Community Group Questions

1. What did you learn from the message on Sunday?

2. What was your initial reaction when Pastor Cory said, ‘We should not be wearing masks as Christians’? What sort of mask was he referring to in light of Matthew 6:1-18?

3. What were the Pharisee’s doing that Jesus tells us we should not be doing? (See vv. 2, 5, 16).

4. What are some of the subtle ways that we seek the applause of others? Why do we have this insidious desire to be seen and praised by others?

5. How does Jesus want his disciples to give, pray, fast and do any spiritual practice? (See vv.3-4, 6, 17-18).

6. Jesus tells his disciples that they should give, pray and fast ‘in secret’. Does this mean we should not give, pray or fast at all in the open where others could see us? For example, are we not supposed to pray in front of others in a group? What is the intention of Jesus’ teaching about doing things in secret?