Sermon Discussion Questions Archive
Sermon Discussion questions
A Boatload of Grace: Genesis 6:9-7:24
Ice Breaker: If you could only know one, what detail do you wish God shared about this story?
Weekly Questions
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
This Week Specific
What do you find most amazing about this story?
How would the way people views Noah in this day be similar to the way those outside the faith view you as a Christian today?
What is something difficult God in his word has asked of you?
Was it right for God to wipe out so many people?
100 years of building the ark is a long time to work… and be mocked. What can we learn from Noah in this?
Anyone willing to share an area you are struggling to obey “all that the Lord commands” (v.7:5)? Anyone else have wisdom for that?
How does the story of Noah reflect God’s righteous judgment? How does this same story reflect his grace and mercy?
How does the flood reverse how God created the world?
Sermon Discussion questions
What A Wonderful & Messed Up World: Genesis 6:1-8
Ice Breaker: What is closest you’ve come to experiencing the flood?
Weekly Questions
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
This Week Specific
What’s the strangest part of this passage?
Apart from the obscurity of some details in verses 1-5, what do you find most disturbing about the description of human corruption in verse 5? Why? What would most disturb someone who believes human nature is essentially good?
Why do you think God feels the way he does about human wickedness (v. 6)?
Do you think his decision in verse 7 is justified? Why or why not?
What parallels between Genesis 3 and Genesis 6 help explain how sin works?
One interpretation of Genesis 6:3, that man’s days shall be 120 years, is a warning of the coming flood. What warning signs do we live with today? How do we respond to those warnings?
When are you most tempted to judge God’s actions? How can you right your heart/thoughts when you do?
Sermon Discussion questions
Walking WITh God: Genesis 5
Ice Breaker: If you were to teach one subject, what would it be?
Weekly Questions
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
This Week Specific
What do you think of people living so long before the flood? Why do you think that may be? How would that longevity affect culture, family, etc?
Would you want to live that long today?
What does it mean to walk with God? (Consider Noah in Genesis 6:9 too). Or rather, what does walking with God look like in your life? How does it differ from knowing about God intellectually?
What is legacy of Seth’s line compared to Cain? How can/should that shape our own lives?
What could you do to nurture a life of walking closer to God?
What are some things that distract your walk with God? How would a longer lifespan change the way you live?
We know he was a sinner, but what might have been different about Enoch or his walk with the Lord that he was spared death?
There is a lot of research and interest in modern times to extend lifespan. Do you consider that a good thing? A worth endeavor?
What hope is represented in the naming of Seth and Noah?
Sermon Discussion questions
House Rules: Leviticus 11-15
Ice Breaker: What are you most looking forward to in 2024? (Or what goal have you set?)
Weekly Questions
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
This Week Specific
What do chapters 11-15 of Leviticus cover?
What does God require of those who come before him?
What is the purpose of the food laws for the Israelites? Were these laws just about food?
What is the purpose of the laws about leprosy and bodily discharges?
How did Jesus interact with those who were unclean? What impact did he have on their lives?
“God requires holiness”: how should this be more than purely external? If we can’t be holy, why are we trying?
“God requires wholeness”: How does life in a fallen world make this impossible as well?
“God provides purification”: How does the gospel provide this? In view of eternity and also daily life?
Sermon Discussion questions
The Song of Lamech: Genesis 4:17-26
Ice Breaker: What's the best concert you've ever been to?
Weekly Questions
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
This Week Specific
What is common grace?
How do you see God’s common grace today?
What does it actually mean to call upon the name of the Lord? When do you call upon the name of the Lord?
What could Calling on the name of the Lord look like in your life in 2024?
What sort of culture is our nation today?
What sort of culture is the general church today?
How do you feel when you see unrighteous people flourishing?
How as Christians can we impact the culture today?
What is the cultural of your home/heart?
What “legacy” do you want to leave? How do the priorities of your life show that?
Sermon Discussion questions
The Curse At Work : Genesis 4:1-14
Ice Breaker: What's the best concert you've ever been to?
Weekly Questions
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
This Week Specific
Did you ever suspect your parents of having "favorites" among your siblings? What was the basis for your suspicion?
