Becoming Extraordinary Followers of Jesus Christ - Sparta Evangelical Free Church

Becoming Extraordinary Followers of Jesus Christ: #7 Kingdom Focused (Colossians 3:1-4)

April 21, 2024 • Pastor Doug Thuen • Colossians 3:1–4

Becoming Extraordinary Followers of Jesus Christ / #7 Kingdom Focused April 21, 2024 Colossians 3:1-4 Study Questions 1. Read Colossians 3:1-4. Discuss the implications of being raised with Christ. (See also Romans 6:3-11; Romans 8:11; Philippians 3:20-21.) 2. What does “set your mind on things above” look like in the daily life of a Christ-follower? (See also Romans 12:2.) What does this look like in your personal walk with the Lord Jesus? 3. What are things you need to constantly “set aside” in order to “set your mind on things above”? (See also Colossians 3:5-9.) 4. How is your life “hidden in Christ”? Identify the theological truths about this statement. Discuss any other passages of scripture that may apply. 5. How does verse 4 affect the way we as Christ-followers ought to live every day? 6. Discuss the following points regarding being Kingdom-focused and what they look like practically in your life: a. Live for the Future b. Live in Community c. Live with Expectancy d. Live on Mission

Becoming Extraordinary Followers of Jesus Christ: #6 Prayerfully Driven

April 14, 2024 • Pastor Doug Thuen

Becoming Extraordinary Followers of Jesus Christ / Prayerfully Driven April 14,2024 Nehemiah 1:5-11; Acts 4:23-31 Study Questions 1. What is your understanding of the purpose of prayer? Use Scripture to support your answer(s). 2. What do you find most difficult or frustrating in your prayer life? 3. What is the difference between self-focused prayer and God-focused prayer? Why/Why not? How can you redirect your self-focused prayers to focus on God’s will and desires? 4. In the Bible we see many examples of individuals who were extraordinary in their prayer lives. Identify how 1) praying God’s character 2) praying God’s will and 3) praying Scripture are evidenced and expressed in the following passages: a. Nehemiah 1:5-11 b. Exodus 32:11-14 c. 1 Kings 8:22-56 d. Acts 4:23-31 5. How can you begin to integrate the attributes listed in question 4 into your prayer life? Without being rote, how has this study challenged you in your prayer life? How do you think these scriptural principles will help you pray? 6. Identify various passage of Scripture that you can apply as you pray for your needs and the needs of others. Use the following as a guide to God-focused prayer this week: a. Monday | Praying for your Christian brother/sister: Philippians 1:8-11 b. Tuesday | Praying for hope: Psalm 71:14-21 c. Wednesday | Praying praise and adoration: Nehemiah 9:5-6 d. Thursday | Praying for forgiveness: Psalm 32:1-5 e. Friday | Praying for deliverance: 2 Samuel 22:1-7 f. Saturday | Praying for mercy: Psalm 119:145-149 g. Sunday | Praying for the lost: 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Easter Sunday | Adopted by God (Galatians 4:1-11)

March 31, 2024 • Pastor Doug Thuen • Galatians 4:1–11

Adopted by God / Easter 2024 March 31, 2024 Study Questions Galatians 4:1-11 1. Read Galatians 4:1-2. In what way(s) are the slave and the master’s child the same? Before the Galatians believed in Jesus, how were they like slaves? (4:3) 2. Why was it necessary for God the Son to be born under the Law? (4:4-5) 3. How did the believers benefit by becoming part of God’s family? (4:5) Describe what this promise means to you. 4. How does the Holy Spirit allow believers to address God now? (4:6) 5. Identify some of the benefits of being an heir in God’s family. (4:7) 6. To what were the Galatians enslaved before becoming Christians? (4:8) After they became believers, how did the Galatians turn back to their paganism? What were the ‘weak and worthless elementary things’ Paul was referencing (4:9-10)? What lesson(s) can you apply from this text?

Becoming Extraordinary Followers of Jesus Christ: #5 Secure (Psalm 46)

March 24, 2024 • Pastor Doug Thuen • Psalm 46

Becoming Extraordinary Followers of Jesus Christ / #5 Secure March 24, 2024 Study Questions Psalm 46 1. In what ways do you feel like our world is being turned upside down? 2. What does verse 1 teach us about the Lord? How is He described? 3. What’s being described in verses 2-3? What does this Psalm promise in those situations? How can we redirect our fears into hope? 4. Read verses 4-7. What does this passage offer the person who trusts in the Lord? Can we claim the same promises as Christ-followers today? 5. Read verses 8-11. How does this passage teach us about the sovereignty of God? When you look at the instability of nations around the world today, what security do we have according to this Psalm? (See also 2 Chronicles 20:1-30.) 6. When you look back at the COVID-19 pandemic, did you live in fear, or did you find the Lord to be your safety and strength? Explain. 7. How do you as a Christ-follower find security in the Lord, especially in trials? How does this Psalm help you going forward in your walk with Christ? (See Genesis 32:24-30; Romans 5:10; John 10:29 and 17:15; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; Ephesians 6:13.) 8. In what ways can you specifically take refuge in God right now in your life?

