Mark 4:35-41 Sermon Discussion Questions
Jesus' sleep is compared with this disciples' panic. Jesus sleeps because He is sovereign. The disciples panic because they are not Jesus. How should the reality that Jesus is not panicked temper your anxieties? Are there things in your life that you feel as if Jesus is sleeping on? Do you struggle to believe God cares about your needs? How has the cross addressed God’s care for you? Holy fear is meant to lead us to genuine faith. How have you distorted fear of God in your life? Have you been scared of him? Why is this kind of [...]
Why My Sons Wear #44: Baseball, Racism, and My Last Name
Stranger: Which one is yours?Me: The one right there. Haskins #44.Stranger (looking at me to make sure I am white): Which one?Me: The black kid right there.Stranger: Oh really? Awkward silence ensues Ever since we brought Isaac and Jonah home from Ethiopia, this sort of interaction has been common for my wife around their sporting events. Parents trying to match each player up with their appropriate family, begin to realize the colors don’t exactly coordinate with all the kids on the team. To break the silence we usually say something like, “I can’t believe you didn’t notice the [...]
Mark 3:20-35 Sermon Discussion Questions
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You [...]
Mark 3:17-21 Sermon Discussion Questions
How is it possible to know Jesus only from a distance? What does this look like? Why is this dangerous? Have you experienced a distant knowledge of Jesus? What is the difference in knowing Jesus by faith? How does intentionally seeking to know Jesus propel us to intentionally make him know? What problems arise when we merely seek to know Him without making him known? What problems arise when we seek to make him known without knowing him? How will you seek to know him in order to make him known? Do you struggle to believe you are qualified [...]
Mark 2:19-3:6 Sermon Discussion Questions
How can the good things God has given us to know and enjoy him become idols? Have you ever used church attendance, Bible study, and ministry to serve the idol of self? Why does this lead to slavery and not freedom? How does looking to Christ as Lord free ourselves from religious idolatry? How have you seen the things of God used to serve yourself become tools to enslave others? How can minister the gospel in ways that contradict the gospel? How will you stop and rest in the work of Christ even as you serve Christ? What are [...]
Mark 2:18-22 Sermon Discussion Questions
What do you know about fasting? Have you ever fasted? Do you regularly fast? Why do you think most Christians do not fast? What makes Christian fasting different from all others forms of fasting? What things in your life do you want more than food? What things should you long for more than food? How can fasting help cultivate these longings? What about heaven do you long for the most? What about this world causes you long more for heaven? Beyond fasting, wow can you cultivate a deeper longing for heaven in your life? How can you make sure [...]