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Interacting with the Sermon
Synopsis
of the Sermon
Rich Nathan preached this weekend on the
danger of ignoring the warning signs of sin by using the life of Cain as an
example of what not to do. In the verses
from Genesis, God clearly warned Cain that sin was “crouching at [his] door”
but Cain brushed aside the impending disaster and ended up destroying his life
and lives of those around him by killing his brother Abel. Rich challenged us to reflect on our own
lives for warning signs. He gave several
concrete examples of signs to look for.
First, is there any person or people group that we view as being below
us in importance - an ex-spouse, an in-law, a parent, or sibling? Perhaps we are overlooking a people group
such as people of another class, race, or religion? Secondly, we were warned against feelings of
entitlement that result in bitterness when God doesn’t respond to us in ways we
feel deserving of. We were encouraged to
instead, approach God with spiritual emptiness and remember that by saying we
are followers of Jesus, we are saying that we understand that everything we
receive from God is entirely based upon grace.
Pure, sheer, unmerited favor that opposes the concepts of legalistic
religion. In fact, Jesus’ death on the
cross spoke forgiveness and wiped away all ideas that we must somehow earn
God’s favor.
In
5 minutes or less, briefly give a synopsis of this week’s sermon. What insight, principle, or observation from
this weekend’s message did you find to be most helpful, eye-opening, or
troubling? Explain.
Getting the Conversation Started
These
questions can be used as ice-breakers in the beginning OR interwoven between
the questions below to draw the group into the discussion.
·
What are one
or two things from this weekend’s sermon that really stood out to you?
·
Share a piece
of advice you received as a child/young adult?
·
Did you follow
the advice? If so, how did following the
advice benefit? What are ways you/others
could have been harmed by not following the advice?
Scripture Study
Study
Goal: By the end of this study, you will have discussed the instructions Paul gives
followers of Jesus and how Jesus paved the way for obedience and service so
that the message of God’s forgiveness, grace, and love would show itself to be
extravagant. If we choose the way of
Cain, we choose to kill with our actions and words. On the Contrary, if we choose the way of
Jesus, we choose to die to ourselves with our actions and our words. By the end, you will have asked God, “In what
ways I have chosen the ways of Cain and how can begin choosing your way, the
way of Jesus?” The way of Jesus is the
way of grace.
Context: Around 60 A.D.,
Paul was imprisoned in Rome
for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
He spent 2 years waiting for his trial and during this time, he wrote
the letter to the Philippians. Chapter 2
is the centerpiece of the entire letter.
It focuses on the mindset of Christ; therefore, explaining Paul’s
attitude up to this point and why he is encouraging the church to continue
strong in humility. Two major themes of
this text are 1. unity and 2. having joy in suffering. He explains the foundation of these qualities
as coming from Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Just as Jesus will be exalted to the highest
place, Paul has confidence that by following Jesus’s obedience, there will be
reward; furthermore, they have every reason to be glad and rejoice.
Read Philippians 2:1-18 (TNIV)
1 Therefore if
you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from
his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and
compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having
the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out
of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above
yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to
the interests of the others.
5 In your
relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus
had:
6 Who, being in
very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a human being,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a human being,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God
exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Do Everything Without Grumbling
12 Therefore,
my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now
much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and
trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in
order to fulfill his good purpose. 14 Do
everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become
blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked
generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars
in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I
will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the
sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of
you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
·
- What is the general attitude of this passage?
- Vv. 1-5, What advice does Paul give to the church in Philippi?
- Vv. 6-11, How do his encouragements and warnings reflect the ministry of Jesus?
- V 8, What actions did Jesus take out of obedience?
- From the Bible, we know that God often uses the “nothings” of the world to fulfill His purpose, such as in the cases of Abel, David, and Paul. How does God’s preference for the “nothings” of the world point to Jesus?
- How might approaching God with a feeling of entitlement contrast with the way Jesus approached the throne of God?
- V 12, What effects has being “united with Christ” had on your life?
- V 12, How is performance based salvation different from what Paul means by “work out your salvation with fear and trembling?” Fear of what?
- V 13, What are God’s purposes for his children?
- V 14, Paul says to do everything without “grumbling or arguing.” How is holy submission different from being a push-over?
- How does following this advice benefit us? How does it benefit others? How does it give glory to God?
Ministry Application
Below
you’ll see some options for ministry time with your group. We always encourage
you to reserve time in your group to pray for one another and wait on the Holy
Spirit.
•
Ask God how
you may be ignoring warning signs for disaster– try to share openly and
honestly with a few others about where things are REALLY at.
•
Is there
anyone who feels you have ignored warning signs in the past and now you are
suffering the effects of this? Perhaps
this makes you feel a loss of hope. Be
encouraged, there is hope for every human being even for those who have rushed
through the warning signs.
•
Ask yourselves, is there anyone who has become
a nothing to you? An ex-spouse, an
in-law, parent, sibling? Is there a
people group that has become a nothing to you?
Pray that God would allow you to see people whom you have overlooked as
people?
•
How is
obedience to Christ going for you? Are
you experiencing opposition? Take time
to pray for one another.
•
How often do
you pray for unity in your life? Is
there anyone you feel disconnected from and therefore temptation grumble and
argue?
•
The idea of
joy in suffering is counter intuitive to this world. If you are suffering, god wants to minister
to you and show you His comfort and love.
God wants to give you faith in the difficulty. God wants for you to trust him
completely.
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