Connect Group Questions
March 12, 2023 – Week 2 – Eat With Me (Section 40)
Playing, Praying, and Growing together
Last weeks service
This Weeks ?’s
Leader Hints are designed to help guide a leader to some information that we want to “tease” out of the group. They are not there for you to directly read to the participants. People are significantly more likely to remember things they said or came up with, so your goal is to help direct them to that answer.
FINAL NOTE: Our goal is to get to the [APPLICATION QUESTION] to help work with people through how to apply what God is doing in their life.
INTRO:
- What surface level label would you apply to yourself?
(Leader Hint: This is intended to be a silly way to introduce yourself. Examples: “I’m a couch potato.” or “I’m a Kentucky fan.” or “I’m a redneck.”) - Recall last week’s application question. “What is an actionable thing we can do that would allow Jesus to raise our vision into that of a disciple in our current lives?” Would anyone like to share something they did or how their vision changed?
(Leader Hint: examples could be praying for your coworkers, looking for opportunities to mention Jesus)
REBUILD THE SERMON:
- What stuck out to you about the sermon? What was striking about the video of Jesus calling Matthew?
- Read Matthew 9:9-13. (This parallels to Mark 2:13-17 and Luke 5:27-32.)
- Why do you think Matthew includes the bit in the first part of verse 13 while the other gospels don’t? “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'”
- What is it about Matthew’s past that might imply this would stick with him more than the other eye witnesses
(Leader Hint: Jesus’s mercy offers Matthew a way back to God in a way he has never considered before.) - Read James 2:8-13.
- What does it mean to “speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom”?
(Leader Hint: This is not a ‘free-pass’, but an invitation that ANYONE is welcome to come back to Jesus, regardless of what you are today.) - Jesus prioritized people over everything. He was merciful where others would be harsh. Instead of labeling Matthew as a tax collector, he labeled him as a potential disciple. How do we look past the labels we put on people and see the disciple underneath?
Application Question:
- When we label people, we give up on them, just like the other disciples and teachers of the law did to Matthew. Can you think of someone if your life you have labeled and therefore written off? What is one way you can reframe your view of this person?
- Take up prayer requests and pray as a group.
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Submit a Prayer
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