Group Guide

December 1st, 2024

This Week's City 7:

5. Why do I follow Jesus? I follow Jesus because Jesus rose from the dead proving that He is the way, the truth and the life.
(Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:6)

Ice-Breaker:

Have you ever had the chance to get backstage passes, be court-side or on the sideline for any major events?

Scripture:

Hebrews 10
19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Discussion Questions:

This is the beginning of Advent season. Advent is a season of waiting and preparation between now and Christmas, to focus our attention on the birth of Jesus, as well as focusing our attention on the return of the Messiah. We celebrate in the space between the two advents. Hebrews 10 tells us the reason we have to HOPE in this advent season. He tells us about the access that believers have into the Holy of Holies because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. He made a way where there was no way. So now can come come BOLDLY into His presence. Imagine approaching the throne of the God of universe with boldness! This is a NEW and LIVING way that Jesus created when the curtain was torn. The curtain is referring to the veil that separated the holy place from the MOST holy place in the temple. When Jesus died, that veil was torn from TOP to BOTTOM, signifying that the barrier between us and God had been removed. The veil was also torn from top to bottom, signifying that it was GOD that did this and not something that man is capable of doing. Talk about how amazing it is that you (the right now version of you, not some better, more cleaned up version of you) have been invited to approach God's throne with boldness? Do you take advantage of this access?
Next, the writer of Hebrews tell us to DRAW NEAR. We can "come right into" the presence of a Holy God. We can RUN into His presence and into the arms of a loving Father. This is what God wants us to do because He loves us. God wants an intimate, personal, daily relationship with you because that's what He paid to give you when He sent Jesus to die on a cross for you. Think about that... He died for YOU. Not just "the world" but for you, personally. When Jesus was on the cross, you were on His mind. He knew what He was buying that day. And He would do it all over again. How does this personal and unmatched act of love and grace make you feel? What should you do in response?
In verse 23, he tells us to HOLD FAST. We should hold unswervingly to the HOPE we affirm. In a culture that is running from Jesus and truth, He's telling us to hang on for dear life! Not to our salvation, because Jesus already accomplished that and we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God. But we should hold on the our HOPE that is found in Him. We must anchor ourselves into the truth of God's Word so that we don't drift with the waves and wind of this world. Think about being in a body of water, like the ocean, that has an under current. It's easy to get swept away with it, but it's very difficult to fight against it. That's what the writer of Hebrews is imploring us to do... to anchor down and fight against the current of the world. How do we know if we are fighting against the current or being swept up in it? How can we more intentionally fight to stay anchored?
Lastly, he tells us to encourage one another to acts of love and good works, and to not neglect meeting together. He's telling us that if we want to hold onto our faith and hope in what God has said He will do, we have to do it TOGETHER. The Kingdom of God is a WE not a ME. What has being involved in this community of believers, this City Group, done for your faith and growth in your relationship with God? Have you fully engaged in this community?
Because we live in between the two advents, the big idea on Sunday was that ADVENT is the ARRIVAL and ANTICIPATION of HOPE. It's the arrival of hope in the first coming of Jesus, and the anticipation of the hope to come when He returns to make all things new. This is where our attention as believers should be in our day to day lives... looking forward to and living for something bigger than ourselves, for HIS Kingdom and anchored to HIS promises. This is where our hope lies. When we put our hope in things that can't stand up under the weight (spouse, kids, career, money, etc) our lives will be full of anger, anxiety and unfulfillment. But when our hope is in Jesus and the promises of a faithful God, we can experience piece, joy and optimism even in the darkest of days. In what/whom is your hope? How do you know? Is there anything you need to tweak or change?

Prayer Topics:

That we would come boldly to the throne and draw near to God.
That we would encourage one another to hold fast.
That we would keep our eyes on the Author of our hope.

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