Preparing for Our Descent

Matthew 7:28-29

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Preparing for Our Descent -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:28-29
26 November 2017

Deep Sheet:  Sermon Study Questions
1.  How has the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount been anticipated for several weeks?
2.  Discuss the outline given for the Sermon on the Mount. Which sections have been the most formative for you?
3.  What would it look like to make the Sermon on the Mount foundational for your Christian life and for our Gospel Community Group?
4.  In what ways have you been “astonished” by Jesus’ teaching? Why is astonishment not enough?
5.  Where do you see Jesus’ authority displayed in the Sermon on the Mount?
6.  How has the Sermon on the Mount increased your appreciation of Jesus and desire to follow him?

The Foolish Hearer, The Falling House

Matthew 7:24-27

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The Foolish Hearer, The Falling House -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:24-27
19 November 2017

Deep Sheet:  Sermon Study Questions
1.  Why have Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:13-27 been so hard and uncomfortable to hear? In the words of D.A. Carson, is Jesus trying to frighten people into the kingdom?
2.  What are the differences between the two houses portrayed in this passage?
3.  What does it mean to have Jesus as our Rock? (Isaiah 28:16; 1 Corinthians 3:11; Luke 6:46)
4.  What were the “sandy stopping points” noted in the sermon? In what ways do they contribute to self-deception? (Matthew 7:21-23, 28-29)
5.  How does the Parable of the Sower help us to answer the “Why” question?
6.  How can we apply the effect of the storm to life, death and future judgment? (Proverbs 10:25; 12:7; 14:11)

Considering the Final Verdict

Matthew 7:21-23

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Considering the Final Verdict -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:21-23
12 November 2017

Deep Sheet Sermon Study Questions
1.      How can we examine or test ourselves, and why is this so important? (2 Corinthians 13:5; Psalm 139:23-24)
2.      What does it mean to put our trust in Jesus as Lord? What is the difference between empty words and active obedience? (Romans 10:9; Luke 6:46; Matthew 12:50)
3.      Why is the use of the word “many” (v. 22) in this context so surprising and startling?
4.      How is it possible for false converts to do the great acts mentioned in v. 22? How can religious experiences and activities give us false assurance? (Matthew 24:24)
5.      How does this passage help us to understand what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus? (Romans 4:7; Titus 2:14; 1 John 3:6-10)

Spotting A Counterfeit

Matthew 7:15-20

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Spotting A Counterfeit -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:15-20
5 November 2017

Deep Sheet: Sermon Study Questions.
1.  What does it mean that Jesus is THE true prophet?
How is he also THE healthy tree that bears good fruit? (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19; John 15:1-11)
2.  In what ways are Christians sometimes naïve about false prophets/teachers?
Why should their presence in the church not surprise us? (2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 John 4:1; Acts 20:29-31; Jude 4)
3.  How does Jesus characterize false prophets in this passage?
4.  Why must we “beware,” and what does it look like to do so? (John 10:12)
5.  What are some of the “fruits” by which we can recognize these ravenous wolves and diseased trees? (John 15:1-11; Galatians 5:22-23; Matthew 5:3, 17)
6.  What does the preceding passage (vv. 13-14) imply about the kind of teaching that comes from these false prophets?
7.  How does 2 Timothy 3:16-17 help us to discern true from false teaching?

This Way or That

Matthew 7:13-14

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This Way or That -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:13-14
29 October 2017

Deep Sheet Questions:  Sermon Study Questions
1.  How would you describe Jesus’s audience? How does this affect the way we interpret and apply these verses? (Matthew 5:1; 7:28-29; John 6:66)
2.  In what ways does this passage highlight human responsibility? How does it challenge you?
3.  What distinguishes the narrow gate/way from the one that is broad?
4.  How does this passage challenge the hearer to “count the cost”? (Luke 14:25-33; 2 Corinthians 5:15)
5.  How do the “gate,” “way,” and “life” relate to Jesus? Why is the way of cost the way of rest? (John 10:9; 14:6; 11:25; Matthew 11:28)
6.  What does it mean to say that a choice between life and destruction or heaven and hell is really a choice between Christ’s presence and his absence?

