Veritas Columbus Sermons

A sermon based on Matthew 4:18-25 by Nick Nye, preached on April 2, 2017 at Veritas Short North as part of the "Follow Jesus" series.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. James and John left their father in order to follow Jesus. What sacrifices have/do you make to follow Jesus? Was it difficult? If so, what made it so difficult? What reward do we have to look forward to?

2. Following Jesus is more than just knowing facts and rules - it's following a person, watching how he lived and died. How does your relationship with Jesus influence your learning/obedience? ... When you think of learning/obedience in regards to your relationship to Christ, what thoughts/feelings come to the surface?

3. Following Jesus means intentionally telling people about him. Do you feel nervous about telling people about Jesus? Why? How does the end of Matthew speak to our fears?

4. Following Jesus means doing deeds of love for all kinds of people, with all kinds of needs. How does this relate to being an "ambassador of the king"? What different kinds of needs do you see around you? How can your group practically respond as ambassadors of the king?

A sermon based on Matthew 4:12-17 by Brad Snyder, preached on March 26, 2017 at Veritas Tri-Village as part of the "Follow Jesus" series.

Discussion Questions:

1. How does the “way by the sea” in verse 15 connect historically with the return from bondage and exile? Why was this area called “Galilee of the Gentiles”? And…what did most people from Jerusalem think of this area? (Leaders: the “way by the sea” was the road that connected Syria with northern Israel, and would have been used by Israelites returning from the Assyrian exile. Re: Galilee, Brad said that the leaders of the nation despised Galilee, and that ever since the Kingdom split after the death of Solomon, the north was seen as a false kingdom with a false king, which promoted animosity between the tribes in the south and those in the north).

2. Considering who made up the region of Galilee (vs. 12), how does this showcase God’s heart and Christ’s mission to usher in His kingdom? By extension, how are we a part of that mission? How do we reflect God’s heart to the world? (Leaders: Brad talked about how by spreading the gospel, praying for the sick, and comforting the hurting, we are delivering a foretaste of the kingdom to the world - perhaps discuss how members of your group are involved in this).

3. Jesus began his ministry with a very straightforward message: “Repent” and Mark’s gospel adds “and believe." What does it mean to repent, and how is it different than simply “feeling bad” or “feeling guilty” for sin? What is the connection between light and darkness/truth and lies? Perhaps describe how these analogies make sense in your own words. (Leaders: Brad differentiated Biblical concepts from eastern/other religions in his sermon, saying that, “In the Bible light is something that shine on us from the outside, something that dawns on us rather than is developed by us! And this morning Matthew tells us that we are seeing the light that all other light is just an analogy for!”)

4. In verse 16, Matthew describes the people in Galilee as a "people dwelling in darkness.” In John 3:17-21, John talks about the darkness as well - how does John describe people’s feelings about darkness? Why do you think we naturally feel this way? What is the anecdote to the darkness in our world and our lives?

(Leaders, maybe review 1 Peter 2:9 and Colossians 1:13-14 which tell of Christ’s calling us out of darkness)

5. Pulling back a bit, think about how Jesus started His ministry among a people in Galilee who were back in the land after years of exile, yet, like the people in Isaiah’s time, were still lingering in self-reliance, fear, and idolatry. How similar or different are our neighborhoods/country today?

6. In the sermon, Brad introduced the idea of “the upside-down kingdom”, which is a phrase used to describe Jesus’ kingdom. What is meant by this phrase?

7. Takeaway: This week, spend some time in prayer, asking God to reveal areas of your life that are still lingering in the darkness - things you don’t want anyone to know about, yet need exposure to the light of the gospel and repentance. Are there people in your community group or circle of influence who are discouraged from encroaching darkness and difficulties? Consider reaching out to them with some encouragement - perhaps sharing some of the scripture we studied this week.

A sermon based on Matthew 4:12-17 by Aaron Lockhart, preached on March 26, 2017 at Veritas East as part of the "Follow Jesus" series.

