Grace South Bay

And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

1. How do you live according to the first narrative (only the strong survive, take what you can, stay around as long as your needs are being met)?

2. In what ways does the second narrative give you hope (there is someone who loves you and will never let you go)?

3.  Why is it hard for you to receive the Kingdom of God like a little child?

4. How does the wedding feast of the lamb feature in your life? e.g. Encouraging, I hope it's real, I can't wait, I hope I'll be there? 

Q&A from the May 30 sermon, "Home Away from Home" with Matt Cabot and Steven Chitty

Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand…And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.20 He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it. 21 And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” 22 And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”25 And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” 28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. 29 And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” 33 But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.34 But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”35 Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.33 The Lord said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt… Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”4 When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 

1.    Does it seem to you like a serious thing to go back on your word or promise to God?
2.    What do you need forgiveness for?  Be specific.  Write it down on paper if you don’t want to share with the group.
3.     Do you think forgiveness is something people in our culture are looking for?  If not, what are they looking for?  Is it related to forgiveness?
4.     Do you see a connection in your life between awareness of God’s forgiveness and experience of his presence? 
5.     Is experiencing God’s presence an incentive to you in daily or hourly decisions?
6.    Have you ever found it hard to forgive?  Why?
7.    How does God taking on flesh and dying enable him to forgive us when he couldn’t before?

NOTE: there are some skipping/popping issues with Bob's mic in this episode
Q&A from the May 9 sermon, "Rebuild and Repair" with Matt Cabot and Bob Crossland

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;    you discern my thoughts from afar.3 You search out my path and my lying down    and are acquainted with all my ways.4 Even before a word is on my tongue,    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.5 You hem me in, behind and before,    and lay your hand upon me.6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;    it is high; I cannot attain it.7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?    Or where shall I flee from your presence?8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!9 If I take the wings of the morning    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,10 even there your hand shall lead me,    and your right hand shall hold me.11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,    and the light about me be night,”12 even the darkness is not dark to you;    the night is bright as the day,    for darkness is as light with you.13 For you formed my inward parts;    you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Wonderful are your works;    my soul knows it very well.15 My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret,    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;in your book were written, every one of them,    the days that were formed for me,    when as yet there was none of them.17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!    How vast is the sum of them!18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.    I awake, and I am still with you.19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!    O men of blood, depart from me!20 They speak against you with malicious intent;    your enemies take your name in vain.21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?    And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?22 I hate them with complete hatred;    I count them my enemies.23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!    Try me and know my thoughts!24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,    and lead me in the way everlasting!

1. When was one time you felt God's presence in your life?
2. When was a time you wished you were able to feel God's presence?
3. What often lures your heart or mind away from being present with those around you?
4. How  have you seen God's presence being worked in and through you? 
5. What areas of your community/society would you like to experience God leading you into a more present engagement? 
6. The prayer at the end of the Psalm (vv.23-24) is a bold request - how do you think God would answer that prayer if you prayed it?

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”11 But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

Has God proved himself faithful to you?  How?  

In what areas of your life do you forget God’s faithfulness and make replacement gods?

Can you believe that God is preparing something beautiful for you when he seems absent?

Why do we need a mediator between us and God?  How does this simplify things for us?

Which of the three arguments from Moses are most comforting/which is hardest to believe?  God will finish what he starts in you; God will make himself known through you; God will keep his promises to you.

Is it comforting to think that God is stuck with you, that he relents from judging you for his own glory?

What will it look like for you personally in the coming years for God to stick with you?

NOTE: there are some skipping/popping issues with Bob's mic in this episode
Q&A from the May 2 sermon, "Rebuild and Repair" with Matt Cabot and Bob Crossland

And the Lord said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

1. Where do you presently feel the weight of independence? How is independence alluring to you?
2. Where is is easy for you to see your own dependence?
3. What are some restful habits that have helped you 'sabbath' well?
4. When have you seen 'God at work while you're at rest?'
5. Where do you feel like you're failing right now? Where do you feel like you've got ground to make up? How would it look for you to receive Jesus invitation to rest in THAT place?

1. What parts of Jesus' story do you identify with? In other words - how does he accurately represent you? 
2. Where are some places you try to 'transfer' the guilt of your sin? 
3. How do you see God at work purifying you presently? 
4. How would you describe how the connection between you and God feels?  Is that how Jesus describes it in 
5. Having direct access to God - are you using that access? what are you communicating to him?
6.  What might God be inviting you to offer as sacrifice? (use Rom 12 as a guide)

Read Heb 8 - 10 on how Jesus upheld the office of High Priest and gave us direct access to God. 

“And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it.33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.36 “You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework.“You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.3 You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and fire pans. You shall make all its utensils of bronze. 4 You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze, and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners.9 “You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side.“You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.6 And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it...17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, 19 with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. 20 When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. 21 They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

1. Why is "keep out" part of the message of the tabernacle?
2. How does it feel to know 'because of your sin you can't come in' 
3. Was there ever a time where you felt the weight or gravity of sin? What about the loss of access to God?
4. Gospel tension is hard to live in, we often sway one way or the other. Do you find yourself hearing  "keep out" or 'come closer" more often? 
5. How 'big' does the cross seem to you in daily life? What would it take for you to see it grow (increase in God's holiness/increase in your understanding of your sinfulness)?