Righteousness Rightly Understood

Matthew 7:12

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Righteousness Rightly Understood -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:12
22 October 2017

Deep Sheet Questions:  Sermon Study Questions
1.  How does this verse relate to previous instruction in the Sermon on the Mount? How does it simplify the Christian life? (Matthew 5:17-20)
2.  How does Jesus’ statement taken in its immediate context mirror the two great commandments in Matthew 22:37-40? (Matthew 7:7-11)
3.  Why are regeneration, adoption, and prayer essential for living out the “Golden Rule”? (Galatians 5:22; Matthew 7:7-11)
4.  How does the Sermon on the Mount push us both towards self and away from self at the same time?
5.  What does it look like to live for the interests of others? (Philippians 2:3-4)
6.  What does it mean that Jesus’ teaching here is positive rather than negative? Why is this way of life more demanding? (Galatians 6:10)

A New Start, Part 2

Matthew 7:7-11

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A New Start, Part 2 -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:7-11
15 October 2017

Deep Sheet Questions:  Sermon Study Questions
1.  Although Jesus’ words of promise here are directed to the Christian, what should this teaching communicate to the non-Christian? (Romans 10:13)
2.  In what ways have you seen prayer as a “duty” or a “key”?
3.  How does Jesus tie together prayer and God’s fatherhood in the Sermon on the Mount
What are the implications for how we should conceive of prayer? (Matthew 6:5-13)
4.  What is the comparison that Jesus makes at the end of this passage, and what does he want to highlight about our heavenly Father? (Matthew 6:25-34; Luke 11:13; Ephesians 5:1)
5. What does it mean to say that God gives out of what he has already given? (Romans 8:32; Titus 3:6; 2 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 1:3)
6.  What are some implications of this passage for parenting?

A New Start, Part 1

Matthew 7:7-11

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A New Start, Part 1 -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:7-11
08 October 2017

Deep Sheet:  Sermon Study Questions
1.  What does it look like to have a Christian life that is “motion, but no progress”?
How does this passage hold out the possibility of a fresh start?
2.  Why is the persistent prayer that Jesus describes in this passage “the only way forward”? (Matthew 5:3)
3.  What do you tend to substitute for prayer?
4.  In what ways can our spiritual disciplines end up being prayerless?
What should be the relationship between Bible reading and prayer?
5.  Why should this passage give you great confidence in prayer and in the prospect of spiritual growth?  (Luke 11:13; 1 John 5:14-15; James 1:5-8; 4:2)
6.  Where do we see Jesus’ emphasis on persistence in prayer?
How much “giving up” is there in your Christian life? (Luke 11:5-8)

Judging

Matthew 7:1-6

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Judging -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:1-6
01 October 2017

Deep Sheet:  Sermon Study Questions
1.  How has Jesus’ teaching against judging been hijacked and misused in our culture?
2.  What are some instances in which God has convicted you of judging or criticizing other Christians? How has this attitude and behavior negatively affected your relationships?
3.  How does Jesus relate our judgment of others to God’s future judgment of us? How much thought have you given to the fact that “we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (Romans 14:10)? (John 5:24; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10; Romans 14:10, 12; 1 Corinthians 3:15)
4.  What does this activity of judging that Jesus is rebuking and forbidding look like in practice? (Romans 14; 2:1-5)
5.  How can we begin letting judgmental thoughts turn us inward, and how will this make us more useful in holding others accountable? (Galatians 6:1; Matthew 18:15)
6.  Why does dealing with our own sin enable us “to see clearly” (v. 5)?
7.  What kind of judgment/ discernment is Jesus telling us to have as we relate to unbelievers? (Proverbs 9:8; Matthew 7:15-16)

