Jesus 120

This week we explore Isaiah 6 and the impact of spending time in God’s presence. Being in God’s Presence is always essential, but especially in painful, difficult, and transitional moments. We take a look at how His presence is revealing, purifying, and inspiring.

In today’s sermon, we discuss the nature of our citizenship. We are members of the human race, and as Christians, we are ambassadors of a heavenly kingdom. How can we learn to live in a broken world without becoming bitter, indifferent, or overwhelmed? By the power of Jesus in our lives, we can learn to hate what’s broken in this world and love it enough to help change it.

This week we discuss the book of Proverbs, and the wisdom God offers us. Now more than ever we need the wisdom to live well, love others, experience hope, and discover real solutions for a world in need. Jesus is the ultimate source of wisdom that changes lives and helps us navigate even the most difficult circumstances in this life. Let’s embrace wisdom as a life long journey of growth and discovery, and may we receive the Spirit of wisdom from our God who offers it willing!

Discussion Questions:

1. Why does wisdom begin with the fear of the Lord? What does that phrase mean, and how can we live that out?

2. Why does receiving wisdom from God require action on our part? What steps do we take to receive wisdom from God? What can we learn from Jesus’ example?

3. How did Jesus approach dialog with others? What are some keys to listening and learning from others? Why are empathy and love such an important part of hearing other people’s experiences and perspectives?

4. Why is it important to position ourselves to receive wisdom from God, before pursuing wisdom from men? How does discernment help us to listen and learn from others while challenging other’s perspectives as well as our own?

5. What is the most challenging thing for you from this message? What might God be asking you to shift or change right now in your pursuit of wisdom?

This Sunday we take a look at the life of Job and discover his uncommon faith in the midst of both suffering and success. We pray that you will be challenged and encouraged this week as we look to Job’s example for guidance on how to walk through even the most difficult seasons of life with Jesus.

Discussion Questions:

1. Considering Job as an example of faith in the midst of suffering or success, what stands out to you? Is there a specific thing he does that you can relate to, or that challenges you?

2. How is Job able to worship God and wrestle with God at the same time? How can you apply that in your life?

3. Are there any examples from your own life where you grew from suffering?

4. Job felt the need for someone to be a mediator in his relationship with God. It was hard for Job to approach God or feel like God could relate to his suffering. Have you ever felt that? How does Jesus fulfill this role in our life?

Job’s life reminds us of the promises of God. That he will reveal things to us through suffering, refine us through hard things we go through, and that ultimately we have the hope of eternal life and no more suffering.

5. Can you share something from your life that God revealed to you through suffering you’ve gone through? Is there an example from your life of God refining you in some way through suffering? How does God’s promise of eternal life, help us in our present life when we suffer?

In today’s sermon, we explore the story of Queen Esther and take a look at the importance of recognizing God’s providence in our lives while making choices to live with purpose. Often, the issue of God’s Sovereignty is viewed as being in contrast with whether to not we have the ability to make free will decisions, but the truth is that in Jesus these two work together in beautiful unison. The question is - will we choose to trust God and live with courage in "such a time as this”?

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you remember a time in your life when you saw God working through what appeared to be just coincidences? What are some ways we can learn to recognize God working when it’s not necessarily obvious?

2. How do we balance the Providence of God working his purposes, with our own ability to make choices and decisions? What can we learn from Esther’s story about how we can co-operate with God to live with purpose?

3. What role does prayer and fasting play in our life when we are at a big moment of decision or we are in need of direction? How can this be a source of receiving wisdom or counsel from God?

4. Mordecai tells Esther - you are here for “such a time as this” - How do you think that applies to your life right now? What areas of influence do you have? What do you think God might have placed you here to do in this season of life?

5. At times, living with purpose and choosing to act in co-operation with what God is up to is risky? How does God’s Providence give us the courage to take the risks He may be calling us to? How was Esther able to say - “I will do this, and if I perish, I perish?” How does Jesus enable us to do that in our lives today?

Special guest and friend, Pastor Dave Buehring, shares from the book of Ezra (Chp 7 & 8).

This Sunday we explore the life of King Jehoshaphat, and a couple of important battles he found himself in. Whether he made a mistake in forming a wrong alliance with King Ahab, or he faced the enemy that came to his doorstep, we see his faithful heart towards God, and the grace of God to deliver him from trouble and bring peace, even in the most difficult circumstances. May we all learn to fight the real battle God is calling us to and see Him move strongly on our behalf as we walk with Him!

Discussion Questions:

1. What does it mean to have a “blameless” heart towards God (see notes on 2 Chronicles 16:9)? Jehoshaphat is described that way in 2 Chronicles 17:3-6 - what can we learn from that description of his life about having a heart towards God?

2. Jehoshaphat makes an alliance with King Ahab, who appeared to be a friend on common ground, but he wasn’t. How can we watch out for this in our lives? What were some of the biggest differences between Ahab & Jehoshaphat? Ahab was smart and resourceful, but he wasn’t a trust-worthy guy. Jehoshaphat was good-hearted and trusting but didn’t always have the best judgment.

