Group Guide

February 19th, 2023

This Week's City 7:

7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)

Ice-Breaker:

What has been your most public, most embarrassing moment?

Discussion Questions:

Have someone read Luke 14:7-24 aloud.

In ancient Jewish culture, honor and shame were a huge deal. Who you knew and what parties you were invited to meant everything about your worth and identity. After seeing everyone clamoring for the best seats at the table, Jesus gives everyone a warning. He basically tells them that it's better to humble yourself than it is to be humbled by God. He then scolds the host for only inviting people that can do something for him in return. That's what their society was based on... an intricate web of who you know and what they can do for you to help you move up the social ladder. Do you ever notice this tendency in yourself? How often are you serving people that can't do anything for you in return?
In Jesus' parable, he described people making excuses and rejecting the invitation of the master. These excuses were especially flimsy and weak. An excuse is nothing more than the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie. This brought great dishonor to the master. The picture here is of people that make silly excuses in order to reject the Gospel. But we, even as believers, often do the same thing. Maybe not in the rejection of our Savior, but in the mishandling of our priorities. How many things in our lives take precedence over Jesus and his Word? How many events are we less likely to miss than church? How easy is it to talk yourself out of things that you know are good for building your faith?
The first takeaway from Sunday was that humility is INEVITABLE. You WILL be humbled. It's not a matter of IF, but WHEN. Pride is at the root of almost any sin you commit. It's basically idolatry, putting YOU on the throne of God in your life. He is committed to humbling the proud and exalting the humble. It's a major Kingdom principle. Can you think of a time in your own life when God allowed you to fall or disciplined you resulting in a lesson in humility?
Next, humility is ESSENTIAL. If we're going to be like Jesus, walking in humility is a must. How do we accomplish this? By living in light of the Gospel. When you keep yourself reminded of all you've been forgiven of, what he did for you that you could not do for yourself, that you could not earn, that you cannot repay; when you fully embrace the Gospel of Jesus, the byproduct is humility. But this runs counter to our culture, even in the church. We are not called to exalt ourselves or clamor for position and power. We're called to die to ourselves and submit to him. Pride is something that's extremely easy to see in other people, but almost impossible to see in the mirror. Take a minute to self-assess. Do you see any indications of pride in your life? When was the last time you confessed sin or a mistake to someone instead of hiding it? Do you tend to be short-tempered, easily offended or unforgiving? What does the fruit of your life say?
Finally, humility is an INVITATION for God to move in your marriage, your family, and our church. God can't do much with a heart that's hardened with pride... except to break it. But there is no limit to what he can do with a heart that is fully surrendered to him. Spend some extra time at the close of this meeting to pray and ask God to move in your marriages, in your parenting, in your relationships, in your jobs, in your finances, in our group, in our church. Invite him in and ask him to take control.

Prayer Topics:

That we would humble ourselves daily.
That we would serve those who can't do anything for us in return.
That we would live in light of the Gospel.
That God would do something in and through us as we humble ourselves before him.

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