Questions for Sermon on
November 7-8

Thank you for joining us in our study of Luke. Our prayer is that each of you will follow the weekly readings and join together with others to discuss the questions sent to you each week in this email.  Look for our emails each Monday in preparation for the upcoming sermon the following weekend. For a PDF (printable) version of the Questions click here.

Our hope is that you will see God working in your life and in others around you and you will be able to take your next step in following Jesus.

1. How is God changing your life?

2. If you pray, what do you find yourself praying about most?

OBSERVE
3. Jesus’ life was characterized by continual prayer. What key events occur before, after, or during Jesus’ prayer time in the following passages:
Luke 3:21
Luke 6:12
Luke 9:18
Luke 9:28

REFLECT
4. Jesus’ mission was to usher in of the Kingdom of God. When Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, he teaches them to pray ‘your kingdom come.’ In the sermon Ben defines the Kingdom of God as “Right Relationships under God’s Gracious Rule.” Life under God’s gracious rule restores us to right relationship with God, heals our relationships with others, gives us purpose in our work, and corrects our view of ourselves. Using the diagram below, identify ways that you have experienced God’s healing, restoring work in one or more of the following areas:

5. Flip through the chapters of Luke that we have already read and jot down a few examples of Jesus ushering in the Kingdom of God as defined above. Where do you see Jesus restoring people to God, restoring relationships between people, healing people’s bodies and restoring a sense of purpose to their lives, and giving people dignity and a new identity?

6. Ben identified three characteristics of Kingdom prayer. Read both Luke’s account of the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:1-4) and Matthew’s account (Matthew 6:9-13), and identify phrases from the Lord’s Prayer that support each characteristic.

Kingdom Prayer is:
1) Grounded in Trusting Relationship
2) Radically God-Centered
3) Revolutionary (about God establishing his rule in such a way that all of life is made right)

7. Rewrite the Lord’s Prayer, capturing the themes in everyday language. Try to use words that could be understood by someone who had never read the bible, been to church, or heard anything about Christianity. Share your rewritten prayers with one another.

ACT
8. Each week we ask, “What is your next step in following Jesus?” This week identify one or two areas of your life that you would like to see God’s Kingdom come so that you can more faithfully follow him.

9. Each week we ask, “Who could you help to take their next step in following Jesus?” This week help one another by spending time during your meeting praying for the requests that you shared in question 8.