The Kingdom of God Discussion Group – Week 1
Posted by southcitychurch on September 9, 2008
For each of the next ten Wednesdays (with the exception of Oct. 1) leading up to Thanksgiving, we at South City Church are going to be exploring together what it means to live out the Kingdom of God right here, right now. We’d love to do this together and with the help of our friends who may not be able to make it to services to hear the sermons. Our sermons are available to listen to on the South City Sermons blog. This is the first week of discussions. Each week, we will post the questions and hope you will join us in this discussion.
Read Matthew 4:17-23. What does the “Gospel (or good news) of the Kingdom” mean? What does it mean to you? Do you see and understand the “Gospel” as it relates to the “Kingdom”? And what implications does this have on how you view the world, your life and the role of the church in it?
Imagine yourself in Peter or Andrew or James or John’s shoes. You are in thee middle of your work when Jesus walks up and tells you to drop everything and follow him. What sort of internal struggle would you have when faced with the choice? Would you go? What fears would you have? What difference would it make if you realized that he was ushering in the “kingdom of heaven” (v. 17) and wanted YOU to participate?
Do you live in the reality that Jesus calls you by name? That he had you in mind on the cross? That he is with you now – as you eat, sleep, work and play? What difference would it make in your life (your work, your relationships, your private life) if you really lived as if Jesus was your spouse – always with you – knowing everything about you? Is Jesus Christ really your personal savior or is he just some cultural or theological abstract on the fringes of your personal life?
Edmund P. Clowney writes that “The church, according to the Scripture, is not a religious club, a voluntary association of like-minded Christians who cultivate friendship and engage in joint projects. It is rather the institution of Christ and of the Spirit, formed by his power and governed by his Word.” Do you see the church primarily as a club or as the Covenant family of God? What does your understanding of this have on how you prioritize the church community?
We live in an individualistic culture. We are inundated with exhortations to “do your own thing”, “do what makes you happy,” and to “be all that you can be.” The internet has allowed people to relate with each other on their own terms – to manufacture identities and to make friendships that cost them very little. Do you treat church like just another internet site where you can visit without it costing you anything? What difference would it make if you treated it like a family?
Richard Lovelace says that the trend toward thinking of Christianity only in terms of its personal benefits is like thinking of the Christian life as one where “the individual believer is connected to the source of grace like a diver who draws his air supply from the surface through a hose. He is essentially a self-contained system cut off from the other divers working around him. If their air supply is cut off, this does not damage him nor can he share with them the air that he receives. The situation would be no different if he were working alone a hundred miles away” (Dynamics of Spiritual Life, p. 167-68). What effects does this have on the church? How does it essentially undermine the “Gospel of the Kingdom?”
How can you grow as a disciple of Christ in these areas?
