Group Guide
This Week's City 7:
1. Who is Jesus? I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
Ice-Breaker:
- Which of you wouldn't survive without calendars, to-do lists and reminders?
Scripture
2 Peter 3
This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. 2 I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles.
3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”
5 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. 6 Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. 7 And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.
8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. 2 I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles.
3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”
5 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. 6 Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. 7 And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.
8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
Discussion Questions:
- In chapter 3 of 2 Peter, he is talking about what is to come... the Day of the Lord. His stated purpose is to refresh our memory of the gospel. He wants us to not forget! Unless we actively try to remember, our tendency will be to forget. He says in verse 3 that, in the last days, many WILL forget and follow their own desires. No matter how long we have been growing in our faith, we need to recall and preach the gospel to ourselves over and over again. We need to remember the cross, the resurrection and the coming in glory of our Lord and Savior. Are you one that tends to forget? Take for granted? What can we do to remind ourselves of the powerful truths of the gospel?
- In verse 8, Peter reminds us of the flood when God destroyed the world. Likewise, a day of FIRE is coming... a day of judgement. The present heaven and earth and all the ungodly people have an appointment with the fire of God's holy judgement. Are you living now as if God has not set the day and the hour of this great judgement? If we lived with this judgement in mind, how would it change the way we live? Our priorities?
- As Noah built the ark, the ungodly went about their day as if nothing were coming, as if nothing would change. They even mocked him in the process. Think about the people in your life that don't know Him. Think about the fact that they are headed straight for the fire of judgement, all the while living their lives for themselves as if it has no consequences. Who do you, like Noah tried to do, need to warn of the coming Day of the Lord? Who do you need to be praying for and trying to reach for Jesus?
- As Christians, we long for His return! It's easy to get impatient. What is he waiting for? How much worse could this world get? But in verse 9, Peter explains to us how patient God is being in the timing of His return. God isn't slow. He's not asleep. He doesn't want anyone to be destroyed! He wants everyone to repent and return to Him! So He is being patient and merciful in his timing. How ready are you for His return? Do you live with expectation and longing?
- The DAY OF THE LORD, verse 10 says, will come like a thief in the night. It will be unexpected; a surprise. God will Judge the living and the dead. But this day will also be a day of regeneration! The destruction of sin and heaven and earth will bring about a new heaven, new earth and new bodies for those that are in Him. As fearful as this day sounds, it will be a cleansing ending to make possible an immediate new beginning... a new birth for all God's creation. This is why we, as Christians, can and should look forward to the day! Not because we are thirsty for judgement, but because we long for justice, when all is made right. The challenges from Sunday were to 1) wake up from our lethargy, 2) persevere until that day comes, and 3) preach about this day because of our brokenness over the lost. Which of these challenges hits the hardest? What is God asking of you?
Prayer Topics:
- That we would wake up!
- That we would preach the gospel.
- That we would wait with anticipation for the day of the Lord.
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