Why is it helpful to nam our sin?
Whom did you envy as a child? Why this person?
Why does God accept Abel’s sacrifice, but reject Cains?
How would you assess the way you handle correction? And what would you like to do differently?
Where might God be looking on your life with favor? With disfavor?
After the murder of Abel, why do you think God approaches Cain as he does? Why not directly accuse Cain?
Are you your "brother's keeper" (1st John 3:11)? How so? What kind of "keeping" do you do? And what brothers do you keep?
How does Hebrews 11:4 help us understand this story?
Were you personally convicted about something in your walk with the Lord, that you are just “going though the motions?”
Like cain, you feel unwilling to give the Lord your best resources?
How can we learn and grow after we sin?
East of Eden : Genesis 3:20-24
Ice Breaker: Now that it’s getting cold outside, what is your favorite outdoor activity?
Weekly Questions
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
This Week Specific
Where in this passage do you see the good news?
What gave Adam hope in the dark moments after the Fall?
What gives you hope in the dark moments of your life?
How does the theology of eating mentioned in the Lord’s Supper help us understand what we’re doing when we partake?
In what ways do we make “fig leaf clothing “and try to fix our sin situation before the Lord ourselves?
How does God’s provision of clothing to Adam and Eve reflect His provision of salvation to man?
How does God cloth and provide for you?Why is expulsion from the garden a grace of God?
Read revelation, 22:1 through five how does that relate to the sermon and give Hope?
Thorns & Thistles : Genesis 3:16-19
Ice Breaker: What is your favorite musical instrument and why?
Weekly Questions
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
This Week Specific
Read Revelation 2:7. How does that relate to Genesis?
After we disobeyed, God didn’t smite us or leave us under the curse. He send His son to die instead. Why?
Do you think Gods consequences are too harsh, too soft, or just right?
How does remembering the curse of multiplying, submitting, leading, working, etc give you perspective when life is hard?
How dos sin affect the relationships between parents and children? Between husband and wife?
How does Genesis 3:16 contrast with Ephesians 5:22
What were the consequences of Adam’s neglect of his leadership responsibilities as a husband?
Husbands, what are the consequences of you neglecting your leadership responsibilities?
He Shall Crush Your Head: Genesis 3:14-15
Ice Breaker: If you had to swap lives with one living person for 24 hours who would it be and why?
Weekly Questions
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
This Week Specific
How did the curse change the relationship between God & Satan?
What was the relationship before?
What was the relationship between humans and Satan before the “enmity” was put in place by God?
Why did God speak to the serpent first?
Why do you think the Proto-gospel was spoken to the snake and not to Adam & Eve?
Did Satan understand or accept that his defeat was certain as of this moment? Did Adam & Eve?
Sermon Discussion questions
Silent In The Trees: Genesis 3:8-13
Ice Breaker: What fictional family would you want to be a part of?
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
The Bonhoeffer quote Pastor Brian shared connected our giving in to sinful desire with our forgetfulness of God. Any thoughts on that connection? How do you find that true (or false)?
Why did Adam & Eve hide from God?
Why are we so prone to hide our sin from even those we trust dearly?
Is God’s omniscience comforting to you or terrifying or both?
Why is it important that God seeks after Adam and Eve in the garden?
What are way in which we blame God for the sin in our lives?
Read Psalm 139:2, is that a comfort or not to you?
How is the way God confronts Adam & Eve a good model for how parents confront their children when they’ve sinned? (Or how you confront a friend)
How does the idea o victimhood keep us from confessing our sin?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
Paradise Lost: Genesis 3:1-7
Ice Breaker: What’s a food you dislike and why are you not a fan of it?
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
How do you imagine God? A fountain of life or a miser? Is it easy to trust God?
Brian said,
Did God actually say, you can’t have sex?
Did God actually say, you shouldn’t be rich?
Did God actually say, you must forgive your enemies?
What did God actually say about these things? What are other passages or ideas we become legalistic about?What shape might Satan take in the modern world?
What are examples of how Christians now either diminish or add to God’s word?
What can we do to ensure we always take God’s word seriously?
What makes moral autonomy so appealing?
What do we think we’re going to get when we choose to sin?
