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:
What show/movie/commercial makes you cry? Any closet criers in the group? What does it take to move you to tears?
Discussion Questions:
- We see two different responses to Jesus in these verses from both the religious and the irreligious. First, we see Simon the Pharisee, and then the immoral woman. Jesus calls out Simon's attitude towards the immoral woman. Simon calls her a sinner... implying that he ISN'T a sinner. Ha! The first point from Sunday's sermon was, "Those who have been forgiven much FORGIVE much." In other words, since God has been patient and gracious with us, we should do the same for each other. Some of us, like Simon, have very little patience and are slow to forgive others because we think we've been forgiven only a little. We, in our own self-righteousness, condemn others and isolate ourselves from them. Have you ever been guilty of this attitude? Are there relationships in your life where you need to extend a little more grace?
- The second point was, "Those who have been forgiven much LOVE much." The immoral woman was so overcome with love for Jesus that she acted on it in an extraordinary way. Her actions were considered abnormal, inappropriate and over the top. She was so desperate to get close to Christ that she was willing to humiliate herself in front of everyone. How would you describe YOUR love for Jesus? Is there emotion and passion in your worship of him? Do you pour your heart out to him in prayer? Is your heart moved with affection and love for God? Have you ever shed a tear because you were overwhelmed by all that God has done for you? If not, could it be that we tend to forget what we've been forgiven of? How much grace he's shown us?
- The woman in this story uses her expensive perfume (one year's salary), her eyes and her hair as instruments of worship. The ladies in chapter 8 that followed Jesus gave to the ministry of Jesus out of their own pockets. Those who truly enter into the community of believers are not just spectators to ministry. Rather, they use their gifts and resources in service to Jesus. Some of us give little of ourselves because we think we've been forgiven little. When you evaluate your own life, how generous are you with your time? Your money? Your heart? Your talents? In which area do you tend to be the least generous?
- When we are faithful to attend church and read our Bible and check off all the spiritual boxes, we can tend to slide into a kind of self-righteous thinking like we are "good" people. But the truth is, we owe a debt that could never be repaid. We are the one in the parable that had the larger debt. Because of our sin, we have infinitely offended an infinitely holy and righteous God. We have sinned much! But because of God's love for us and our faith in Jesus, our sins were forgiven. We fail to realize that Jesus didn't die for us to simply give us a better life. He died so we could go from death to life. He literally saved our lives, saved us from an eternal death. How should remembering these truths affect the way we look at others? How might it change our level of passion for serving the one who saved us? How do we keep this truth in front of us on a daily basis?
- The big idea on Sunday was, "What we DISPENSE is a reflection of what we have RECEIVED." God has dispensed shovel-fulls of grace, mercy, love and forgiveness. So how could we dispense to others with a spoon? We need to learn to dispense as we have received. Shovel receivers are shovel dispensers. What are some ways we can start to dish out shovel-fulls of grace, mercy, love and forgiveness to others? Who in our lives need this from us? Is there someone that has only been getting spoonfuls and we need to make it right? Your spouse? Your kids? A coworker or family member? Make a plan to shovel out some grace!
Prayer Topics:
- That we would forgive, love and give MUCH because we have been forgiven much.
- That we would be quick to realize when we are only giving spoon-fulls.
- That we would look for opportunities to shovel out the love and grace.
1 Comment
Amen!