Come and See!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Scripture & Questions for Sunday (10/23/11)

Announcement
Don’t forget that Sunday is Bring a Friend Sunday. We will be having lunch after church. Lasagna and cheese pizza will be provided, please bring a salad or dessert to share.

Scripture
Matthew 22:34-46 (ESV) 
[34] But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  [35] And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.  [36] "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?"  [37] And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  [38] This is the great and first commandment.  [39] And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  [40] On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." [41] Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,  [42] saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David."  [43] He said to them, "How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, [44] " 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet'?  [45] If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?"  [46] And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Questions for Reflection
1.    What specific question did the man ask Jesus? (22:36)
2.    What kind of love did Jesus describe? (22:37)
3.    What important footnote did Jesus add to His answer? (22:39)
4.    What kind of love for one’s neighbor did Jesus require? (22:39)
5.    How important did Jesus say these two principles were? (22:40)
6.    How do you feel when people ask you a question which you’re pretty sure they already know the answer to?
7.    How do we measure the magnitude of our love for Jesus?
8.    What does it mean to “love your neighbor as yourself”?
9.    How can we keep our focus on what really matters?
10. What does God want you to do more than anything else in your job, family, church, and neighborhood?

Friday, October 14, 2011

Scripture & Questions for Sunday (10/16/11)

Announcements
1.    Bring a Friend Sunday will be October 23rd please see the attached flyer.

2.    October 30th will be Youth Sunday and the young people of our congregation will be leading worship.

Scripture
Matthew 22:15-22 (ESV) 
Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his talk.  [16] And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.  [17] Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  [18] But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?  [19] Show me the coin for the tax." And they brought him a denarius.  [20] And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?"  [21] They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  [22] When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

Questions for Reflection
1.    What qualities mark a person of integrity?
2.    What group sought to trap Jesus? How? (22:15)
3.    What two groups were sent to Jesus? Why? (22:16)
4.    How did the Pharisees address Jesus? (22:16)
5.    How did the Pharisees describe Jesus’ character? (22:16)
6.    How did the Pharisees describe Jesus’ manner of teaching? (22:16)
7.    After all the flattery, what question did the Pharisees’ disciples and the Herodians finally ask Jesus? (22:17)
8.    Why do we resort to flattery?
9.    How does it make you feel to realize that Jesus can see right into your heart and tell when your motives are insincere?
10. What do you think Jesus called us to do when He said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and give to God what is God’s”?