Let Us Run With Endurance: A Series for the Weary from Hebrews 12
Sermon Series from November 2020
An Unusual Encouragement
November 22, 2020 • Josh Mathews
Sermon Application Questions: 1. Has there been a time or season in life where you've joyfully welcomed discipline in a particular area? [e.g., sports, career, diet, exercise, personal growth, etc]. If so, why were you happy to have discipline? 2. Why is God's discipline a good thing? How can it help a follower of Jesus kill sin and grow in holiness? 3. When hard things come into your life, what do you instinctively think and believe about God? Choose one of the options below and share why you feel that way. I believe he's distant, forgotten, and uninvolved I believe he's punishing you for something you did I believe he's a loving Father disciplining you for holiness and eternal reward Something else? 4. Have you experienced God's discipline? If so, what was it like? If not, what do you think it would be like? 5. Is God's discipline a welcomed category in your life? Why or why not?
Grateful for an Unshakeable Kingdom
November 29, 2020 • Brett Wendle
Sermon Application Questions - 11/29/2020: 1. Verses 18-21 and 22-24 depict two different ways to encounter God. What does each emphasize about what God is like? What effect do you think God wants vv. 22-24 to have on us after first reading vv. 18-21? 2. There is a tension in this passage; on the one hand, God wants his people to have assurance of his acceptance; v. 22 says that his people have already come to all the realities he lists in vv. 22-24. On the other hand, he warns that if they refuse God’s voice, there will be no escape for them (v. 25). How should we hold these truths together? How does 3:12-14 help us understand this? 3. V. 25 warns us not to refuse God’s voice. Is there any area of your life in which you are falling short of believing what God has promised or doing what he has commanded? How can your Gospel Community pray for you in this area? 4. V. 28 says that ‘acceptable worship’ is both 'grateful' and marked by ‘reverence and awe.’ Do you find that either gratitude or awe come more naturally to you in your relationship with God? How can you cultivate the one that seems less characteristic of you?
Grateful for an Unshakeable Kingdom
November 29, 2020 • Brett Wendle
Sermon Application Questions 1. Verses 18-21 and 22-24 depict two different ways to encounter God. What does each emphasize about what God is like? What effect do you think God wants vv. 22-24 to have on us after first reading vv. 18-21? 2. There is a tension in this passage; on the one hand, God wants his people to have assurance of his acceptance; v. 22 says that his people have already come to all the realities he lists in vv. 22-24. On the other hand, he warns that if they refuse God’s voice, there will be no escape for them (v. 25). How should we hold these truths together? How does 3:12-14 help us understand this? 3. V. 25 warns us not to refuse God’s voice. Is there any area of your life in which you are falling short of believing what God has promised or doing what he has commanded? How can your Gospel Community pray for you in this area? 4. V. 28 says that ‘acceptable worship’ is both 'grateful' and marked by ‘reverence and awe.’ Do you find that either gratitude or awe come more naturally to you in your relationship with God? How can you cultivate the one that seems less characteristic of you?
An Unusual Encouragement
November 22, 2020 • Josh Mathews
Sermon Application Questions 1. Has there been a time or season in life where you've joyfully welcomed discipline in a particular area? [e.g., sports, career, diet, exercise, personal growth, etc]. If so, why were you happy to have discipline? 2. Why is God's discipline a good thing? How can it help a follower of Jesus kill sin and grow in holiness? 3. When hard things come into your life, what do you instinctively think and believe about God? Choose one of the options below and share why you feel that way. -- I believe he's distant, forgotten and uninvolved -- I believe he's punishing you for something you did -- I believe he's a loving Father disciplining you for holiness and eternal reward -- Something else? 4. Have you experienced God's discipline? If so, what was it like? If not, what do you think it would be like? 5. Is God's discipline a welcomed category in your life? Why or why not?
Looking to Jesus
November 15, 2020 • Brett Wendle
Sermon Application Questions: 1. Are you aware of any weariness (12:3) in your life, whether weariness of body or soul? How is your weariness affecting your spiritual life? 2. We can be hindered in the 'race' of faith by both 'weight' and 'sin' (12:1). Are there any 'weights' in your life, things that are not inherently sinful but are consuming time and energy you could otherwise devote to knowing and serving God? What change do you want to make in that area of life? 3. Are there sins that you are particularly struggling with right now, that regularly trip you up as you follow Jesus? What does repentance look like for you? What are some ways your group could serve you as you seek to walk in obedience? 4. Jesus is right now seated in the presence of God, interceding for his people (12:2, 7:25). What are some specific differences that truth makes in our daily lives? As you remember that he sits on a throne of grace, ready to help us in time of need (4:16), what help do you need right now?