Group Guide

September 25th, 2022

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)

Ice-Breaker:

Do you ever feel like your life is out of control? Kids activities, pick up lines, work schedules... anyone else need a vacation from being a grownup?

Discussion Questions:

Have someone read Luke 10:38-42 aloud.

In any relationship, the craziness and busyness of life can wreak havoc. It's true with marriage relationships, friendships, and even our relationship with God. We have to intentionally fight the plate-spinning of life and choose something better. How do you balance work/kids/sports and still prioritize your relationship with your spouse? With God? Any tips to share with everyone else?
In chapter 10 of Luke we see a disagreement between Mary and Martha and what they thought was important in the moment. Some of you are like Martha... type A, driven, check lists and spreadsheets. Others are like Mary... more social, laid back, relationship oriented. These differences can lead us to wrongly judge each other's intentions. Which do you think you are? Which way do you lean?
Jesus declares that Mary has "chosen the better thing." Yes, Martha was doing important things, but Mary chose the best thing... to worship Jesus. Martha assumed her priorities were right and Mary's were wrong. But like the church in Ephesus that Jesus rebuked in Revelation, Martha had forgotten her first love. Clayton shared this quote from Navigators on Sunday... "When your output exceeds your input, your upkeep becomes your downfall." In your own words, what does this quote mean to you? How do you make sure your input stays ahead of your output?
SERVING is great but SITTING is BETTER. WORKING is great but WORSHIP is BETTER. GOING is great but GRACE is BETTER. Martha also wanted to hear Jesus, but the tyranny of the urgent prevented her from doing this. She was a slave to many things. Clayton's takeaway on Sunday was, "Your commitment to the ONE THING will enable you to be a MASTER OVER and not a SLAVE UNDER the MANY THINGS. This is why God's best for us includes a Sabbath. Sabbath is rest from work, producing, going, effort, etc. Sabbath is a reminder that our work will remain incomplete. Sabbath is a reminder that presence is better than production. Sabbath is a reminder that we are not God. Sabbath is a reminder of the deeper rest we need in Christ. Sabbath is a reminder that the relationship is the reward. How are you doing at taking a Sabbath? How often are you spending that Sabbath choosing what is best?
So what's the solution? We need to be like Mary, but work still has to get done, right? We must find a balance. Clayton suggested that we worship like Mary and then work like Martha. We need Mary's heart and Martha's hands. We all get stressed out and run down. We must get better at taking a breath and sitting at the feet of Jesus. What do your priorities look like? Is your schedule running you or are you running your schedule? Do you need to plan for more Jesus time every day? What step do you need to take to make a change?

Prayer Topics:

That we would choose what is best.
That we would worship like Mary and work like Martha.
That we would make Sabbath a priority.

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