Sermons

Virtually nobody will argue with the thought that Jesus wants us to love our neighbor. The questions we need to answer are things like “why don’t I love my neighbor?” or “what would it look like if I did love my neighbor?” or “how can I find the motivation to actually love my neighbor?”

Discussion Questions

1. In your group, go around the circle and talk about how many of your actual neighbors you know by name. What barriers exist to developing real relationships?

2. Where is your heart cold? Where do not love your neighbor due to pride, fear, or a false sense of identity?

3. Think about the gospel in terms of Jesus being our true neighbor. How does this provide a right motivation for us to love our neighbors? If we lack this true motivation, how can our efforts to love our neighbors go awry?

4. What practical steps do you need to take to truly love your neighbors? Your family? Your group?

Prayer Points

1. Pray by name for those neighbors that you do know. Pray for God to open doors to get to know, love, and serve those in your immediate vicinity.

2. Pray that we would represent God well as we share the abundant grace of Jesus with those in our neighborhoods who have yet to come to know him.

Sermon Description

Very few Christian doctrines are so controversial as the “end times.” But if God has given us these truths in his Word, then they must be for our good in some way. When it comes to understanding the end times, the most important thing is to remember that we are living in the grand story of God’s work in the world.

Discussion Questions

1. What questions, fears, or apprehensions do you have around the subject of the end times? Where might these fears come from?

2. What areas of end times study do interest you? Where might Jesus be leading you to pursue knowledge and wisdom in these areas? How might this help your faith?

3. Why is the gospel inseparable from the subject of eschatology? How does the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus directly tie in to the idea of where human history is headed?

4. How can we help one another to persevere and develop “grit”? How can learning about the persecuted church around the world help us in this endeavor?

Prayer Points

1. Pray that we would keep the Kingdom of God in full view as we navigate our way through this world.

2. Pray for persecuted Christians throughout the world. Pray that God would strengthen them, and pray for their persecutors to face justice.

3. Pray for opportunities to share the gospel with your friends and neighbors in light of the imminent return of Jesus.

Sermon Description

The subject of race is prevalent in our culture, and people are looking everywhere for solutions to one of the oldest problems of the human condition: racism. In this sermon, Rabbi Matt shows us how racial reconciliation is at the very heart of what Jesus came to do through his life, death, and resurrection.

Discussion Questions

1. Why is our culture talking about race so much right now? Why do you think that so many people think that the Bible has nothing to say on the subject, when it is full of teaching on the subject?

2. When we are “in Christ,” we don’t lose our ethnicity (or gender, per Ephesians 2), but we are woven into the fabric of the community of faith? Why is this such good news?

3. How does the gospel of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection empower us to be able to have conversations about race?

4. Where does God want you to repent of sin and grow in his grace? Is there racial animosity or indifference in your heart? Have you been afraid to talk, learn, or grow because you have forgotten the power of the gospel?

Prayer Points

1. Pray that Jesus would rid our hearts of any shred of racial prejudice or animosity, and that he would fill us with a Christ-like love for all people.

2. Pray that Jesus would use us to bring his light and healing to a world that is deeply divided by racial animosity.

The Bible never shies away from the subject of sexuality. It celebrates sex as a good gift from a loving God, but also warns of the harm that comes when we misunderstand or misuse this precious gift. As Christians, we have come to know that we are not our own, we were bought with a price, so we are now free to follow Jesus and his will for our sexuality.

Discussion Questions

1. Why is it important for a Christian to have a gospel-formed vision of sexuality? Why would it be important for anyone to have a coherent idea of sexuality?

2. Paul starts this section by laying out the gospel in such a way that it creates categories for righteousness, unrighteousness and redemption. Why is it important to have these categories? Hint: it helps us make sense of all the competing moral frameworks around us. What is good? What is broken? What will be redeemed?

3. The first objection Paul deals with is an argument from desire. This argument essentially says, “if someone really wants to do something, why would we stop them? But we all have a category for a desire that we resist because we know it’s not good for us or because it doesn’t accomplish our greater goals. What are some examples of these kinds of desires in us, our kids and the people around us?

4. The second argument is one about freedom and gets to the idea of identity. This argument says, “If I am fundamentally my own person, then I should be the one to decide my behavior.” The gospel tells us that “we are not our own but were bought with a price.” How does this change the way we see ourselves? What are the implications for sexual morality? What are some of the dangers of taking on anything (including sexuality) as your identity?

Prayer Points

1. Pray that we would be people who are deeply faithful to God’s will for sexuality, and who are deeply committed to practicing grace and love in all things.

2. Pray for the grace to share the gospel with people who think the Bible’s teaching on sexuality is outdated or confusing.