What do we actually get? And despite this, why do we engage in repetitive sin?
Satan made Eve forget all that God had given her and, instead, focus on what God had forbidden. In what ways do you do that, be as specific as you’re willing to be.
What are some legalistic ways we add to God’s Word today?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
Naked & Not Afraid: Genesis 2:18-25
Ice Breaker: What’s a food you dislike and why are you not a fan of it?
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
Did this passage reveal any feminist or chauvinist within you? (Go ahead and share, what’s the point if we won’t be a little vulnerable)
What was the reason why God had Adam name all the animals?
Why is the term “helper” not to be considered inferior?
How are men and women equal in God’s eyes? How different?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
Sow, Sleep, Harvest: Mark 4:26-29
Ice Breaker: How do you recognize when you’re stressed? OR If you could bring back a fashion trend, what would it be and why?
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
How have you seen the sowing of the word at work in someone else’s life?
How has someone else sowed the seed of God’s word in your life?
There is mystery in how a seed grows. What mystery is there in how the Kingdom of God grows?
What does sowing the word of God look like?
Why is it important to sow the word of God in our own lives? What does that look like? What hinders us from sowing the Word of God in our lives?
How does this parable remove the weight and fear of sharing the gospel with someone?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
The Creation of Adam: Genesis 2:4-17
Ice Breaker: What fills you up? What drains you?
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
How does the idea of Hobbies help us understand how work was for Adam & Eve?
Would you enjoy your job more if it was always productive and never frustrating?
Why is it significant that God created a “man of dust”? (v.7)
Why is it important to know that work existed before the Fall?
Why and how should we work?
What is the covenant of works?
What test did Adam and Eve face in the Garden of Eden?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
Shared Holiness, Shared Joy: 1st John 1:1-2:2
Ice Breaker: What fills you up? What drains you?
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
What’s your response when you’ve been caught in doing or saying something wrong?
How does John describe Jesus as the beginning of this letter?
Why does John say God is light?
What does it mean to walk in the light?
Are we ever afraid of the light?
When are you most likely to believe the lie that you need to be better or perfect if God is gonna love you?
What’s one area you feel the Lord wants to grow you into more Christ likeness?
How can this group pray for you this week?
Sermon Discussion questions
The Day God Rested: Genesis 2:1-3
Ice Breaker: What fills you up? What drains you?
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
Why do you find the Sabbath hard to obey? What excuses do you make?
What are you afraid will happen if you really practiced a Sabbath rest? what do you need to trust about the Lord to rest well?
What idols prevent you from Sabbath rest?
How can you obey the command of the Sabbath better?
What is your relationship to time and productivity like? What things does Scripture say about our time and productivity? (Can be general, but tension between faithful stewardship/urgency and Sabbath rest)
How can you make sure the Sabbath is fruitful? What does that look like?
What would it look like for you to prepare for the Sabbath on Saturdays?
How does understanding the Sabbath is a gift help your understanding of it?
How can this group pray for you this week?
Sermon Discussion questions
Imago Dei Part II: Genesis 1:26-3
Ice Breaker: What place to visit is on your bucket list?
What stood out to you/challenged you most in this sermon?
How have we as sinful people taken the “creation mandate” and tainted its meaning?
Someone read the definition of “subdue.” In what ways do you personally seek to subdue the earth? Maybe through your vocation.
Wha t is the difference between “environmentalism” of the planet and being a good steward of it? (How can you steward the earth without worshipping it?)
What excuses do you make for not being a good steward?
How can you be a better steward of God’s earth in local small ways?
What are some implications of Psalm 24:1?
Brian invoked wisdom and discernment as categories to help us practice the creation mandate rather than giving a list of rules. This offers freedom but also requires more from us than a list of dos and don’ts. How does this make following the creation mandate both harder and easier?
How do God’s commands in this passage contrast with a non-christian view of the world?
Where does our use of the earth cross the line into sin?
Where does environmentalism cross the line into sin?
How can this group pray for you this week?
Imago Dei: Genesis 1:26-31
Ice Breaker: What did you create when you were young? (Tree house, mud pies, legos, etc)
What stood out to you most in this sermon?