War Against Worry, Part 2

Matthew 6:25-34

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War Against Worry, Part 2 -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6:25-34
24 September 2017

Deep Sheet:  Sermon Study Questions
1.  How does this passage heighten your seriousness about worry? How is worry the opposite of hallowing God’s name?
2.  In what ways do you see the pervasiveness of worry in the world? What does it mean to say that we must avoid world intake without Bible intake?
3.  How is faith foundational and central to Christian identity? What does it mean that we both enter by faith and live by faith? (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 1:17; 14:23; Hebrews 11:6)
4.  Does God provide for all of our needs? In what ways do we often misunderstand what we really need? (Philippians 4:19)
5.  What does it practically look like to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness”? (Romans 14:17)
6.  Based on Jesus’ teaching in this passage, how should we think about the future? (Proverbs 27:1; Psalm 34:19; Lamentations 3:22-23; Matthew 6:11)

War Against Worry, Part 1

Matthew 6:25-34

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War Against Worry, Part 1 -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6:25-34
17 September 2017

Deep Sheet:  Sermon Study Questions
1.  In what ways do you struggle/ have you struggled with worry? Discuss specific situations as a group.
2.  What does it mean to say that seeking and worrying are inextricably tied together? How does this passage relate to the previous section dealing with our treasures, vision, and master, and how does that alter the way you think about worry?
3.  What is the difference between healthy or even godly “anxiety” and the “anxiety” that Jesus teaches against here? (1 Corinthians 7:33, 34; 12:25; Philippians 2:20; 4:6; 2 Corinthians 11:28)
4.  In what ways are Jesus’ disciples of more value than birds and wildflowers? What theological truths are in the background to this comparison? (Genesis 1:26-28; Matthew 7:11)
5.  Why is worry both futile and harmful? How does it turn us inward, strangle us and weigh us down? Discuss instances where you have experienced these effects in your own life. (Luke 21:34; Matthew 13:22)

Our Seeing and Serving

Matthew 6:22-24

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Our Seeing and Serving -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6:22-24
3 September 2017

Deep Sheet: Sermon Study Questions
1.  How and why is the Sermon on the Mount so convicting? In what ways have Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount most challenged you?
2.  What does it mean to have an evil eye? What do you see when you look out into the world? (Psalm 119:10, 15; Proverbs 28:22; 23:6-7; 22:9)
3.  Why should we care about the condition of our eyes? In other words, what does Jesus say about the effect of having an evil eye? (Cf. James 3:6)
4.  What would you say is the main objective of your life? Take some time to confess specific ways that the Holy Spirit has convicted you with regard to your storing, seeing and serving (vv. 19-24).
5.  How does this discussion of slavery bring us back to Christ’s redeeming work at the cross? What does it practically mean to be Christ’s slave? (1 Timothy 6:10; Luke 14:26; Titus 2:14)

Assessing Our Treasure

Matthew 6:19-21

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Assessing Our Treasure -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6.19-21
27 August 2017

Deep Sheet: Sermon Study Questions
1.  What are heavenly treasures, and what are some practical ways that we can pursue and gather them? (Luke 12:13-21; 1 Timothy 6:17-19)
2.   How does laying up treasures in heaven flow out of faith and hope? (Hebrews 11:6).
3.   What is the main contrast that Jesus makes in vv. 19-20, and what images does he use to convey this contrast? (James 5:1-3)
4.   In what ways have you personally experienced earthly treasures as corruptible, perishable, and temporary?
5.   Consider the following questions as you think about your own treasure: What occupies your thoughts when you have nothing else to do? What fills your daydreaming and worrying? What are you most terrified of losing?
6.   How does what we treasure both come out of and shape our hearts?

