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?