NOTE: If you missed this message, click here to listen. Also, this will be the last installment of Conversation Starters for 2015. We will start up with questions again the week of January 3rd, 2016.
Talk about your experience on Sunday morning.
- How did God speak to you this week?
- Did you meet anyone new?
Read Isaiah 9:6 together.
- Of the names for Jesus listed in Isaiah, which name stands out to you most? Why?
- One of the names for Christ listed here is “Prince of Peace.” What does this mean to you?
- What do you think the peace that Jesus brings actually looks like (both personally as well as in our world)? What makes this kind of peace so allusive in today’s world?
Review the story in Matthew 2 of Jesus and his family on the run from King Herod.
- What parallels can be drawn between Rome and ISIS? How might this impact the way we think about the Christmas story?
- How does the reality that Jesus’ life started out with him as a refugee (V13-14) impact the way you think about the refugee crisis in our world? What things might you (or this group) be able to do in order to make a difference in lives of refugees?
- (Are you interested in helping coordinate our churches efforts in supporting Syrian Refugees? The Church is looking to form a “Refugee Support Team”. Contact Annika at info@thegatheringottawa.com if interested.)
Jesus and his family were, in a sense, victims of Rome’s terror and evil. How might this reality impact the way we view Jesus’ teachings on peace and non-violence?
- Look at John 18:36. What do you think Jesus meant when he said “My Kingdom is not of this world”? What impact does this have on the way we think about violence and the way we should deal with conflict in life?
- Look at John 16:33 and 14:1. Why do we not need to be afraid in the face of ISIS and this refugee crisis?
- What do you think Jesus meant when he said “I have overcome the world”?
- How do these verses/truths give us hope?
- Look at Matthew 5:44. This teaching is viewed as one of the Jesus’ most central teachings. What do you think this means for us today?
Jeff closed by challenging us to befriend our Muslim co-workers & neighbors saying that we need a ‘radicalized version of Christianity’ in our world.
- What did you sense God challenging you to do in response to this teaching?
- Spend some time in prayer together as a group, asking God to give us to courage to let His LOVE rule our hearts and lives!
