Small Groups

Small Group Discussion Questions - July 25

Read Matthew 9:18-26.
These verses belong to an entire chapter of healings Jesus performed while also teaching. Often, his lessons were contrary to what his followers thought he should be saying.

1. Tell of a time a teacher (or parent or pastor) said something in class that you totally disagreed with.
2. Describe the conflicts this "ruler" or "leader" in verse 18 must have felt as he approached Jesus.
3. Compare the ruler and the woman. What does Jesus' response to each say about the kingdom of God?
4. What part does faith play in these healings and why does Matthew stress this?
5. Does this passage have any impact on you as you face difficult situations?

Small Group Discussion Questions - July 4

Read Matthew 9:9-17.

1. When you were a kid, did you tend to outgrow or to wear your clothes? Does this reveal anything about your family?
2. Did the Pharisees appear to see themselves as "sinners"?
3. What did Jesus say he wanted and did not want in verse 13? How might we satisfy him?
4. Why did Jesus' followers not fast even on Jewish holy days?
5. What is the "new wine" or "new cloth"? Are you attached to it?

Small Group Discussion Questions - June 27

Read Matthew 9:1-8.

1. Do you have secret thoughts that are critical of certain groups of people? Whom do you struggle not to judge?
2. When the men brought the paralytic to Jesus, what did they hope he would do? What did he say instead?
3. Why did the scribes think Jesus was guilty of blasphemy? (You may want to look blasphemy up in the dictionary.)
4. What was Jesus trying to communicate about sin, healing and himself?
5. Why do we struggle to forgive, and to be forgiven, when we worship Jesus?

Small Group Discussion Questions - June 20

Read Matthew 8:18-34.

1. Are you good at making excuses? What is a favorite excuse that you often use, or share an especially creative excuse you have used.
2. This passage had three sections. Verses 18-22 talk about the high cost of following Jesus. How does Jesus himself describe that cost?
3. Verses 23-27 tell how Jesus calmed a storm. Of what seemingly unfair thing does Jesus accuse his disciples?
4. Verses 28-34 tell of Jesus casting demons out of men and into pigs. Why did the demons beg for him to do this?
5. When you feel that life has become a storm, do you feel God's wakeful presence, or does God seem to have gone to sleep?
6. What demons seem to tough for you to handle right now?

Small Group Discussion Questions - June 13

Read Matthew 8:5-13.

1. If there were a ladder of power in life, on which rung would you stand and why?
2. Who was this centurion?
3. What is remarkable about Jesus' offer to go to the centurion's home?Who are the "heirs" or "subjects" of the kingdom and what does Jesus say about them?
4. By what one thing does Jesus seem most impressed in this centurion?
5. How can you and your small group strengthen one another's faith?
   

Small Group Discussion Questions - June 6

Read Matthew 7:24-29.

1. What one thing do you wish you could get your children (or spouse or best friend) to do?
2. This is the conclusion to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. What does his main concern seem to be?
3. For what does the house in his mini-parable stand? The rock? The sand?
4. What is the warning for us in these words?
5. How can your group help our church build on the rock?
   

Small Group Discussion Questions - May 30

Read I Corinthians 15:20-28.

1. If you had to write the words for your own tombstone, what would you write?
2. The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the members of a church struggling to understand the meaning of Christ's death and resurrection. What are the three main points he makes in verses 20, 21 and 23?
3. Paul also goes into the relationship between God and Jesus. What does Psalm 8:6 have to say about this?
4. Christ's resurrection leads to the resurrection of all who confess their sins and that he is Lord. What have you done lately about these two requirements?
5. What can your group do to keep you close to Christ?