Category: The Outsider’s Guide To Jesus

Luke 2:1-15 // A Tale of Two Kingdoms: Outsiders Wk 8

Introduction // 5 minutes

When was the last time you were surprised with good news?

 

Observation // 15 minutes

Read Luke 2:1-15

What does “Good News” look like in this passage?

Leader note:  When someone gives an observation, ask them “where do you see that?” and then ask the group, “What does that mean – in our own words?”  This will help as you move through the question.

Sample Answers May Include…

  • News that does away with fear (v10)
  • Good news for “all people” (v10)
  • News that results in joy (v10)
  • Good news looks like the “Savior” the “Messiah” the “Lord” coming to His people (v11)
  • It looks surprising, not what you would expect (v12)
  • News that causes praise (v13)
  • News that brings Glory to God (v14)
  • News that brings peace on Earth (v14)
  • It sparks action, compelled the shepherds to find out more (v15)

 

Understanding // 15 minutes

Where does our world look for “Good News” today?

Commentary: 100 years before Luke wrote his gospel, Caesar Augustus brought an end to almost a century of civil war, and for that reason he was called “Prince of Peace” and “Savior.”   His military conquest and imperial achievements where commonly referred to as “Good News.”  He also held the titles of “Lord” and “Son of God.”  Luke intentionally borrows from these titles to make the point that there are two kingdoms, two ways to live, and two versions of good news that a person must decide between. 

Jesus brings us life, peace and salvation.  Our world continues to bring conflicting messages that tempt us to find peace and even salvation in things outside of Jesus.  Another way to ask this question could be to say… “What are all the Caesar’s in our world today?”

Sample Answers May Include…

  • The good news of pleasure; I should have whatever makes me happy
  • The good new of materialism; my possession will bring be peace, security and happiness
  • The good news of individualism; I exist for myself, I can sustain myself and determine my own destiny
  • The good news of relativism, I define my own truth
  • The good news of universalism, there is no one truth

 

Application // 20 minutes

Where are you tempted to search for “Good News” outside of Jesus?

Leader Note: Remind your group again that by “good news” we are talking about things that we look to for peace, comfort, security and meaning.

 

Live It Out // 10 minutes

What if we believed that the “Good News” of Jesus was enough? How might our lives and the lives of others be impacted?

Commentary: Trust in Jesus alone sets us on an unshakeable foundation that is unmoved by circumstance and independent from our earning and striving.  The Good News of God’s Kingdom is eternal unlike the news of our world, which fades and ultimately leads to destruction.

Prayer: Father we thank you for the good news of hope and salvation that you have made available to us through your Son, Jesus.  Lord we ask that you would continue to give us the courage to choose to live the story of your Kingdom and Gospel and avoid the temptation to believe that this world could replace in anyway all that we have revived in you.  Help us to not only be people who receive your good news but live it out for others to see. In the name of our Savior and Lord, Jesus, Amen!

Hi-Dee-Ho-Neighbor // Outsiders Wk 7

Take The Neighbor Challenge

Part of Kenton’s message this weekend was centered on the idea that we, like the people living during Jesus’ earthly ministry, can easily miss out on receiving the revolutionary message of Jesus.

For the people of Jesus’ time that looked like missing out on what He came to do because of their hope for a Messiah Warrior King to come rescue them from their Roman oppressors and establish a new earthly Kingdom.  They were so focused on their immediate needs and expectations that they failed to see the bigger picture of Jesus’ mission to redeem all of humanity for all time by defeating the power of sin and death.

People still miss Jesus today.  Kenton went on to explain that we often miss one of the most fundamental commands of scripture and Jesus teachings; the command to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Government leaders in the city of Denver were recently asked what they needed from their citizens and churches in order to make their city a better place.  Their response was that “churches should work to make a greater number of good neighbors.”  The truth is, the way we neighbor says a lot about what we believe about God.  Do we live lives of exclusion and privacy or do we allow our routines to be interrupted so that Jesus can be put on display to the people around us?

Spend time this week looking at the follow passages and discuss what it could look like to live out this call to love your neighbors.

How many “famous” neighbors can you name?

Sample Answers May Include…

  • Kramer (Seinfeld)
  • Wilson (Home Improvement)
  • Steve Urkel (Family Matters)
  • Ned Flanders (The Simpsons)
  • Eddie Haskel (Leave It To Beaver)

 Read

  • Leviticus 19:8
  • Proverbs 3:28
  • Proverbs 14:21
  • Luke 10:25-27

What does it mean to love your neighbor?

Commentary: We often think about love in terms of a light, warm and fuzzy or even a distant kind of love that settles for thinking good thoughts about a person.  Love here looks like willing the good of others as God wills it.  Not only do we will the good, we step in to put the goodness of God on display through sacrificial living.

Where have you received or expressed this idea of loving your neighbor in your life?

What obstacles are there to being a loving neighbor?

Sample Answers May Include…

  • Our electric garages, fence and gates… all these things can serve as modern day motes.
  • Not enough time
  • Our necessity for routine and space
  • Our desire for privacy and security

What steps can you take live out Jesus’ command to love your neighbors?

