1)Listen to Podcast here
2)GG Questions 04/29/2018
Seeking First: Doasyouwouldbedoneby Matthew 7:1-12
1. Close Reading: After praying for God to enlighten your mind, read through Matthew 7:1-12 a couple times, slowly. Look for these three things: LIGHTBULB – something that shines from the passage, draws your attention; QUESTION MARK – something difficult to understand; ARROW – a personal application. Share the results of your study with your group.
2. Judgment: Many people reject the church because they believe Christians are judgmental. Where does this idea come from? How can it be either a legitimate or an illegitimate claim? Have you ever caught yourself fulfilling this stereotype? Describe the kind of Christian who frequently speaks out about his faith, but would never be accused of being judgmental, even by the severest critics of Christianity.
3. Prayer: Though God personally holds every atom in place in this universe (Col. 1:17; Heb 1:3), and is completely all-knowing (Job 37:16), He has ordained prayer as one of his means for ‘gettings things done’. This is incredible! Why do you suppose He did so? Given some of the astounding promises God makes to us about prayer (Matt. 21:22; John 14:13-14; 15:7), why are we sometimes so reluctant to ‘ask, seek, and knock’?
4. Golden Rule: What makes the golden rule (Matt. 7:12), golden? Why is it such a perfect summation of Jesus’ ethical teaching? So perfect was this rule, that Jesus said of it, “this is the Law and the Prophets.” Later he would make a similar statement about the greatest commandment: “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:38-40). What is the relationship between these two teachings? How is both self-awareness and God-dependence necessary to live out this ethical teaching?
