Convoluted Conversations
(for the week of February 28, 2021)
PDF file at bottom
 
This Week’s Scripture: Mark 8:31-38
 
Key Idea from Sermon
 
To follow Jesus is a challenge to take on transformation, which involves “taking up your cross and following Jesus.”
 
Starter Questions from Pastor Phillip

1. Read Mark 8:31-38 and answer the following questions.  

• Why did Peter rebuke Jesus? What can we learn from this exchange?

 

• Why was it important for Jesus to go to the Cross?

 

• What did Jesus mean when he told us to “take up our crosses?”

 

• How does “taking up your cross” and following Jesus lead to life-change?

 
For Further Discussion 

2. After traveling with Jesus for three years, believing they were part of something extraordinary and world-changing, how do you think the disciples felt after hearing Jesus’ words in verse 31? Why?  
 

3. In verse 32 Peter began to rebuke Jesus. Can you imagine? Jesus then put Peter in his place with some pretty hard words. What do you think Jesus meant by telling Peter he did not have in mind the concerns of God but merely human concerns?  
 

4. Can you think of a time recently when your concerns were more like Peter’s, than God’s? If you feel comfortable doing so, share your experience and thoughts with your group.  
 

5. Why do we often find it easier to react to life-events through the lens of a temporal (“merely human”) perspective rather than God’s eternal perspective?  
 

6. What would having an eternal perspective even look like in an ordinary day for you? What impact would it have? How might that impact in your life serve as a witness for Christ in the lives of your friends, family, or coworkers?  
 

7. What are some spiritual habits you have put in place to help you maintain God’s eternal perspective during the various experiences of your life?  
 

8. Read verses 34. Put in your own words what Jesus meant by each phrase of his “discipleship description.”
 

• Deny yourself –

 

• Take up your cross –

 

• Follow Jesus –

 

9. Even though we are saved by grace and have the Holy Spirit living inside us, to guide and empower us, in what ways have you found following Jesus hard to consistently live out?  
 

10. What are some specific ways the members of your group can encourage you to put into practice what Jesus says about denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following him?  
 

11. Share prayer requests and spend a few minutes praying for one another if you feel comfortable doing so.  
 
 
May you richly experience the presence of the Lord this week!!!
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Toughing Out Against Temptation
(for the week of February 21, 2021)
PDF file at bottom
 
Note to Group Leaders: More than anyone else, you are aware of the size of your group, time constraints, the needs of your group, etc. Please read through the Scripture and material below and use whatever you believe will be most helpful to your group.
 
This Week’s Scripture: Matthew 4:1-11
 
Key Idea from Sermon
 
Jesus helps me when I’m tempted.
 
Some Thoughts from Pastor Phillip

The Holy Spirit led Jesus into this place of challenge.  The Holy Spirit will lead, and be with us, during this time of challenge.  We shouldn’t be afraid.  Jesus fasts.  This is a discipline that has been largely neglected in the modern western church.  Jesus is famished and weak afterwards.  Along comes the devil.  He is smart and opportunistic and he looks for places to exploit.  He seeks to exploit Jesus’ hunger, His insecurity with God the Father, and His heaviness about going to the cross.  Jesus makes it through the temptations.
 
Starter Questions from Pastor Phillip

1. Read Matthew 4:1-11 and answer the following questions. 

• The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness.  What is it like to be “led by the Spirit”?  Why would the Spirit lead Jesus to a place where He would be subjected to temptation?

 
 

• The devil tempts Jesus in three ways.  This means that the devil was looking for some possible vulnerability to exploit.  What do you perceive these possibilities to be?  What are your vulnerabilities?

 
 

• What tactics does Jesus use to avoid falling to temptation?  What tactics can you use to avoid temptation in the here and now?

 
For Further Study & Discussion 

2. What were the three ways Satan tempted Jesus? 


3. When are you most likely to give into a temptation? Why do you think that is? 


4. How did Jesus counter each temptation? What does that teach you about Jesus? 


5. Read verse 4. What do you think Jesus’ response in that verse means for followers of Jesus today? 


6. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus teaches us to pray, “lead us not into temptation…” How do you avoid temptation? How do you counsel your child or good friend to resist temptation? 


7. Based on Jesus’ three responses to Satan, how would he advise us to resist the everyday temptations we all face? 


8. Share how you have grown in “spiritual wisdom and strength” to resist temptations in your life? How did you gain such wisdom and strength? 


9. How do you usually respond after you have given into a temptation? What sort of impact does it have in your life? 


10. Based on Matthew 4:1-11, what spiritual disciplines (or habits) had Jesus been committed to? In what ways do you think those disciplines helped him resist the devil? How might they help you? 


11. Have you ever fasted for spiritual reasons? Share your experience with your group. What did you learn about God? About yourself? 

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12. Take prayer requests and spend a few minutes praying for one another if you feel comfortable doing so.