Why does God use the plural form, “Let us make human beings in our image”?
In what ways are we made in God’s image?
How has sin distorted that image?
We will never be totally like God because he is our perfect Creator. But we do have the ability to reflect his character in our love, patience, forgiveness, kindness, and faithfulness. What are some ways we can in everyday life reflect God’s love, patience, forgiveness, kindness and faithfulness?
Is either Adam or Eve made more or less in God’s image?
How does remembering that even people you don’t like and people you struggle to respect are also made in the image of God? How should you view all people? Is anyone worthless? (But you ever called someone worthless in your head?)
What does John 1:1-3 add your perception of Genesis 1:1-3 and 1:26?
Read Colossians 1:15-20, what is Christ's role in creation? And how does Genesis help you appreciate the nature and work of Christ?
How does being image bearers change our view of Love God, Love Neighbor?
How does believing that you were created in the image of God affect the way you interact with the world? How does this differ from someone who doesn’t believe in God?
How can this group pray for you this week?
Sermon Discussion questions
The Days of Creation: Genesis 1:3-25
Ice Breaker: Just for fun, what is one animal you wish God didn’t create?
What is one thing you learned from the sermon this week?
What is the significance of God saying, "Let there be light" in Genesis 1:3? How does it set the tone for the rest of creation?
What aspect or animal or plant or, whatever about creation do find yourself most often delighting in?
Or what in creation fascinates you most? (What phenomenon, animal, plant, aspect of outer space, etc)
What things will you start saying “that’s good creation?” to
If you remember coming to faith later in life, how did you believe creation was made?
Given the wonder of creation why are there still many who refuse to acknowledge the possibility of a creator?
Brian mentioned bread pointing to Christ- what other creation illustrations have you seen God has made that point to Christ
God’s speaks words and the universe and creatures and plants and later people are created. God’s words are powerful, how is that still true for us today?
Followup? How about how we use our words to build up (Colossians 3: 14 -17) or tear down.
How does the idea of God creating with order and purpose in Genesis 1:3-25 contrast with alternative creation narratives or worldviews?
Mark Ross, warning about the tendency to accommodate the Bible to science says, “Those who think that Biblical teaching must give way to scientific teaching whenever conflicts arise perhaps have not given adequate attention to the corrigibility [need to be corrected] of scientific findings. Today’s accepted scientific “truth” might well turn out to be tomorrow’s discarded theory.” How do we not discard scientific findings and yet continue to keep Scripture as the ultimate authority?
Sermon Discussion Questions (May 21st)
Woe To The Wealthy: James 5:1-6
Ice Breaker: What is your cellphone wallpaper? Let’s see it
Do you see yourself in any of the description of the “worldly wealthy” in these verses?
What approaches to riches, wealth, and possessions have you observed in the Christian community and church?
In what ways can our commercial culture, with its view of accumulation, comfort, wealth, and materialism, infect even the church?
According to 5:4, what kind of treatment of people has played a major part in the growing wealth of the rich people James denounces? How can we fall into these same sinful ways?
While James 5:5 does not condemn wealth and possessions per se, what kind of attitudes and motivations does he denounce in the lives and hearts of wealthy people?
What warnings did you personally take from James 5:1-6 regarding wealth? How might you need to adjust your attitude toward your material possessions?
In what practical ways might you seek to loosen your grip on money, wealth, and possessions, and pursue even more humble reliance upon God? How can you encourage the Christians around you to do the same?
How does the gospel of God's grace through Jesus Christ free us from reliance on power, money, and "success" in the eyes of the world? In what ways must our submission to God and faith in him change our priorities and our greatest treasure?
Sermon Discussion Questions (May 14th)
If The Lord Wills: James 4:13-17
Ice Breaker: What do you wish you were better at?
What is the attitude that James seems to be confronting in 4:13? What exactly is boastful and arrogant about the plans of the people he confronts (4:16)?
What image from nature did James use to describe the brevity of the human lifespan? Why would he use an image rather than simply saying, “Your lifespan is extremely short”? What deeper truth was he perhaps hoping to convey?
Why is Jame’s reminder about the brevity and fragility of life helpful to our attitudes and prayers? How is this related to the humility and submission that James has just discussed (4:7-10)?