A sermon based on Matthew 4:12-17 by Joe Byler, preached on March 26, 2017 at Veritas Short North as part of the "Follow Jesus" series.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Reflect for a minute on this metaphor of light and darkness that we read of in this passage. Consider the properties of light and darkness - how do you see Jesus being a light in darkness? How does he provide sight, clarity, and protection in the midst of darkness?

2. If you think about it, darkness is really only the absence of light. As you consider the darkness in your own heart and in the world around you, how do you see it being simply the absence of something? What is missing?

3. In the midst of darkness (trial, suffering, temptation, etc.), how do you respond? Do you generally ignore it? Or have your "eyes" becomes used to it - numbing your senses?

4. Specifically speaking of your own life, how have you seen Christ shine a light into your darkness?

5. How have you seen Christ shine a light into our community, our city, the world?

6. How does the reality of people lost in darkness around us spur you on to action? How can you shine this light you've been shown to others?

A sermon based on Job 1:1 – 2:10 by Dave Harvey, preached on March 19, 2017 at Veritas Short North.

Discussion Questions:

1. Dave opened his sermon with the statement “to be a Christian is to be a realist.” What do you take this to mean? How do you see this as true?

2. Is there a part of this section of Job that makes you uncomfortable? What/why?

3. What is your natural response to suffering and pain?

4.Do you see yourself treating God like he has broken a contract with you when you suffer?

5. What can we learn from Job’s response to disaster?

6. How do you see our suffering as a way to have our trust in the Lord grown?

7. Do you find yourself trying to “let God off the hook” for Job’s suffering? How/why? Do you do this with your own suffering and pain?

8. How do you feel about being left not understanding why we suffer? Do you feel owed an explanation or resolution?

9. How can we have hope in suffering even without understanding the reason for suffering?

A sermon based on Matthew 4:8-11 by Brad Snyder, preached on March 19, 2017 at Veritas Tri-Village as part of the "It Is Written" series.

Discussion Questions:

1. In Matthew 4:8-11 Jesus faces a third wilderness temptation, this time Satan offers Him all the kingdoms of the world. In what sense was Satan able to make this offer? In what more ultimate way was he really not able to make this offer? (Leaders: tease out the fact that while Satan is often called the god of this age - 2 Cor. 4:4 - and has a great deal of power in the world, yet he is not ultimately sovereign over the created order. There’s some irony here to work through).

2. In verse 8 Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth in their glory. What was missing in his display of these kingdoms? What did he leave out? Are there any parallels with Genesis 3 - what did he "forget" to mention to Eve?

3. In verse 9, Satan’s pre-requisite for giving over all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus is that Jesus “fall down and worship” him. What does this reveal to us about Satan’s ultimate goal in temptation? (Leaders: Brad mentioned that Satan isn't going to disrupt your plans or goals, so long as they don't include the gospel. His goal is to give us our good desires separated and apart from the truth and power of the cross. Satan's goal was to keep Jesus from the cross). Why would Satan want to keep Jesus from fulfilling His role as the Suffering Servant on the cross?

4. Even though most of us won’t encounter such an overt demand from Satan to fall down and worship him (vs. 9), can you think of examples where Satan's end goal shows up packaged differently in our lives? Any examples of seemingly great promises that came with (perhaps hidden) pricey caveats? Put another way, are there things that we (or society) often think of as good, but never seem to live up to their promise?

5. What does Jesus’ response to Satan in verse 10 reveal about his heart and his priorities? (Leaders: He had desires for God's plan. He didn't settle for lesser things that didn't satisfy).

6. Given what we learned from this passage, how do we emulate Jesus in overcoming temptation? (Leaders: Brad mentioned that we can overcome temptation by worship. We are worshippers by nature, as Christians we replace what we worship by nature with affections for God that he cultivates in our heart.)

A sermon preached at Veritas West on 3/19/17.

A sermon based on Matthew 4:8-11 by Aaron Lockhart, preached on March 19, 2017 at Veritas East as part of the "It Is Written" series.

A sermon based on Matthew 4:5-7 by Wes Thompson, preached on March 12, 2017 at Veritas West as part of the "It Is Written" series.

A sermon based on Matthew 4:5-7 by Aaron Lockhart, preached on March 12, 2017 at Veritas East as part of the "It Is Written" series.