Authentically knowing someone exceeds knowing a few facts about them. Intimacy means we know their passions; it means knowing that which brings them joy and what causes them anguish, even anger. Knowing someone means we know their heart. Sunday we will open the Scripture to John 2:13-25 and ponder an event in the life of Jesus that caused Him to explode with anger, even to the point of violence. This is not the “Sunday School” Jesus–this is the genuine Jesus.
Jesus reveals the Father. A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most important fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his heart conceives God to be like.”
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(Weekly Community Group Discussion Guide)
Date: March 6, 2016 // Title: Not Your Sunday School Jesus
Scripture: John 2:13-25
SERMON REVIEW 5-10 minutes
ARRIVAL / SOCIAL TIME 15-20 minutes
Spend the first 15 minutes or so of your time together catching up and socializing with one another. Also find time to catch up together on how the assignments from last week turned out.
SERMON REVIEW 5-10 minutes
This week our Founding Pastor, Buddy Hoffman, challenged each of us by confronting us with the surprising nature of Jesus in John 2. Here we see the unexpected anger of Jesus as He cleanses the temple. The temple originally was the place where the presence (the Ark of the Covenant) and priority (10 Commandments) of God were housed. While the presence and priority of God had long since left the building, here in John 2 the person of God in human flesh (Jesus) shows up but is unrecognized by most. In this passage, Jesus steps into the temple, which by this time had been turned into a profit-making machine—manipulating and maneuvering people for lesser gains. He cleanses the temple by turning over tables, demonstrating His ZEAL to re-establish the temple to its original purpose—a place to meet with God.
THE MAIN THOUGHT Keep this in mind as you facilitate discussion.
Whatever you have the most zeal for will consume you.
SEE IT Questions :: 10-15 minutes
Picture: What surprises you most about the story of Jesus cleansing the temple in John 2:13-25? How does this challenge your thinking about who God is and what He is like? Why do you think Jesus gets so angry in this passage? What misuses and abuses does Jesus see happening in the temple courts?
Mirror: When is the last time that you were angry? What makes you mad on a regular basis? How does what we get mad about remind us of what we care about? What consumes you? What are you passionate about? Why? How does what we are passionate about tie into what we get angry about? Do you think it is possible to really love without opening up the possibility of anger? Why or why not?
Window: Where are places that you see misuse and abuse happening in the world? How does or should this misuse and abuse make us angry? How might our passion for goodness move us past anger to action? What might this action look like?
BE IT – Practice
Change UP // Surprise Party
Take a moment to list out some of the most surprising attributes of who God is according to Scripture. Work together as a group to come up with ten surprising attributes of whom God is and a Scripture that helps you see each of these attributes (this could be anything from laughter to grace to anger). Throw a surprise party of sorts by celebrating which of these surprising elements of God you are most thankful for by allowing each person to share one at a time.
Change IN // Popcorn Party
Take a few moments as a group to call out parts of your passions to God in prayer. Call out these things in popcorn style (meaning just call them out without explaining them so you can list as many as possible in the allotted time):
Take 1 minute to call out the names of places that you are passionate to see the kingdom of God invade.
Take 1 minute to call out the names of people that you are passionate about seeing God work in.
Take 1 minute to call out the names of priorities that you are passionate about seeing God finish through you.
Change OUT // Easter Opportunity
Last week we challenged you to think about your Easter Plans. Remember, holidays are natural opportunities to find ways to meet, celebrate, or initiate conversation with your neighbors. Take some time to think together about how Easter might allow you to get OUT, but also remember that Easter is a great time to invite others IN. Keeping that in mind, create a list of people in your neighborhood or network together that you could ask to come to Easter service with you this year. Work the next few weeks to engage these people in conversation and invite them IN.
CLOSING PRAYER 5 minutes
Take a few minutes to gather any prayer requests and pray for each other to SEE IT and BE IT this week.