Dare – Part 1

This week we look at Jesus’ teaching in Luke 10. A lawyer asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus says the most important things are to love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus then tells of a man who is beaten and left for dead. A priest and a Levite see him but do not help, yet a Samaritan stops and extends care. It is an ongoing care; the Samaritan commits time and resources to help the man recover. Jesus uses this story to ask us if we are ready to help others, even when we are busy or afraid. As we look at the parable, let’s consider how we can create a caring community by daring to help and support our neighbours.

Read: Luke 10:25-37

Discuss

1. How would you define ‘neighbour’ in today’s context (Luke 10:29)? Who is your neighbour?
2. Why do you think the priest and the Levite chose to pass by the injured man (Luke 10:31-32)?
3. Are you usually open to being interrupted to help someone in need? Why or why not?
4. What are some common reasons people avoid helping others, and how can we overcome these barriers (e.g. busyness, fear, selfishness)?
5. What might it cost us (time, money, comfort, emotional energy) to care for others; what are our struggles and challenges (Luke 10:35)?
6. Share a time when you either helped someone in need or were helped by someone? How did it impact you? What did you learn from the experience?
7. How can we, as a Life Group and church community, foster a culture of care and support for each other?

Respond

Life is full of opportunities to care and there are people around us who are in need. As a Life Group, take time now in pairs to pray that God would help us recommit ourselves to the virtues of care and mercy. Think of one thing we can do this week to show God’s love to someone else, and commit to doing it.

Dare – Part 2

We live in a society that has become more and more individualistic. “Each to their own” is the kind of mentality that makes people care less about other people and their needs. As disciples of Jesus, if we are not mindful about this, it might can even seep into our understanding of worship. The apostle Paul teaches us that we are to give God our true and proper worship when we give our bodies as a living sacrifice, that is holy and pleasing to Him. But what does that look like? What do you understand this verse to mean?

Read: Romans 12:1, 9-10

Discuss

1. It takes radical faith to live a “living sacrifice” type of life. What does “radical faith” mean to you? How does this challenge your current understanding of faith and where you are at in your spiritual journey? Do you know one person who you believe have demonstrated such a life? Share.
2. Paul writes that offering our bodies as a living sacrifice is one way of worshiping God. How does this stretch your understanding of worship beyond just singing or attending church services?
3. Read Matthew 22:36-40. Jesus main commandment is counter-cultural love. We are not to live an individualistic & isolated life. Rather, we are to live among and love others as ourselves. In what way does practicing radical faith affect how we love and serve others? How does this perspective change the way you currently love others?
4. In Romans 12:9-10, Paul teaches us to let love be genuine and to outdo one another is showing honour. Why might this practice be helpful for our faith? What does that look like for you with your family, friends, colleagues, etc?
5. One method we can use to examine the nature and quality of our relationships with others is to ask the questions – Am I more loving, more compassionate, more patient, more understanding, more caring, more giving, more forgiving towards others than I was a year ago? Take some time to reflect on this. What can you do to be more of all those things this year?
6. How can this Life group – or Crossway community, create an environment that encourages radical faith? How can we keep each other accountable in this? What practical steps can we take together?

Respond

Faith is not just for us as an individual to keep secretly to ourselves. There need to be an outward-facing action that comes from the heart. The apostle Paul teaches that we are to live a sacrificial life for others. We have been challenged to step into a life of radical faith. What is one act of radical faith, that is subjective to your own journey, would you be willing to put in place in the next two weeks? Who will keep you accountable to do it?

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Dare – Part 3

History shows many instances of God’s power. For example, the revivals or ‘awakenings’ since the 1700s, where the Holy Spirit moved people to truly repent and turn to Christ. These awakenings led to thousands converting to Christianity and becoming powerful witnesses, transforming towns, cities, regions, and even spreading to other countries. The size and speed of these movements were too great to be human made. It was God’s way of showing His love and mercy to a broken world, and each began with fervent, travailing prayer.

Discuss

• 1. If you were face to face with Christ, what emotion do you think He would show towards you (recall John 14:9)? Read Exodus 34:5-7. This was God’s response to Moses asking Him to show His glory. Discuss God’s response and share what it means to you. What is Moses’ reaction in the verses that follow?
  2. Pastor Brooke explained that the phrase “compassionate and gracious God” is a common word-pairing equated to a parent’s loyalty towards their child and a willingness to help in the moment of need. How could reflecting on that affect the way we pray?

• 3. Read Romans 8:16-17, Ephesians 2:6 and 5:25-27, 1 Peter 2:9, Acts 20:28. Note what these Scriptures say about Christians and discuss how knowing this can affect the way we pray.
  4. Pastor Brooke talked about people travailing in prayer, crying out to God like a woman in labour. What situation or need would make you pray like this? How does understanding and valuing who we are to God make our prayers more passionate and meaningful? Do you believe that your intense prayers could change the course of a nation?

• 5. Sovereignty is defined as supreme power or authority. Scripture reveals that God is omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (present everywhere in time and space), and omnipotent (having all power) (consider Psalm 139:1-10). Points A and B do not diminish God’s sovereignty. How do we acknowledge His sovereignty through our prayers and faith?
  6. What should our attitude be when God does not answer prayer the way we had hoped (consider Job 13:15, Daniel 3:16-18, Luke 22:42)?

• 7. Read Luke 4:18-19. As part of the body of Christ, abiding in Christ and co-heirs with Christ, we are co-labourers with Christ, active and anointed in His ministry. What do you see as your part in His anointing? What are you called and anointed to do for the Kingdom at this time (no matter how big or small)?

