Easter Sermon--I Am Before You, After You, and Right With You--Psalm 139 + Various Passages

Discussion Questions:

1.  What kind of baggage came with Adam & Eve’s rebellion against God?  How have you seen his efforts at divide and conquer and breaking up community succeed?

2.  How have you seen God go before you into the dark areas of your life and come behind you to be your rear guard? 

3.  Why does the immediacy of a problem or crisis tend to take our focus off the bigger picture of God’s provision and care for us? 

4.  What should our response be when Jesus allows things to happen (like the death of Lazarus) that are painful or discouraging?  How is Him being the resurrection and the life a helpful thing to recall when we are feeling overwhelmed by crises?

5.  How do you determine the truth of the situations you encounter?  How are things not truth until Jesus speaks into the midst of them?

6.  How have you seen God surround you?  In what ways has He gone before you, come after you, and walked beside you?

7.  If God is not surprised by things and we walk in step with Him, why do we get surprised by things?  Why are things that are darkness not dark to God?  How can we use that knowledge to bring blessings and peace to our own lives? 

8.  What pain and/or confusion do you think the two men on the road to Emmaus experienced?  What types of situations in your life have brought the same type of pain and confusion?  How did Jesus come alongside you and guide you to know the truth of the situation?

In the Workshop--Lesson 10--A Generous Use of Money--Matthew 14:13-21 + Various Passages

Discussion Questions:

1.  How would you define generosity?  What kinds of things draw you to be generous with your time and money and other resources? 

2.  If required giving is an oxymoron, why would God require giving in the OT?  In what way does following Jesus require us to give?

3.  How is generosity tied to worship?  Is it possible to be generous with wrong motives?  How does remembering generosity is a form of worship help me maintain right motives?

4.  How does receiving generosity make you want to worship?  How does being generous make you want to worship?  In what ways is it more blessed to give than to receive?

5.  What kinds of things make you feel like you live in a world of scarcity instead of abundance?  What things help you to be more intentional and regular about seeing beyond the scarcity of this world to the incredible riches and blessings of the LORD?

6.  Tell of a time you had to trust in the generosity of the LORD (or of a person the LORD used) to take care of your needs.  Why is it difficult for us to accept the generosity of others?

7.  What, in your view, made Zacchaeus become so generous?  Why did he go so far beyond what the Law required of him in restitution and providing for the poor?  Why is it important that Jesus referred to Zacchaeus as “a son of Abraham”?

8.  Why do you suppose Jesus does miracles of miraculous feedings twice?  What is the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees that Jesus tells them to be on guard against?  How does understanding God’s abundance vs. feelings of scarcity tie into this?

9.  How is generosity not about the size of the gift?  The different stories used throughout the sermon (Boy has head shaved; Dad takes care of homeless; husband washes windows) were examples of how people can be generous even if they don’t have much.  What ideas do you have for this type of generosity?

In the Workshop--Lesson 9--Confession is Good for the Soul--Matthew 3 + Various Passages

Discussion Questions:

1.  When you hear that the Kingdom is here in our midst, what needs to be done in your life to be prepared to participate in it?  What role does confession play in preparing for participation in the Kingdom of the LORD?  What difficulties do you have with confession?

2.  Why does preparing for the Kingdom involve going out into the wilderness?  How have you been led through the wilderness in preparation for God’s Kingdom?  What has being in the wilderness taught you?

3.  How are repentance and confession tied together?  Why does repentance require confession?  How are repentance and confession separate things one must do to be prepared for the Kingdom? 

4.  Since Jesus didn’t have any sin to confess, how is He our model for confession?  How did His life and His teachings confess His faith in the LORD?

5.  Why do you think Jesus had Peter confess His love for Jesus three times instead of the specific way he had failed Him?  Is this a model for us in our confession?  How is confession part of building or rebuilding Kingdom community?

6.  Why is our instinct to hide or cover up when we rebel against what God says?  What advice do you have for someone with an area of their life that needs to be brought into the light?  What is your image of God, and how does this open up or inhibit your willingness to confess what you need to share?

7.  How does confession help David to be a “man after God’s own heart”?  How does confession help to prepare one for the Kingdom of God?  Do you see the connection of these two examples from the OT and the NT?

8.  How would a life inventory help you with confession?  What concerns do you have with doing a life inventory?  What community do you have to assist you and encourage you in such a venture?

9.  How have you seen abuse leave scars and lead to further abuse?  Why does being the victim of abuse leave a person feeling so powerless?  How does confession help a person to regain power?