Week 18 – God’s Sovereignty
Isaiah 45:7-9 (ESV)
What?
How?
Who?
Read more
April 26 – Sermon Discussion Guide
Establishing a Baseline pt 1: God is Light
1 John 1:5-10; 2:8-11
1 John 1:5-10 (ESV) 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 John 2:8-11 (ESV) 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Digging Deeper
The Bible is filled with references to the themes of light and truth. Spend some time searching out these passages of Scripture together and see how they help shape our understanding of John’s statement, “God is light.”
- Job 12:24-25
- Psalm 119:105, 130
- Proverbs 4:19
- Isaiah 5:20
- John 1:4-5; 3:19-21; 12:35-36; 17:17
- 2 Corinthians 4:6
- Ephesians 5:8-9
- Philippians 2:15
- 1 John 2:21-22, 27; 3:19; 4:6; 5:6, 20
Digesting the Text
- In his Gospel, John records Jesus’ conversation with a man named Nicodemus. In that conversation, Jesus said, “the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (John 3:19) What is the darkness according to Jesus? What does this teach us about human nature?
- At the opening of this letter, John summarizes his message with a deceptively simple statement, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5) What does John mean by this statement? What does this teach us about the nature of God?
- Aside from light representing moral purity, Pastor Will shared that light reveals truth and exposes lies. In these verses above, John identifies the lies being spread and believed by the people with the phrases “If we say…” and “Whoever says…” What are these lies that John wants to refute with the light of God’s truth? What is the truth that John speaks against these lies? How do these lies and truths relate to you personally?
- Light isn’t merely for our moral and intellectual benefit. Light has the very practical purpose of allowing us to live, move, and function. John wants us to walk in the light as opposed to the darkness. Read 1 John 1:7-9. How can we be walking in light even though we still need to be cleansed of sin? What then must walking in the light mean if it doesn’t mean that we are morally perfect?
- Confession is essentially telling the truth, calling something what it is. Is there any part of your life that is still shrouded in the darkness of unconfessed sin? How can you walk in the light of confession and repentance today and this week?
Read more
Week 17 – God’s Unchangeability
Malachi 3:6 (ESV)
What?
How?
Who?
Read more
Week 16 – God’s Glory
Psalm 72:18-19 (ESV)
What?
How?
Who?
Read more
April 12 – Sermon Discussion Guide
Download the .pdf by clicking below:
Matt. 7.24-27_Foundations, Faulty or Firm
Foundations, Faulty or Firm?
Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV)
Digging Deeper
The Bible has much to say about obedience. Take a few moments and look up these passages and discuss them together.
- Deuteronomy 5:29
- Psalm 1; 81:13
- John 14:15, 21
- Romans 2:13
- James 1:25
- Revelation 22:7
Digesting the Text
- Take a moment to compare the two characters of Jesus’ parable. What is similar between each? What sets them apart from one another?
- It takes hard work and extra time to dig beneath the surface and build a house on the rock instead of the sand. What are some ways that you prefer the “easy way” in your Christianity? Are there corners that you might cut in your obedience?
- No one likes to think of themselves as “deceived” and having built on sand instead of stone. What are some sandy foundations that you have seen in your own life or in the lives of others?
- This current crisis is not the final storm but it is a good opportunity for us to check our foundation. How has this season encouraged you to examine your obedience to Jesus and your relationship with him, with his word, with his church?
- Take a moment of honesty and vulnerability. Are there commands of Christ that you do not like or that you find difficult to obey? How can you come together as a family or a group of friends to support each other in these known areas of weakness?
- How does the gospel’s message that Jesus’s perfect obedience and not our disobedience or incomplete obedience will be the firm foundation for all those who have put their faith in Jesus motivate you to be more obedient instead of less?
Read more
Week 15 – God’s Beauty
Psalm 27:4 (ESV)
What?
How?
Who?
Read more