Stand Alone Sermon--The Dance: Faith and Covenant

Discussion Questions:

1.     How has your experience with walking by faith had its shaky moments?  What kinds of things add to or enhance faith being shaky?

2.     How do God’s covenant promises provide stability to your shaky faith?  What kind of security do you feel when you consider the promises already fulfilled in God’s word?  How does this help you with the things you are waiting upon?

3.     How has God called you to surrender your past, present and future to Him in faith?  Which of these three things do you find the hardest to surrender in faith?

4.     How well do you know the character of God?  How does knowing His character intimately help you navigate through the trying times and moments of unrest?

5.     Who is taking the lead in the dance of faith and covenant in your life?  Why is surrender such an important part of being in a dance with God?

6.     Peter provides a great example of how our actions are dictated by our faith in the walking on water story.  How have you seen your daily choices and actions bounce around based on what you believed at the time?  How does this show the importance of having time each day to see things from the LORD’s perspective?

7.     How is faith in the promises of God and our own personal discipline a part of this dance?  What areas of discipline do you need to develop more in your daily walk of faith?

Next Steps--Lesson 27--Don't Be Short-Sighted--Various Passages

Discussion Questions:

1.  What difference does it make that the billionaire and the beggar come into the world with nothing and leave the same way?  How are our lives like playing a game of Monopoly?  What will you be able to take with you into life after this world?   

2.  Since there are no death evaders, what should we focus upon during the time we have on this earth?  What kinds of things make an effort to keep your focus upon this temporary world instead of God’s eternal Kingdom?

3.  How do our desires in this material world point to life beyond?  Are desires for pleasure, possessions and power inherently bad?  Why or why not?  How has God provided healthy ways for the desires of pleasure, possessions and power to be fulfilled?

4.  How do the disciplines of fasting, prayer and giving assist in developing better control over the desires God has placed within us?  What struggles or distractions keep you from growing in these important means of maturation, so your desires stay healthy and righteous?

5.  What role should delayed gratification play in the maturation of a disciple of Jesus?  What types of things fight against you living according to delayed gratification?  How has God shown through mankind’s history that He wants us to recognize the importance of delayed gratification?

6.  What does a pilgrim or sojourner mentality look like for a disciple of Jesus?  What should we learn from Paul’s teaching that we live in tents?  How does this tie to us being the tabernacle of God?

Next Steps--Lesson 26--The Laws of Giving-- II Corinthians 8 + Various Passages

Discussion Questions:

1.  What typically happens when one violates or ignores the laws of nature?  In what ways have you seen the spiritual realm governed by Laws of Nature (God’s nature)?  Should we expect the same if we ignore the laws of His nature?   

2.  How is going against God’s ways like “kicking against the goads”?  How does this imagery help you understand the purpose of God’s laws?

3.  In what ways have you seen sin entangle people so they cannot operate in the way they were designed to?  What does this teach you about sin being its own punishment?  Why is it important for us to realize that sin brings its own punishment?

4.  In what ways is serving God and money a temptation to you?  How have you seen our culture influence us to try to serve both?

5.  What stokes the fires of generosity, moving you to give more to help others or to see the Kingdom built?  What kinds of things has God provided in your life to be grateful for?  How have you seen gratitude produce more contentment?

6.  How was Zacchaeus changed by salvation?  How has salvation moved you from being mastered by a spirit of accumulation to being mastered by a spirit of generosity?

7.  How has God’s “overflowing generosity” influenced you?  What helps you remember the generous things God has placed in your life?

8.  Why do you think when Paul writes to the Corinthian church about the collection for the Jerusalem churches who are in need he never uses the word “money” but instead emphasizes the grace of God compared to their act of grace?

9.  How is giving passing on the momentum of what we have received?  How does this show that the laws of God when it comes to giving are working?