How have you responded when God has changed your plans? What does that reveal about you and how you think about God?
The one psalm written by Moses, Psalm 90, seems to echo many of James's themes in 4:13-16. Read Psalm 90:1-6, 12-17, noting Moses’ realistic description of the brevity of human life. Notice how Moses concludes. How is his conclusion to Psalm 90 similar to James's exhortation in 4:15?
In James 4:16 he says, “all such boasting is evil.” To what is “all such boasting” referring to in this context and would you typically consider this boasting? How can you avoid this boasting?
Which aspects of your life are you likely to think you have control over?
Do you believe there are worse things than dying? Why, or why not?
David Gibson says, “James is aiming to drive down deep into my soul the knowledge that I am a character in the story of the world that God is writing, not the author of my own play. God is the author, the playwright, the one painting a glorious picture of all of world history.” How does that change your day to day life?
What difference could knowing the brevity of life make to you today? Be as specific as possible.
In regards to verse 17, how does the cross give hope to us who haven’t done the right thing? How does that hope lead us to humility?
Sermon Discussion Questions (May 7th)
Talking Skubala: James 4:11-12
Ice Breaker: What is your favorite outdoor activity?
Read Leviticus 19:16: Why does slandering others dishonor God’s Law?
What is most often the root cause of you speaking evil against others?
What are the different ways that we speak evil against others?
What are ways we judge others?
Read John 7:24: what hidden attitudes and dispositions might lead to judgmental thoughts or words, and why are these problematic?
If you detect judgmental and slanderous tendencies within your heart (and coming from your mouth), how can you work to change them?
What is the difference between being doer of the law and judger of the law? Where have you seen this struggle show up in your life?
Read Romans 2:1-4, how does this relate to James 4:11-12?
Whose role are you trying to play if you speak against the law and seek to judge the law?
James 4:12, makes clear that you are not to judge your brother. What type of judgment is prohibited in this verse?
How should we react to the sin in the lives of others?
Sermon Discussion Questions (April 30th)
Grace To The Humble: James 4:6-10
Ice Breaker: Ice Breaker: What’s a weird fact you happen to know?
What question do you wish people would ask more??
In what ways do you need to be reminded of the prerequisite of humility in your relationship with God? How can you pursue the kind of humility to which God responds with grace?
Why does grace come only to those who are humbled?
What does it mean to submit to God in verse 7?
What is the devil's desire for our relationship with God?
What practical ways can we resist the devil?
What attitude does James encourage in verse 8-9?
In verse 8 James commands double-minded people to both wash their hands and purify their hearts. We find those two words, cleanse (or wash) and purify, used together in the Old Testament to describe rituals that priests had to perform when carrying out their duties. But by James's day, all those priestly rituals were no longer necessary. Jesus Christ, by his death on the cross, abolished the need for those Old Testament rituals. So when James calls God's people to take steps to cleanse their hands and purify their hearts, what do you think he means?
In what ways should humility and submission characterize your relationship with God more than is currently the case? How can you seek to identify patterns of pride that may get in the way of your humble confession of sin and mournful repentance before him?
From what you’ve learned, how would you define being humble?
Read Daniel 4:28-37. What do we learn from what happened to the ancient Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar about how God "opposes" the proud?
How does Micah 6:8 teach us to relate to the Lord?
Sermon Discussion Questions (April 23rd)
The War Within: James 4:1-6
Ice Breaker: Ice Breaker: What’s a weird fact you happen to know?
If you have had the opportunity to observe people who pursue pleasure and self-gratification rather than God, what have you noticed about the impact of these pursuits on their human relationships? Why is there so often relational "collateral damage" when people turn from God to an obsession with self?
What kind of "internal battles" have you fought with yourself in recent years? What kind of competing desires tend to "wage war" within you? Describe these battles, which could have to do with spiritual problems, or with issues of time management, exercise, or diet, or with relation-ships, or even with patterns of thought.
Consider a conflict you have been involved in. What did it reveal about your heart? How did it affect your prayers?
How do we often use the word passion in a positive sense in our culture today? How does James seem to be using this word in 4:1? What are the results of the kinds of "passions" that are at war within each one of us? What does this teach us about our sinful nature?