 

Applying Our Prayer

Matthew 6:9-13

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Applying Our Prayer -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6:9-13
20 August 2017

Deep Sheet: Sermon Study Questions
1.   How has our time spent studying the model prayer most impacted your attitude towards prayer?
2.   In what ways have you applied the structure and content of the model prayer to specific situations or occasions in your life?|
3.   Why is the holiness of church officers (elders and deacons), and all Christians for that matter, important for the hallowing of God’s name?
4.   Why does praying for God’s will to be done lead us to pray for a Bible-saturated life?
5.   How do church officers serve as one of God’s means for providing his people with daily bread?
6.   How do church officers serve as instruments of reconciliation in a local church? (Titus 1:5-11; Acts 6:1-3)
7.   Why do church officers in particular need constant prayer for spiritual protection?

Asking Abba, Part 3

Matthew 6:11-15

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Asking Abba, Part 3 -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6:11-15
8 August 2017

Deep Sheet: Sermon Study Questions
1.  Discuss the two negative responses to the Lord’s Prayer mentioned at the beginning of the sermon: “going overboard” or “reacting against.” How much thought have you given to the idea that prayer is work/labor/struggle? (Colossians 4:12; Romans 15:30)
2.  Where do we see our weakness and vulnerability in the Lord’s Prayer and in the final petition in particular?
3.  How does God provide protection both from and in/through temptation? What actions can you take to avoid entering into temptation? (James 1:13-14; Matthew 4:1; Genesis 22:1; Matthew 26:41)
4.  Why is it so dangerous not to believe in the “evil one” and take him seriously? Discuss Satan’s nature, rule, craftiness, mission, and ferocity. (John 17:15; Luke 10:18; Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:12-15; 1 Timothy 3:6; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 11:14; John 10:10; 1 Peter 5:8)
5.  How is Satan often active in the small things?
6.  Why must our confidence be in Christ and not ourselves as we face temptation?
7.  What role do the Bible and prayer play in overcoming temptation? (Psalm 119:11; Matthew 26:41)

Asking Abba, Part 2

Matthew 6:11-15

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Asking Abba, Part 2 -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6:11-15
30 July 2017

Deep Sheet:  Sermon Study Questions
1.      In what ways have you struggled to view God as your “Forgiving Father”?  Are you confident that God is ready and able to forgive when you ask?  (Exodus 34:6-7; Psalm 32:5; Nehemiah 9:17; Ephesians 1:7)
2.      What does it mean to recognize that “all sin goes straight to heaven”?  (Psalm 51:4)
3.      How do “debts,” “trespasses,” and “sins” capture different aspects of our wrongdoing and guilt before God?  (Matthew 6:12, 14-15; Luke 11:4)
4.      How does Colossians 2:13-14 vividly portray our “Past Pardon”?
5.      Why do Christians, those who have already been forgiven, need to ask God continually for forgiveness? What are some of the negative effects of not doing this daily? (1 John 1:9)
6.      In what ways have we already seen the relationship between God’s forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of others in the Sermon on the Mount?
7.      Who do you need to forgive, and how might a lack of forgiveness be hindering your prayer life? (Matthew 5:7; Mark 11:25)

Asking Abba, Part 1

Matthew 6.11-15

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Asking Abba, Part 1 -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6.11-15
23 July 2017

Deep Sheet: Sermon Study Questions:
1.  How has our time spent discussing prayer altered your priorities? Have you
tried using the Lord’s Prayer as a skeleton for your prayers?
2.  What does it look like to really believe that God rules, owns and dispenses?
How does the petition, “Give us this day our daily bread,” force us to
acknowledge that everything we have is “from God”? (Matthew 5:34-35;
Romans 11:36; James 1:17; Genesis 1:1; Psalm 104:10-15; 1 Corinthians 4:7)
3.  What does “bread” symbolize? In what ways do you struggle to believe that
God cares even for your smallest, seemingly insignificant physical needs?
 4.  As we consider how God meets our needs, what does it mean to say that he
does so in his wisdom, in the midst of a fallen world, through our labor, and
through others? (Philippians 4:19; Proverbs 30:8-9; Psalm 34:19; Genesis
3:19; 2 Thessalonians 3:12; Acts 2:45; Romans 12:13; Titus 3:14)
5. How does praying for our “daily” bread keep us from complacency and
worry? In what particular ways have you seen God provide for you and your
family day-by- day? (Exodus 16:4)
6. What does it mean to view our physical needs with a proper, eternal
perspective? How does this petition for daily bread lead us to consider our
spiritual nourishment? (Matthew 6:32-33; John 6:35; Matthew 4:4; 1
Corinthians 10:31)