Respond

In 1873 Dublin, British evangelist Henry Varley said, “The world has yet to see what God can do with and through a person fully dedicated to Him.” D L Moody responded, “With God’s help, I aim to be that person.” What would it take for you to be that person? God’s plan is for the Church to be that person. What would it take for you to be everything Christ says you can be, as an effective part of the Church?

Dare – Part 4

God’s nature is caring and Jesus demonstrated a profound sense of timing, authority and identity in being ‘care ready’. Created in His image, we each have the natural ability to be caring, but at times we can take a step back in our care for others. In the Gospel of John we read of Jesus’ readiness to care, even in the face of betrayal and His own impending death on the cross. The act of washing feet was customarily done by the lowest servant in the host household. Let’s explore what made Jesus ‘care ready’ and consider how we can follow His example.

Discuss

1. Jesus lived with a sense of timing. Although He knew of the incredible suffering He was about to endure and the impact this would have on His disciples, He remained ready to care for them. Have you ever been spontaneously prompted to show care to someone, even a stranger? Did you take the opportunity to care or miss the opportunity?
2. Read Galatians 6:9-10. What does the passage say about being prepared to show kindness? Read John 13:2. Is there any reason to withhold care from someone?
3. Jesus lived in awareness that He had been given all authority by His Father in heaven. Being secure in this authority, He exercised it in service and sacrifice. As disciples of Jesus, our authority is expressed in the same way – commonly known as servant leadership. How might we exercise service and sacrifice with this understanding?
4. Read Matthew 28:18-20 and Luke 4:18-20. What authority have we been given by Jesus? How can we exercise this in service and sacrifice?
5. Jesus lived with certainty of His identity, knowing He came from God the Father and was going back to be with Him. Why is it so important to know who we are in Christ when providing help and care to others? How does our spiritual identity affect the way we care for others?
6. Read Jeremiah 1:5 and Psalm 139:13. What impact does it have on us when we understand that we are completely known by God and cared for by Him? How does being secure in God’s love help us to be care ready?

Respond

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late” – Ralph Waldo Emerson. God has given each of us a sense of timing, authority and identity to care for others as an extension of His love towards a hurting world. We are called to be care ready and respond promptly to the opportunities He brings our way. What is one current opportunity where you can demonstrate practical care? Share it with the group and commit it to God in prayer, asking for the wisdom to show care in this situation.

Dare – Part 5

Jesus uses the Jewish wedding ceremony to illustrate our place in His story. In this analogy, the father finds his son a bride and pays a price for her. A contract is made as the bride drinks the cup of acceptance. The groom then goes to build a place for them to live, while the bride readies herself to be pure for when the groom returns to bring her to the home he has prepared. The father of the groom decides when the home is ready, and nominates the time for the groom to bring his bride home. The bride must wait in readiness, anticipation and expectation for her groom to come. We understand that we, the Church, are the bride of Christ, that Christ is the groom preparing a place for us in His Father’s home, and that He will come again to take us to be with Him. Let’s explore what it means to be ready for the return of Jesus.

Read Matthew 25:1-13

Discuss

Ready In Purity

1. We read that ten virgins were waiting for the bridegroom to come at an unknown hour. ‘Virgin’ describes a person who has kept themselves pure and set apart for the bridegroom. It was traditional for a Hebrew bride to have their oil lamp ready for the coming of the bridegroom, even if the bridegroom took a very long time. What do you make of the readiness of the two sets of virgins and their preparedness for a lengthy wait? Have you ever considered that Jesus is coming again to take us to His Father home? Are you ready for His return? Why or why not?
2. Read 2 Corinthians 11:2-3. The Apostle Paul encourages us to be ready in purity for the coming of Jesus. What does it mean to be pure for Christ? What pitfalls does he warn us about in remaining pure? If you are comfortable sharing, what leads you away from purity in your life?

Ready In Intimacy

1. We read that when the bridegroom came, five virgins were ready and five were distracted and absent. When the distracted five tried to enter the wedding banquet, the bridegroom said, “I don’t know you.” The lack of oil in their lamps diverted them from knowing the bridegroom more intimately. What are your thoughts about people missing out because they have no relationship with Jesus?
2. Read Ephesians 1:13-14. Paul reminds us that the sign of our intimate relationship with Jesus is His gift of the Holy Spirit. Considering John 16:12-15, how does the Holy Spirit grow our relationship with Jesus and make it more intimate?

Ready in Urgency

1. Five virgins waited expectantly for the bridegroom to come, and their actions demonstrated a deep desire and longing for him. Their mission was to prepare for his coming and they did everything in their power to be ready. They were unwilling to compromise their readiness for anyone. Considering Matthew 28:19-20, how might the church prepare for the return of Jesus?
2. Read 1 Peter 4:7-11. The Apostle Peter reminds us to live with a sense of urgency, as “the end of all things is near”. Reflecting on the knowledge that Jesus may return at any time, how might you live your life differently? What does it look like for you to live out your mission within the church with a sense of expectation and anticipation of His return?

Respond

“But for those of us who are wise, our desire runs deep, our belief is profound and unshakable, and our commitment is more than superficial. So, our supply outlasts the bridegroom’s delay. Though he does not come, his delay does not consume our readiness. We remain ever ready to follow him; for still we desire, still we believe, and still we remain committed to that which He has promised.” – Jack Crabtree, https://gutenberg.edu/the-parable-of-the-ten-virgins/
We are called to be expectant of Jesus’s return. Let us consistently pray that the Holy Spirit would fan into flame a longing, yearning and passion for Jesus to return. When we do this we will live differently, with a readiness in purity, intimacy and urgency. What is one way you might live differently in the light of Jesus’s imminent return? Share this with the group. Commit to God in prayer that you would wait with expectation and anticipation for His return. As a group, pray together the prayer from Revelation 22:17a, inviting Jesus to come:
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!”

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