In 4:2, what does James suggest that we ought to do about our desires and wants? Why is this such a better alternative than fighting and quarreling? What might James be suggesting that we often forget about God?
Is there something that you once really wanted and and maybe you even prayed for that. How glad are that God didn’t just Magic Genie give you what you asked for now?
What haven’t you asked God for? Why not?
According to James 4:3, there is a wrong way to ask God about our desires. What wrong motivations do we sometimes bring to our prayers, according to James? AKA, How do we ask wrongly in prayer? How do we spend it on our passions?
The way we view the world causes us to grow in one of two ways: Gladness and Gratitude or Entitlement and contempt. Of those two ways, which way are you currently growing?
How does verse 4 cause you to take your sin more seriously?
What does the phrase "adulterous people" imply about James's understanding of his readers' relationship with God (4:4)? In what ways might "friendship with the world" be likened to spiritual "adultery” in the way James is describing it?
In what ways do you find yourself chasing the same things those who don’t love Christ are chasing?
Read 2nd Timothy 4:10, what happened to Demas?
What circumstances in life have led you to feel most entitled? How can social media feed our entitlement and ungratefulness?
How might James 4:6 offer the solution to the sinful battle within every human soul? How does this verse direct us to respond? What does it tell us about God, and how is it a hopeful verse to conclude this passage?
Verse six says, “But he gives more grace”. Why is that truth particularly precious to you today?
Given what James says about "quarrels" and "fights" among Christians (4:1), how might you examine your own heart the next time you are in conflict with another Christian? How might this passage help you with humility in the midst of an argument or disagreement?
Sermon Discussion Questions (April 16th)
Wisdom From Above: James 3:13-18
Ice Breaker: If you had to be a contestant on a reality show, honestly, which would you choose?
Based on this passage, who would you say is wise among the people you know?
What are some of the "words of wisdom" -or prevalent mantras -that you hear in the culture around you today? What do they reveal about the most common worldviews of your culture? Consider, for example: "Follow your heart," "You do you," and "Believe in yourself."
How would you go about judging whether or not a person- or a piece of advice--is truly wise? Have you seen “beautiful” goodness from people? Who/what specifically?
Read 1st Corinthians 1:18-25. How is the Gospel “wisdom from above” rather than earthly wisdom?
What can bitter jealousy and selfish ambition do to relationships? And or what are the characteristics of false wisdom? Which of these traits do you most struggle with?
What are the fruits, or results, of wisdom that is not from above, according to James 3:14-16? Why might this be? Why do you think he chooses to mention these specific sins and vices in these verses?
What are the characteristics of true wisdom? Which of these have you seen the Holy Spirit producing in your life?
Brian quoted the opening words of John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, “Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves." How does this agree with what James writes about wisdom? In what ways do various forms of earthly wisdom not meet these two basic foundations of true knowledge?
In what ways might you detect how significantly you are affected and guided by earthly wisdom, rather than wisdom from heaven? How might certain fruits in your life (such as jealousy, bitterness, and selfish ambition) alert you to this dynamic?
Read Philippians 2:3-11 and consider the characteristics of meekness. How might you seek to cultivate peace and meekness in your heart and life? What practices, disciplines, or patterns of prayer might enable you to grow in those fruits of heavenly wisdom?
How might being peaceable as a result of God’s wisdom in your life help you be a more effective member of the body of Christ?
Sermon Discussion Questions (April 9th)
To Whom Shall We Go?: John 6:60-69
Ice Breaker: If your house was burning down, what three objects would you try to save?
What did the disciples think at the point of verse 60?
What else did Jesus say that might offend people in verse 61-62?
What else from God’s Word offends people or you today? Are there commands or ideas that you find awkward or difficult?
What happened to many people when following Jesus got weird?
Has there ever been a time in your life, that you are willing to share, when you have wanted to “go away as well?” Where were you planning to go? Why did you, or did you not?
What tempts you to wander? What most convinces you not to?
As we grow in our faith and study Scripture, we may be tempted to turn away because Jesus’ lessons are difficult or because the Christian life in a secular culture is difficult. How will you not turn away from Christ? How will you not ignore God’s teachings in Scripture that are culturally weird?
