GBC Value: Focused on Jesus
I. Which JESUS are we FOCUSED on? (I Cor. 11:1)
A. VENGEFUL and CONTROLLING Jesus? (OT/Revelation)
B. GENTLE and FORGIVING Jesus? (Gospels)
C. “LOOKS like ME” Jesus? (Mark 8:33)
The first value that we list on our GBC Mission, Vision, and Values document is that we aspire to always be “Focused on Jesus.” It’s an admirable value, and one that no one who has any understanding of church and Christianity would ever question. It should be our value, we should be focused…but we have to be clear on who Jesus is to live that out.
1. Kid’s Question: What do you think Jesus would have done in his free time?
2. Which of the “types” of Jesus resonated most with you? Why do you drift toward seeing Jesus in that way?
II. JESUS in the TEXT. (v.31-59)
A. A doorway to FAMILY and FREEDOM.(v.31-38)
B. A CLARIFIER of our SHADOW side. (v.39-45)
C. Both BEYOND us and BEFORE us. (v.45-59)
When we say we are focused on Jesus we mean that we see Him as the “Living Word” that is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit through the written Word. What we see of Jesus in our text today is a good window into the way He challenges all of our assumptions about God.
3. What stands out to you from the text about Jesus? How might you have reacted in that crowd listening to Him?
4. On a scale of 1-10 how hard is it for you to accept change? How willing are you to admit that you are wrong? Why are you that way?
5. When have you learned something unpleasant about yourself? How did you react to that? Was it good to learn it?
III. Making ROOM for His WORD. (v.37,43,51)
- His Word UNSETTLES to EXPOSE. (Heb 4:12,13)
- We are EXPOSED to be set FREE. (Eph. 4:20-24)
- We are set FREE to be RECONCILED. (Col. 1:15-22)
The listeners in our text couldn’t understand what Jesus was saying, which was noted by Jesus. They didn’t have “room for His word.” (v.37) Our hope today is to not fall into that category. We want to have hearts that are open and spacious with plenty of room to hear and apply what God is saying to us.
6. When has the Bible “unsettled” you? What was that like? What came of the unsettling?
7. What is one of your greatest fears? Do you tend to hide that or speak clearly about it? Has (or could) exposing the truth about you fear help you?
8. What does it mean, in practical terms, for everything in heaven and on earth to be reconciled to God through Christ? What would that look like?