If you missed Sunday November 13th’s message, you can listen to it here (please forgive the poor audio quality).
- Ghandi once said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” What are some reasons that you think Ghandi (and others) would say, “I do not like your Christians”?
- How has “hypocrisy” done so much to the reputation of Christianity over the years? How have you personally encountered “Christian hypocrisy” in your own life?
Read Mark 7:1-23 together.
- Why was Jesus so harsh to the Pharisees in this passage, calling them “hypocrites”?
- Can you think of any ways that Christians today sometimes “substitute their own (man-made) traditions for God’s law” (i.e. fence laws)? What makes this so dangerous?
- In verses 14-19, Jesus tells a short parable about eating unclean food and what truly defiles a person. What was the point of Jesus’ parable?
- Jeff said, “It’s not our behaviour or what we do on the outside that is the issue. It’s what comes from the inside of us that is the real problem.” What does this mean? Why do we as Christians so often focus on behaviours instead of the heart?
- In verses 20-23, Jesus gave a long list of sinful behaviours and attitudes, saying that all these “things come from within.” How does sinful behaviour start in our hearts? Give some practical examples from your own life (i.e anger, lust, hatred, addiction, jealousy etc…).
- Jeff said, “We don’t need new rules, we need new hearts!” How does Jesus give us new hearts? What attitudes and/or behaviours do we need to embrace in order to allow Jesus to change us from the inside-out like this?
- Jeff talked about asking the “why question” when we battle sin in our life. (i.e. “Why do I keep doing this? What need am I trying to meet, that is not currently being met in Christ? What wound from my past is motivating me to behave this way?”) What makes this “why question” so scary to ask? What makes it exciting? What do you think God could do in your heart as you ask this “why question” about specific sin in your life?
- Is there a certain sin issue that you feel God calling you to ask the “why question” about right now? What is it?
- Spend some time in prayer together as a group, encouraging one another to bring our “why questions” to God so that we can experience the healing that God longs to provide our hearts (healing that causes us to live differently!).
