Group Guide
This Week's City 7:
2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
Ice-Breaker:
- Anyone still sticking with their New Year's resolution?
Scripture
Jude 1
14 Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones 15 to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
14 Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones 15 to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Discussion Questions:
- Jude, again, gives us a warning. The Day of the Lord is coming! Jesus will return to judge all the ungodly, the apostates, those that have rejected Jesus. There are many reasons people choose to reject Jesus. Some think it costs too much and aren't willing to pay the price. Some will decide it's not worth it due to persecution. Some love the pleasures of this world too much. And some are self-deceived, thinking they are saved but are not true followers. Who do you know in your life that fits in one of these categories? Have any of these described you in the past?
- Many today will claim that Jesus came only to love, not to judge. Judgement is an Old Testament thing. The New Testament Jesus was all about mercy, grace, love and inclusion. But not so fast! John 12:47 says, "I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it." But you have to keep reading! Because verse 48 says, "But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken." Do you have trouble recognizing both sides of Christ's character? How can we reconcile having a Savior that came to BOTH save and also to judge? What are the dangers of leaning too heavily on one side or the other?
- Scripture makes it clear that the day is coming when EVERY person that rejected Jesus, without exception, will face ultimate judgement and punishment.. This judgement will be PERSONAL. Everything that has been hidden will be on display for all to see. It will be a PERFECT judgement, because God is fair and just. Unlike today's justice system, there will be no wrongful convictions. He is omnipresent and sees everything, so He is the best possible eye-witness. He is omniscient, knowing even thoughts and motives. He has a complete and detailed inventory of everyone's lives, a record of every time they said no to Jesus. There will be no defense, only prosecution. No jury, only a Judge. No appeal because the judgement will be final. There will be no parole because the sentence will be PERMANENT. How should these facts affect the way we live today? Knowing this, how could we not warn others?
- Judgement is real, but the good news for believers, true followers of Jesus, is that we won't face judgement. Yes, we'll stand before Jesus to give an account of our lives, but it will be for the purpose of reward, not condemnation. We'll stand before the Bema seat of Christ to determine the measure of the reward that we will receive in the age to come. So then, while the ungodly should AGONIZE over this day, we can look forward with ANTICIPATION. The true believers will receive and ETERNAL CROWN, while the others will receive ETERNAL CONDEMNATION. How much are you looking forward to this day? How can we live our lives focused more on the Day of the Lord and not just the worries of today? What would the results be if we did?
- On Sunday, we were left with two questions. First, Are you GOING? In other words, are you headed for heaven? Are you 100% sure that you will be found among the faithful on that last day? And the second question is, who's GOING WITH you? This requires that we first do a personal inventory to make sure our hearts are right with God. But then, who in our lives needs what we have? Who can you be praying for? Who can you be actively pursuing? What are you going to do about it?
Prayer Topics:
- That we would look forward to the day of judgement.
- That our hearts would break for the lost around us.
- That God would give us opportunities to share Jesus.
No Comments