16. How would we apply Mt. 7:6?
- Pray for each other and yourself to become the kind of person that is an appraiser of ideas and actions not a condemner of people.
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No Worries: the Consequence of a Kingdom Oriented Heart
- What do you worry about most? Why? How does it affect you?
- How do you see this text connected to last weeks (Matthew 6:19-24)? If you put both texts together how would you synthesize Jesus lesson down into a sentence?
- Talk about this statement: “Worry is practical atheism.”
- Read 1 Peter 5:1-7. What is the context for vs. 7? How does pride intersect with anxiety/worry? Why are we to “cast all our anxiety on him”? What does His care look like?
- What does it mean to “seek His kingdom”? What is necessary to do this in life?
- From vs. 34 we learn that trouble will befall us but we shouldn’t worry. Read Matthew 10:29. Sparrows only fall under the will of God. What does this mean? Does God cause all things? Is there a distinction to be made between God permitting/allowing and him provoking/causing? Talk about what that distinction looks like. What insight and comfort does this verse give us for or lives? Read John 16:33. How does the fact that Jesus “overcomes the world” impact you and your daily life? In what sense does he overcome the world?
- Pray for any anxieties within the group.
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