Questions from Sunday 5-24-09: Luke 10:4-11

You can listen/download the talk here

1.) Do you feel like you have a kingdom?  A domain where you make the rules etc.?  What does your domain communicate?

2.) The message that is given to those sent out is "The Kingdom of God is near".  We talked about the present and future aspects of that message.  Are either of those aspects more difficult for you to embrace or believe at times?  Does either aspect bring you more comfort?  What is the importance of both?

3.) We talked about the importance of the medium and the message.  Can you think of any examples in your personal history (in or out of church) where the medium undermined or did not match the message?

4Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road….7Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you

4.) What do you think about the importance of dependence in the way we are living out of the message?  Why was it important to Christ's message that he came to earth so dependent?  Why is it for us?

7Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages

5.) What about the importance of having an open table/sacrificing our ideas of who is clean and unclean?  How was it a pivotal part of what Jesus communicated about the Kingdom?

Do not move around from house to house.

6.) Why is it a necessary part of the message to not spend your life "shopping for a better deal"?  Why was the message of Jesus supported by his constant moving down the ladder of life?

8"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.'

7.) Why is healing so much a part of trying to communicate the idea that the kingdom of God is near?  What do you think "healing" looks like for you as a follower of Christ in the 21st century?

' 10But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.'

8.) Why is it necessary to respect when people we encounter say no to the message?  Why is it important that the message does not change even when that happens.

Questions from Sunday Nights talk

If you weren't able to make it out on Sunday night we have posted the talk on our podcast page here. 

Here are some questions which can hopefully keep our discussions going a little while.

1.) As a Christ follower do you tend to view yourself as someone who is preparing the way for the work God is still going to do, or only as someone who reflects on the work Christ did?  What difference would it make to see your role, in part, as preparing the way for what is still to come?

2.) It was mentioned that we are called to be a glimpse of the coming Kingdom (or a tremor/firstfruit).  Name some people, places, or times you have experienced that served as that glimpse for you?

3.) Talk some about your struggles or successes with trying to be a "firstfruit" in your life. (at work, in our family, with your friends etc.)

"Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves"
(Luke 10:3)

4) What does this verse say to you?  What do you think it means practically for us?

5) We talked of being both "sent" into this world, and of being something different than the world.  Have you ever faulted on one side or the other of this tension?  Do you still struggle with it some? 

Questions from Sunday Night (5-11)

If you didn't get a chance to join us on Sunday night we have posted the talk here on our podcast page.  Here are some questions that will hopefully keep the conversation going.

1) we started by talking about the way we "speed limit" certain things, which is to say that we try and dance around the pretty obvious or direct meaning of something.  Can you think of anything in your life where if you were honest, you would say that you have definitely done this?

2) Read through these three stories again in Luke 9.  What is your initial impression of these stories?  What do you like about them, and which are ones that you don't get, or make you uncomfortable?

3) Jesus seems to want to the man in vs. 57-58 to understand the difficulties surrounding being a disciple.  Do you find the misconception that Jesus is here to make all of our dreams come true tempting?  Do you feel like it is prevalent?

4) Jesus' encounter with the next two men indicates that sometimes Jesus asks us to give up more than just "bad" things.  Have you ever felt that being a disciple has meant you needed to give up something religious in nature, or something that is considered expected and/or good?

5) Is there someone that you know or admire from afar that exhibits the qualities of costly discipleship.  (Their faith has cost them wealth, career advancement, reputation etc.)

6) How does this question sit with you, "Does following Christ cost you anything?"  (We do not want you making lists of the cost to prove anything to anyone) The basic point here is talk about the ramifications that question has for us as followers of Christ.

Questions from this past Sunday Night

Questions from Sunday Night's talk.  If you weren't able to join us on Sunday night then you can download it on our podcast page here. 

Here are some questions that will hopefully keep the conversations from Sunday going.

1.) Do you have any stories that relate to someone (maybe you) overreacting to being slighted by those perceived as being against them?

2.) In what ways do you see yourself as being like the disicples in the way they reacted in this story? 

3.) How do you think scripture relates to the way the disicples reacted?  Since they could have looked to their scripture to back up their conviction, what does this mean for us as we look to interpret scripture in the practice of our faith?

4.) Can you think of any examples that you have from your life, or that you have seen in Christianity in general that would constitute trying to "build God's kingdom using the world's tools"?