Leader Note:  Reference the “Who’s My Neighbor – Getting to now the people next door” card (see bottom of the page) used during the weekend at this point.  Talk about their reactions to this exercise.  How did they do?  Were they surprised at how many or how little names they could write down?  Take time to do this exercise in your group if the majority were unable to do it during a weekend service.

Only about 10% of the population is able to write down 5 names so don’t be too surprised or discouraged.  However, this is a great exercise to challenge your group this week with.

Encourage them (and yourself!) to take what for most of us may be the first step in loving our neighbors this week… learning who they are!  Use the Who’s My Neighbor Card card as a tool to help your group to engage this exercise.  Challenge your group to fill this card in the coming weeks.

How might displaying God’s love in your neighborhood develop your ability to love others outside of your community?

Sample Answers May Include…

  • It builds our faith, shows us what’s possible
  • Opens our eyes to the needs of others
  • Increases our passion for the lost
  • Develops trust and obienence

Leader Note: Explain to your group that when it comes to loving our neighbors that this is a “both and” conversation.  Our neighbors are those in our physical community but Jesus is also clear that our neighbors include those who are least like us (Luke 10:29-37).  They are the despised, the outcast, the poor and needy.  Our call is to display Christ love to all people at all times wherever God calls us.

Our desire is that we can become these kind of “both and” people not confined to the then and when of displaying God’s love but open and willing to express it in the here and the now. 

Download The “Who’s My Neighbor” Card Here

Luke 1:5-25 // While You Were Waiting: Outsiders Wk 3

Introduction // 5 minutes

When was the last time you were forced to wait for something?

Leader Note: Have your group think through unusual or comical situations.  Examples may include getting stuck on a ride at Disneyland or accidentally walking into the wrong movie theatre ect….

How did you respond? How did those around you respond?

 

Observation // 20 minutes

Read Luke 1:5-10

What do you observe about Zechariah and Elizabeth?

Sample Answers May Include…

  • Zechariah was a priest (v5)
  • Elizabeth was a descendent of Aaron.  Note: She also came from a priestly line (v5)
  • They were righteous and blameless in God’s sight (v6)
  • Elizabeth was barren (v7) Note: baroness was a sign of cursing and cause for shame. This creates a tension as God calls them righteous and blameless.
  • They were both very old (v7)
  • Zechariah was singled out amongst a great number of people (there were upwards of 20,000 priest at this time) for a once a lifetime task (v9)

Commentary: Zechariah was selected for the task of offering up the prayers of the people through the burring of incense in the Holy of Holies within the Temple.  The most common prayer offered was for the Lord to Come.  It was a prayer of hope for the promised Messiah to come and deliver His people.  The Jewish people were under Roman occupation during this time, which would make the cry of that prayer all the more passionate and immediate. 

Read Luke 1:11-25

What do you learn about faith and doubt from Zechariah and Elizabeth?

Sample Answers May Include…

  • Zechariah had prayed continuously for his wife’s barrenness (v13)
  • Zechariah still doubted despite all the signs given to him, i.e. being selected to perform this task in the temple, an Angel appearing before him and announcing that Elizabeth would give birth to a son (v18)
  • Zechariah was fixated on what he could see and knew to be true, mainly that they were past the age child bearing (v18)
  • There is a cost to unbelief (v20) Note: The cost was silence. He would not be able to exit the temple and proclaim not only the good news of the coming birth of his son but also the good news of what his son was prophesied to do, that is prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah.
  • God’s plan was accomplished despite Zechariah’s doubt (v20)
  • Elizabeth, viewed as shameful and cursed by society was now given the privilege to announce the great news of God’s favor to her and His people (v25)

Commentary: Zechariah an Elizabeth’s waiting for their own child is set in the context of an entire people who had been waiting for the arrival of their Messiah.  The prophets of the Old Testament spoke about God’s promised Messiah and then suddenly there was silence.  400 years had passed between the age of the prophets and the time of the New Testament.  God amazingly fulfills his promise to Zechariah and Elizabeth and also begins to bring the manifestation of the promised Messiah to His people through the life and ministry John the Baptist who is sent to prepare the way of the Lord. Both parties had to endure a prolonged time of waiting to receive what had been promised.

What do you learn about God through the way he answers Zechariah and Elizabeth’s prayer?

Commentary: God often works in the middle of despite and seemingly impossible situations when there appears to be no other way.

 

Understanding // 10 minutes

What keeps people from believing God’s promises today?

Sample Answers May Include…

  • When their prayers go unanswered
  • They don’t believe in God in the first place
  • Doubting in His goodness
  • Believing that He’s too busy for them

 

Application // 20 minutes

Where have you seen God answer your prayer?

Where are you still waiting for a prayer to be answered?

What has waiting for that prayer to be answered looked like for you?

Leader Note: Allow room the spectrum of answers here.  Some in your group will be holding on with great belief and faith while others may be in a place where they are ready to give up.  Hold both in tension while pointing to the reality of God’s goodness.

 

Live It Out // 10 minutes

How might the way we wait be a testimony to those around us?

Prayer:  Ask God to give strength and peace in the middle of waiting.  Pray that we may be able to learn something about God’s nature and have Christ’s character further developed in us through waiting.