Expecting Great Things from God in Uncertain Times

Heb 10:21-25; 2 Tim 2:1-2; Titus 2:1-5; Eph 3:20-21

Sermon Notes

What is our mission at Forestgate?

1) Exalting … the Lord through Joyful Biblical worship – (REACHING UP) – Heb 10:21-25

2) Encouraging … each other to love and good deeds – (REACHING IN) – Heb. 10:21-25

3) Equipping … each other for service in the church and in the kingdom – (REACHING DOWN) – 2 Tim. 2:1-2 (Titus 2:1-5)

4) Engaging … the culture around us (REACHING OUT) – 2 Tim. 2:2; Acts 12:25 – 13:4

5) Expecting Great Things from God, Eph 3:20-21

Reflection questions:

1. Have you prayed about how you can serve some of our high-risk members of our congregation at this time?

2. Have you prayed about how to better engage with your small group/Bible study/community group at this time? If you’re not in a group, what might be the benefits of being in one? (Also, reach out to the staff or elders if you’re not in a group but want to be in one.)

3. Are you expecting great things from God this year? Have you been tempted to despair about your circumstances? What great things for God do you think He wants you to attempt next?

Give It Up

Luke 18:15-30

Sermon Notes

1) Give it up … and come as a child

2) Give “it” up … that idol you’re clinging to

3) Give it up … and get something greater

Reflection questions:

1.    What characterizes a child? What about a child might Jesus be asking us to mimic when he says "come like a child"?

2.    What are some ways you have failed to love God above anything else? What are typical things that you tend to really love in this world?

3.    In what ways have you fallen short in "loving your neighbor" to the best of your ability?

4.    How is money a particularly dangerous idol?

5.    How might you, today, respond to Jesus' call to "give it up", to give up whatever might be holding you back from fully following him, fully loving him, fully loving your neighbor?

That Feeling When Someone Declares You Good Enough, Accepted, and Approved

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon Notes

1) We all desire to be approved, to be justified, declared right or righteous

2) The problem is we look inward, toward our own actions, to find this justification… but we never attain it

3) We can only find true acceptance, approval, and justification through Repentance (full acknowledgement that we aren’t right) and Faith (full trust that Jesus’ atonement makes us right)

Reflection questions:

1.    What would it be like to receive a 'Thank You' card where the person recounts all the things they had done?

2.    What are some of the "respectable sins" that Christians often overlook? What are some sins that Christians tend to focus more on than others?

3.    What are different ways we try and prove our goodness to others? Which ways are you most tempted?

4.    How are Remorse and Regret different from Repentance?

5.     How does repentance (fully admitting sin) actually bring us rest?

Persistence

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon Notes

1) Losing Heart, 1

2) The Lousy Unjust Judge, 2-6

3) The Lord, the Just Judge, 6-8

4) The Last Question, 8

Reflection questions:

1. What are some reasons that you sometimes lose heart in God’s promises, or lose heart in doing good? What are some of the ways God tries to encourage us NOT to lose heart? See Gal. 6:9-10. 2 Cor 4:1, 16-17.

2. What does the Bible say about God’s care of widows? What can this teach us about compassion for the needy? See Ps 68:5; Lk 20:47; Lk 7:11-15; Ps 146:9; Proverbs 15:25; Zech. 7:10; Isaiah 1:17.

3. Why is God’s justice good news and not just a scary concept? See Revelation 6:9-11; 11:18.

The Coming of the Kingdom

Luke 17:20-37

Sermon Notes

1) The Kingdom’s 1st Coming was NOT to be SEEN (or foreseen), 20-21

2) The Kingdom’s 2nd Coming will be SUDDEN, 22-33

3) The Kingdom’s 2nd Coming will cause SEPARATION, 32-37

Reflection questions:

1.       Why didn’t Jesus give the crowd another sign (in vv.20-21) to prove that the Kingdom had come? Compare Luke 7:18-23; what does Jesus tell the messengers of John the Baptist when they wonder if Jesus is the King they should expect?

2.       What did Noah’s neighbors and Lot’s neighbors do that was wrong (vv26-30)? Was eating and drinking wrong? Was is what they did that was wrong, or what they ignored? Compare Luke 12:18-21.

