New Year's Sermon--The Cost of Following Jesus

Discussion Questions:

1. How would you describe to someone what it means to die to yourself for Jesus and His

Kingdom?

2. What kind of personal story can you share where God took what was dead and resurrected

it, making it into something new and better?

3. Do you believe that the better we understand and accept that God calls us to die, the more

we can accomplish? Why or why not?

4. How have you seen your “yes, LORD” turn into a “wait a minute, LORD” and then to “OK,

LORD”? How comforting is it to know that Jesus went through the same process in the

Garden of Gethsemane?

5. Can you share an example from your own experiences where one story stacked on top of

another story that led to even greater blessings and harvests of fruit for the LORD’s glory?

Will We Be Transformed?--Lesson 5--The Choices We Make

Discussion Questions:

1. What causes us to miss out on God’s blessings? What kinds of blessings do you think you

may have missed out receiving, and why?

2. How do you know which way is the path to death versus the path to life? Who or what is in

the small screen of your life giving you direction through all the lies and manipulation?

3. What kind of potential do you believe you have because you are created in the image of

God? Why is it important to realize your limitations? How do these two things war against

each other?

4. What pain have you felt going against the grain of the universe? Why is it easy to

rationalize living our own way instead of accepting the boundaries God tries to give us?

5. Do you have any issues with accumulating more than you really need? We can see the

system is broken, yet we continue to run back to it. Why is Egypt so appealing?

Will We Be Transformed?--Lesson 4--Make Room!

Discussion Questions:

1. How does Jesus’ offer for rest for your soul tie into the importance of repentance

(transformation) and making room for Him? What struggles do you have paying attention

to what God is doing around you?

2. What danger do you see in trying to squeeze God into your busy life rather than changing

your life by expanding your tents and making room for Him? How have you seen God try

to stretch you into more than you used to be?

3. Why do you suppose the God capable of providing a star for the Magi to follow did not

provide a room for Jesus to be born within? How did the Magi’s willingness to make room

in their lives for God pay off for them?

4. How does not providing a room for Jesus give His disciples an important lesson to

contemplate? What price have you been called to pay to carry out God’s will in your life?

5. What does John 14:2-3 tell us Jesus is doing for us currently? Knowing He is making room

for you, what is your honest evaluation of your making room for Him?