Worship Prep // January 27th, 2018

Deep Study.  Deep Relationships.  Deep Service.  The three pillars of ongoing discipleship at Refuge.Church as we allow the Holy Spirit to mold and shape our hearts.

This week, we continue in the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus’ first teaching to his disciples in the Gospel of Matthew.  Below are resources that you may use as you prepare for our time TOGETHER on Saturday at Refuge.Church Fort Myers.

Bible Text

Matthew 5:17-48

10 Questions for Further Thought

1. To what Law did Jesus refer? How is this evident in the text?
2. What specific things did Jesus do that made it appear that he was abolishing at least some of the Law? In what way did/does Jesus fulfill the Law? What was/is the appointed goal of the Law?
3. For how long must the Law remain intact? Has this point been reached? What does this imply about the modern authority of the Law?
4. What was Jesus signifying when he taught, “You have heard that it was said, but I tell you . . .”? What does this imply about Jesus’ relationship to the Law? What does this imply about the relevance and authority of the Law today?
5. Why must Christians obey the Law? Must Christians obey every Law?
6. What view of the Law was Jesus refuting? What practices of legal adherence was Jesus refuting? Where do you recognize this view and these practices in the church today?
7. What qualities should characterize Christian obedience to the Law? How (and how often) do you consider the Law as it applies to your daily life?
8. Why is harmony in human relationships so important to worship? How has your own worship been hampered in the past by strife in your own human relationships?
9. Why did Jesus tell people to cut off their hands and to gouge out their eyes if he didn’t really mean it? How can one prove that Jesus didn’t really mean it?
10. How does one “turn the other cheek” without “going overboard”? How does one know where to draw the line?

Recommended Additional Material

Tim Keller // The Grace of Law

Approaches to Interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount

Why People Hate the Sermon on the Mount

Commentaries of Matthew 5:17-48

Prior Messages from this Series

Refuge.Church Series // The Gospel of Matthew