Adoring Abba, Part 2

Matthew 6:9c-10

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Adoring Abba, Part 2 -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6:9c-10
16 July 2017

Deep Sheet: Sermon Study Questions
1.  In what ways have you been most challenged as we’ve discussed the topic of prayer? How has your own self-examination revealed pretentious, mindless, fatherless, Christ-less, self-centered, or infrequent prayers?
2.  Why does the petition “your kingdom come” point to both evangelism and discipleship? (Mark 1:15; Colossians 1:13-14; Matthew 5:3-12; Romans 14:17)
3.  When it comes to the salvation of others, do you really think your prayers matter? To what extent do you think God wants to accomplish his purposes through your prayers?
4.  If the kingdom of God is “a matter…of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17), what does it look like to grow as a kingdom citizen?
5.  Why does praying “your kingdom come” ultimately mean praying for Christ’s return? How might praying “Come, Lord Jesus!” change the way you live the Christian life? (Daniel 2:44; Revelation 22:20)
6.  How can we easily become self-centered in praying “your will be done”? How does the structure of the Lord’s Prayer help us to understand the meaning of this petition?
7.  How does Jesus demonstrate in his own life what it means to pray “your will be done”? (Matthew 26:39; John 4:34)  

Hello, World!

Adoring Abba, Part 1

Matthew 6:9c-10

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Adoring Abba, Part 1 -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series:  The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6:9c-10
9 July 2017

Deep Sheet: Sermon Study Questions
1.  How does the opening address, “Our Father in heaven,” naturally lead into the first three petitions?
2.  How does beginning with God rather than our own circumstances or experiences provide a more solid foundation and greater confidence in prayer, even when we don’t “feel it”?
3.  How would you briefly describe the meaning of the first petition, “hallowed be your name”? What is God’s “Name”? (Psalm 30:4; Exodus 19:14-16; Exodus 34:5-8; Matthew 1:21)
4.  Discuss the seven implications noted in the sermon for the petition “hallowed be your name”: bowing, centering, knowing, spreading, reflecting, speaking, and depending? (Exodus 34:8; John 5:23; 12:28; 17:1; Habakkuk 2:14; Matthew 5:16; Ecclesiastes 5:2; Matthew 5:3)
5.  In our desire to have greater praise and adoration towards God, what does it look like to be dependent without being passive?

Addressing Abba

Matthew 6:9b

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Addressing Abba -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6:9b
2 July 2017

Deep Sheet: Sermon Study Questions
1.   How do we already see God’s fatherliness and heavenliness in the verses leading up to The Lord’s Prayer? (Matthew 6:6, 8)
2.   How does this address – “Our Father in heaven” – instruct us not to pray in isolation? What does it look like to interlace our prayers with intercession?
3.   What does it mean that Jesus Christ is the only unique Son? What is the problem with appropriating God as Father without being mindful of the Son? (John 1:14; 3:35; Luke 1:35; Matthew 11:27)
4.   Why do we say that God is not the Father of every person? What are some symptoms that a Christian has lost sight of the right and privilege of knowing and addressing God as Father? (John 1:12; Galatians 4:5-6)
5.   How does this address call us to readiness and reverence in prayer? What are some signs that we may be dethroning God as we approach him in prayer? (Ecclesiastes 5:2)
6.   What does this address communicate about God’s willingness and ability to meet our needs? (Philippians 4:19; Ephesians 1:3; John 10:29; 1 Peter 5:7)
7.   How does this address also function as a call to holiness? (Matthew 5:48)