Becoming Extraordinary Followers of Jesus Christ: #4 Investing in Others

March 17, 2024

Becoming Extraordinary Followers of Jesus Christ / #4: Investing in Others March 17,2024 Study Questions John 1:35-51 1. Who were, or are, the people in your life who have influenced you the most in your walk with Jesus? 2. What was John the Baptist’s message and how did his disciples respond to that message? Why do you think Andrew and Phillip were so ready to follow Jesus? 3. What did Jesus mean when he asked, “What do you seek?” Why do you think He asked that question? Personalize it - what are you seeking? What do you think your friends and family are seeking? 4. According to John 1:38-39, what is so significant about the disciples asking Him where He was staying, and what was so significant about Jesus’ answer? Why is ‘life on life’ discipleship so imperative when it comes to disciple-making? [See also 1 Corinthians 11:1 and 2 Timothy 2:2.] 5. What relationship did John the Baptist and Andrew both have in leading Peter to Christ? What role did they each have in God’s sovereign plan? 6. Similarly to Andrew, what was the first thing Phillip did after following Jesus (John 1:44-46)? What did Phillip mean by the statement ‘come and see’ (notice it was the same answer as Jesus in verse 39)? 7. What is so striking about how Jesus answered both Peter and Nathanael? What does this teach you about the sovereignty of God in light of our role in sharing the gospel with others? What makes it hard for you to share Christ with others in your life? How does this account encourage you when it comes to investing in others with the gospel? 8. Read Matthew 25:13-30. What do we learn about the urgency of investing in others with the gospel? What does this urgency look like in your life? 9. Reflect on how you became a disciple of Jesus. Which of these early disciples can you relate to the most? Why?

Becoming Extraordinary Followers of Jesus Christ: #3 Joy Filled

March 10, 2024 • Pastor Doug Thuen • Psalm 30:10–12

Becoming Extraordinary Followers of Jesus Christ / #3: Joy-Filled March 10, 2024 Psalm 30:11-12 Study Questions 1. Do you find it easy to be full of joy, or do you tend to let your circumstances rob you of joy? Explain. 2. Discuss the difference between happiness and joy. Read 1 Samuel 2:1, Psalms 40:16 and 51:12, Isaiah 61:10, and Habakkuk 3:18. What do these passages teach us about the joy of the Lord? 3. Read John 15:9-11 and 17:13. According to the Lord Jesus, how is our joy made complete? 4. What does James 1:2-3 teach us about the relationship between joy and trials? What is our responsibility in this as Christ-followers? What makes it difficult for you to retain joy in adversity? 5. What was the hard circumstance in each of the following passages, and how was each person able to obtain joy? Genesis 21:1-6; Exodus 15:1-3; Isaiah 35:10; Acts 16:16-40; 3 John 1:4. 6. Read Psalm 30:11-12. What hope is there in this passage? How does this passage bring you specific comfort today? 7. What can you do this week to embrace the joy of the Lord?

Becoming Extraordianry Followers of Jesus Christ: #2 Trusting

February 18, 2024 • Pastor Doug Thuen • Hebrews 11:1, Matthew 14:22–33

1. Read Matthew 14:22-27. What strikes you about the disciples’ response? How would you have responded? Why? 2. Read Matthew 14:28-29. What was it that allowed Peter to experience walking on water? How does this lesson challenge your faith and trust in what the Lord can do? 3. Read Matthew 14:30-33. Why was Peter frightened? What was the outcome? How did Jesus respond to Peter’s fear? What are some things outside of your control that can cause you to fear and to doubt God’s ability to fulfill His purpose in your life? 4. Compare the difference between living in fear and living by faith as God’s child. 5. Compare the difference between having faith that God ‘will’ and having faith that God ‘can’. What faith do we see in the Centurion in Matthew 8:5-10 and in the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10? 6. What are some ways that we as the church family can practice actively trusting in the Lord’s leading? What is your part in that? 7. What are some things in your life currently in which you need to actively trust in the Lord’s leading? What does that look like? 8. Learning from our study, according to verse 33, how can our lives reflect a worshipful response when God does the impossible?

Becoming Extraordinary Followers of Jesus Christ: #1 Teachable (Acts 18:24-28)

February 11, 2024 • Pastor Doug Thuen • Acts 18:24–28

Becoming Extraordinary Followers of Jesus Christ / #1: Teachable February 11, 2024 Acts 18:24-28 Study Questions 1. Read Acts 18:24–28. What do we learn about Apollos’ background? What makes that so significant in this account? 2. Describe each of the qualities that made Apollos so unique and qualified to teach. 3. Verse 25 explains that Apollos was acquainted only with the baptism of John. Given his background and knowledge, what do you think that means? 4. Verse 26 indicates that Priscilla and Aquila “explained to him the way of God more accurately”. What do you think they told him? (How would you hope they approached him?) What did he still need to learn? Biblical scholars debate whether Apollos was a believer in Christ or just needed further clarification in the gospel. What do you think? Does it matter? Why? 5. According to verses 27 through 28 what picture do these verses give us of how Apollos received teaching from Priscilla and Aquila? 6. What can we learn about being teachable as a Christ follower? What are some things that could get in the way of us having a teachable spirit? 7. Look up the following passages describing what it means to be receptive to learning from others: 1 Peter 5:5; Proverbs 9:9; Proverbs 19:20; 1 Corinthians 2:13–14; Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:11-13. In what ways do these passages challenge you? 8. Take this ‘Am I Teachable’ quiz. Which question was hardest for you to answer honestly? - Do I ask questions or do I find myself only offering input? - Do I find that I “most often” know more than others on a subject/ passage? - Do the people closest to me express frustration that I’m not listening to them? - Do I react defensively to criticism, or do I listen openly for truth? 9. Consider these other examples in the Word of God of someone having a teachable spirit (Peter receiving instruction from Paul, David receiving instruction from Nathan). Can you think of others? 10. Which quiz question was hardest for you to answer honestly, or which scripture(s) need to be brought into your prayer time with the Lord in coming days? May we all become more teachable as we follow Christ!