What did Simon Peter and the rest of the twelve remain with Jesus, where as so many of the other disciples turned away?
How were you encouraged by this sermon to renew your faith?
Sermon Discussion Questions (April 2nd)
Taming of the Tongue: James 3:1-12
Ice Breaker: Do you think you speak more or less words than the average person?
Why should teachers be judged with greater strictness?
We have access to many kinds of “teachers” today in our society (think TED Talks, podcast, etc) How do we judge the value and integrity of all this teaching?
The warning to teachers in the first portion of the passage is clear. What application does this passage have for those who do not teach?
In what ways can we have grace for our teachers and for those who labor in the word of God for us?
How have modern communications methods (email, texting, social media) amplified the power of the tongue?
How do James’ words here prompt and shape your reflection on what you have said to others in the last few days?
What does "perfect" mean in verse 2? Does this have any impact on those whom we should consider for teaching positions? (1 Timothy 3:16)
Jesus says in Matthew 12:36-37, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” What do you make of that?
How have you personally felt the destructive power of words? How about the power of words to bless?
What type of destructive speech to you struggle with the most? (Gossip, judgmental, jealous, prideful, complaining, etc)
Which illustration of the power of the tongue is most striking to you? Why?
Think of a time where something you said was destructive, caused hard feelings, damaged someones reputation, or was generally hurtful or untrue. What were the results? How could you have handled the situation differently?
Think of a time where you or someone else said something that brought healing and restoration, made someone feel better. How did these situations bring glory to God.
Sometimes our words aren’t meant to hurt, but they unintentionally do. Discuss.
Read Romans 6:11-14, 12:1-2, Mark 7:14-15, Galatians 5:16-18. What can we do to make our speech more Godly?
Sermon Discussion Questions (March 26th)
What Do We Value In Conflict?: Psalm 17
Ice Breaker: If you could give a million dollars to any one person, who would it be and why?
What emotion does the word “conflict” invoke in you?
Does conflict usually make you bitter or does conflict make you better?
What does enemy want to do to David?
Are you prone to fight or flight?
What is third way we saw in verse 13?
At what point in a conflict do you pray and entrust it to the Lord? How can you learn to do this first?
What you pray for always reflects what you value, what do we see David values?
What do you hear people around you value based on their prayers? How about you?
How does Matthew 6:19-21 relate to Psalm 17?
We tend to limit integrity to what we avoid, but it’s also what we pursue. When I see an intensity for being right, is that integrity before God?
In conflict and struggles we tend to pursue isolation instead of intimacy (both with God and others) why do you think that is? How will you fight that?
In conflict we often wonder what’s wrong with me, we question our identity. What’s that look like? What is your primary identity? How does that effect how you respond to conflict?
Discuss verse 15, what is the difference between “beholding” and “bearing” God’s righteousness? How should that affect our conflicts?
What is something that a recent conflict has revealed to you about yourself? How did you respond?
Sermon Discussion Questions (March 19th)
Abraham & Rehab?
aka Justified by a Fatih That Works: James 2:20-26
Ice Breaker: As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
How have you seen visible faith in other believers?
Which case study resonates most with you in helping you understand faith and works?
How does Rahab's actions give evidence of her saving faith?
What did Abraham’s faith lead him to do? (Genesis 22:1-14)
What did Rahab’s faith lead her to do? (Joshua 2:1-16)
Where in the stories of Abraham (Genesis 22) and Rahab (Joshua 2) do we see the Good News? Why is that important when talking about good works?
How are Abraham’s story and Rahab’s story alike? How are they different?
What does this passage show us about what happens when Jesus comes into our lives?
Imagine someone suggested to you that James and Paul contradict each other. How would you, in a minute, explain what both say about faith, and how both are in agreement?
What is the relationship between faith and works?
What do you think your neighbors on your street can see about your faith? (Or tell me when you’ve seen someone else’s faith)
Do you, by character, tend to have a tender conscience, or a complacent one?
Pray about how you handle your money, time, food, resources. Ask God to help you see the needs around you that you may be overlooking.