3.       There will be a separation when Jesus comes again to rule and reign, but what will be the line of separation? Good people and bad people? See 1 Tim. 1:15 (and Acts 8:1-3); John 3:16-18.

1st-Century Social Distancing and the Faith that Saves

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon Notes

1) Jerusalem, 11

2) Distance, 12

3) Mercy, 13

4) Priests?, 14

5) Glorifying God, 15

6) The Samaritan, 16

7) The Nine, 17

8) The One, 18

9) Faith, 19

Reflection questions:

1. Why does Luke mention Jerusalem in v.11? Is it merely a geographical detail? See Luke 9:21-22; 43-44; 51, 53.

2. Why is gospel of God’s grace to Gentiles and foreigners (see Lk 17:16-18) good news to you? If you are Jewish – Is there any advantage to being Jewish? Does that advantage (if there is one) mean that you need God’s grace less? – See Romans 3:1-4, 9-20.

3. Does faith save you? Does God save you? See Ephesians 2:1-9.

Forgiveness and Faith for the Impossible

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon Notes:

Despite the inevitable mess of our sin, Jesus Christ enables forgiveness and increases faith.

1) Jesus' Exhortations on Temptation and Forgiveness

2) Plea for Faith

3) Jesus' Response to the Plea

Small Group / Discussion questions:

1. Who in your life might you need to seek forgiveness from for putting stumbling blocks in their way because of your own sin?

2. How would you quantify your own degree of faith? Is it a mustard seed, or do you still feel far off? How does our sin also affect how we feel about our faith?

3. How does pride or self-dependency get in the way of God-dependency? How do Jesus' words that crush pride function to increase faith?

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon Notes

1) The Great Disparity in This Life, 19-21

2) The Great Chasm in The Life to Come, 22-26

3) The Great Prophet Who Came Back to Life, 27-31

Reflection questions:

1. What was Asaph jealous of in Psalm 73? (See especially vv.1-3) What had Asaph forgotten? See vv. 16-17, 23-24.

2. When it says that Lazarus is carried to Abraham’s side (or bosom), is that comforting, confusing, or something else to you? Before you answer, read Hebrews 11:8-10, 13-16 about Abraham’s faith and his future.

3. Why did Jesus say it was so important to listen to Moses and the Prophets? See John 5:46-47; Luke 24:25-27, 44-45. (Also, for more regarding miraculous signs, see 1 Cor. 1:22-25)

The Laws (and Loopholes?) of the Kingdom

Luke 16:14-18

Sermon Notes

1) The Kingdom of God is Not about Loopholes and Looking Good, 14-15

2) The Kingdom of God is about Violent Force, 16

3) The Kingdom of God is about Law and Order, 17-18

Reflection Questions:

1) How can trying to do the right thing become a bad thing? What role do your motives play in this? What role do the opinions of others play in this? Read vv. 14-15 and also see Philippians 3:1-10.

2) How did people seem to force their way into the Kingdom? See Luke 5:17-26; 7:36-50; 8:43-48. Did they really force their way in? See John 6:37, 44. See I John 4:19.

3) Jesus probably mentioned the laws about divorce (Luke 16:18) because it was one law that the Pharisees had trouble keeping. What is one of God’s laws that you try to rewrite or ignore to avoid admitting that you fall short of it? What would be a better approach? See Philippians 3:7-9.

The Shrewd Manager

Luke 16:1-13

Sermon Notes

1) The Dishonest Manager Who Used Money Shrewdly, 1-9

2) God’s People Should Use Money to Make Everlasting Friends, 1-9

3) God’s People Should Use Money to Receive Something Greater, 10-12

4) God’s People Should Use Money, so that Money Doesn’t Use Them, 13

Reflection questions:

1) Are there things we can learn from people who are unrighteous, dishonest, or dishonorable? Why? Has God given them some gifts, as well? See Matthew 5:45 and Matthew 10:16.

2) What does it look like to make friends who can receive you into eternal dwellings (v9)? Compare to Matthew 6:19-21.

3) Thomas Chalmers once preached a sermon titled, “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection.” What do you think he meant? What was the expulsive power he was talking about? Compare Luke 16:13 and 2 Corinthians 5:14-15.