3. Even though Jehoshaphat had bad judgment in this story and got himself into a tough situation - God delivered him. Have you ever seen God rescue you from bad situations that you stumbled into? What does this teach us about God?

4. Compare the descriptions found in Galatians 5:19-21 (living by the flesh) with Galatians 5:22-23 (living by the Spirit). Reflecting on these verses - what areas are you struggling with right now? Are there ways you have responded poorly in this situation? Are there ways you have seen the Holy Spirit help you respond rightly in our current circumstances?

5. What does it look like for us to choose “the right battle” in our current situation? How can we have a heart towards God, and see His kingdom and His presence more in our lives? In our homes? In our interactions with others?

In this week’s sermon, we take a look at King David who ran a faithful yet imperfect race over the course of his life. He was a man after God’s own heart, but also made several huge mistakes that had devastating consequences. Today we explore a key moment of failure in his life so we can learn from his mistakes and his humble repentance. May we all have David’s perspective to recognize our God who, in our moment of failure, is full of mercy and offers the grace of His abiding presence.

Discussion Questions:

1. Have you ever struggled with the modern “idol” of sitting in judgment of God? Why do you think this happens? How can we shift our perspective to be more like David’s?

2. In this story, David resists the warning of his friend and avoids God before pushing forward on a bad decision. Have you done that? What was the outcome? Why did you avoid guidance or resist the warning? How can we be more open to hearing warnings and corrections from those closest to us? How can we lovingly be willing to warn others close to us?

3. David recognizes and acknowledges his sin in several ways in the story - He recognizes he did wrong, and he owns up to the impact it had on others around him. Have you ever struggled with minimizing your sin or its consequences - why is that wrong or damaging? Why is it important to own up to the consequences of our mistakes and the effect they have on others around us? How does honestly facing the consequences of our mistakes impact our ability to receive mercy and move forward in a healthy way with God and others?

4. Why is God’s mercy so closely connected to sacrifice? How does the sacrifice of Jesus that brings mercy into our lives then lead to our own “living” sacrifice? If his sacrifice is enough to cover our guilt and deal with the consequence of our sin, why then should we live a sacrificial life? (read Romans 12:1-2 again for guidance)

5. The place of David’s failure in this story becomes a place where God’s presence now resides. How is that true in our lives? What does that teach us about the grace of God in the midst of our mistakes in life?

This week we take a look at a difficult yet important story found in 2 Kings chapters 6-7 about a really brutal time in Israel’s history. The northern kingdom of Israel is in trouble, their capital city Samaria is under siege, and things are getting incredibly desperate. What can we do when we are stuck, surrounded by an enemy and we can’t seem to escape? In today’s sermon, we discuss how the Lord wants to speak truth, inspire hope, and fill us with courage so we can find freedom.

Discussion Questions:

1. Can you think of a time in your life when you felt under siege? What was that like for you?

2. In the sermon, there were 3 keys discussed to help us break free - honest assessment, hopeful outlook, and a bold move to face the problem.

3. How can we make an honest assessment when we are stuck? What role do others close to us play in helping us see the truth of a situation? (Remember: A turning point for the king to really understand how bad things were was when someone else who was in it with him pointed out what was really going on). Have you ever had to speak up in someone else’s life like that? Has anyone ever done that for you?

4. The King struggled with feeling helpless and defeated, he blamed God for the problem, and when hope was offered he couldn’t believe that God would help. Have you ever struggled with any of those feelings? How can we find a hopeful outlook when we are stuck in a bad situation? What is our hope based upon?

5. The 4 lepers show up in the story and reach a big decision. They are willing to go face the real enemy, the real problem. They are tired of sitting around in the same situation waiting for the inevitable. Why does it take courage to make a bold move to seek change? What are some ways we can do that when we are in need? (remember: the lepers weren’t alone, they went together, and God was helping them - even when they didn’t realize it!)

6. How can we find comfort in how Jesus treated the leper found in Mark 1:40-42. How does Jesus treat us when we are stuck, in trouble, and in need of help? In this story, Jesus is filled with compassion and unafraid of touching the leper's uncleanness. Do you ever struggle with seeing Jesus this way? Do you think He is lovingly ready and willing to help you?

7. The story closes with the lepers realizing they should be sharing this good news with others. How can we share our victories with others in need? What does that look like? How can we bring hope to people who are feeling hopeless?

Grace Chapel Knoxville's 2020 Easter Service

Discussion Questions:

1) Is there anything in your life that is being shaken right now? What do you think God might be trying to show you in this season?

2) What, besides Jesus, are you relying on for satisfaction, peace, happiness, or security? What thing when it is removed or changed - dramatically affects one of these aspects of life?

3) What new reality or perspective do you think Jesus wants you to see right now, in view of His resurrection life?

4) What does it mean to let Jesus be your King? What area of your life do you need to give Him more authority?