APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
1. What does it mean to be righteous? How did Jesus “fulfill all righteousness”?
2. If John’s baptism was a sign of repentance, why was Jesus baptized? What is (was) your purpose for being baptized?
3. What makes you feel spiritually unworthy as John expresses, “whose sandals I am not worthy to carry” (vs. 11)? What makes inferiority helpful or unhelpful?
4. Is God well pleased with you? How would you know? How can the desire to please God link to Christlikeness?

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
1. Describe John the Baptist. What sermon was he preaching? What relationship did John have with Jesus? Why did Jesus need a forerunner?
2. What does it mean to repent? How does one “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (vs. 8)? Be specific and personal.
3. Have you been baptized? What does baptism symbolize? Why should a Christian be baptized?
4. What does the Bible say about God’s final judgment of the world? What event(s) does the winnowing, threshing, gathering, and burning refer to in Matthew 3:12?

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
1. Worship is a major theme of Matthew 2. Who worships Jesus in the chapter? How many different ways is worship expressed? How can your personal worship be expressed?
2. Is Jesus king of the world or king of the Jews? How can this be debated in Matthew 2?
3. Joseph moves the family from Nazareth to Egypt and from Egypt back to Nazareth. What blessings and challenges have location changes presented your family? How has God providentially worked when your family relocated?
4. Since Matthew presents Jesus as King what authority does his position indicate?

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
1. What is the Virgin Birth? What significance does this doctrine have in Christianity?
2. Since the birth of Jesus is told from Joseph’s perspective, what dilemma did Joseph uniquely face and how did he respond? How difficult is it for you to make right decisions when the decision will likely be misunderstood?
3. "They shall call his name Immanuel" (Mt 1:23), but the New Testament never records anyone calling Jesus "Immanuel." What does it mean? Why does Matthew quote it?
4. Who are the people Jesus will save spoken of by the angel when he said to Joseph, "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 2:21)?

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham tell about the theme of Matthew’s Gospel? How will this help you understand the narratives, discourses, miracles, and parables of the book?
2. Who is noteworthy in the genealogy? Why are they significant? What can be learned about God’s salvation plan from the names listed in Matthew 1:1-17?
3. How can God work generationally? How can you disciple generations to come so that they will know and follow Jesus?
4. Think about your personal background. What do you know about your family heritage? How can you see God at work in the benefits and difficulties of your past?