The End

Please read through this guide and use it as a tool in your Life Groups in whatever way suits you best.

Read the Word.

1. Think about what you read in the Book of Matthew recently, OR;

2. Briefly read through Matthew 25:14-30.

What stands out to you from your Bible reading and why? How can you apply that to your life?

Reflect on the Sermon.

The ending of something - like a movie or a book - has the power to capture our attention. In Matthew 24-25, Jesus tells us a little bit about what the end of the world will look like. How do we respond appropriately to what the Bible teaches us about the end times? We should not obsess over it or ignore it. Instead, we should be aware of the season we’re in and live with purpose. We do that when we endure, excel, and evangelize. Jesus won’t return until every “people group” has heard the gospel. We can be a part of that!

1. What does it mean to you to “endure and excel?” How are you trying to do that?

2. How can you be involved in bringing the gospel to the world?

The Compelling Faith of a Mother

Please read through this guide and use it as a tool in your Life Groups in whatever way suits you best.

Read the Word.

1. Think about what you read in the Book of Matthew recently, OR;

2. Briefly read through the Main Text from Pastor Roland’s sermon last Sunday.

21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

- Matthew 15:21-28

What stands out to you from your Bible reading and why? How can you apply that to your life?

Reflect on the Sermon.

In Matthew 15, Jesus leaves Jerusalem and goes on an extended journey into the area of Tyre and Sidon before returning to the Sea of Galilee. The Book of Matthew only tells us about one encounter He had while there. A Gentile woman approached Jesus, asking for him to heal her daughter. Jesus initially resisted her to test her faith. She responded with compelling faith that impressed Jesus! This woman had a problem, like we all do at times. But she had a plan - and that was to persistently seek Jesus as the provider for her needs.

1. Have you ever felt like God might be testing your faith? If so, then how?

   1. What do you think God wanted you to learn?

2. What stands out to you about the Canaanite Mother’s example? How can you emulate that?

Life Group HEAR Journal - Weekly Reading: Matthew 13-Matthew 17:13

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ 28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

- Matthew 13:24-30

An easy, memorable way to learn how to read and process the Bible is through the HEAR journaling method. This process helps us read God’s Word with the goal of understanding it and applying it to our lives. The letters stand for Highlight, Explain, Apply, and Respond. 

• Highlight a scripture: Pick one verse (or pick a set of connected or related verses) from the Book of Matthew. Highlight this verse or write down the Book, chapter, and verse number.

• Explain the context: By asking some simple questions with the help of God’s Spirit, we can understand the meaning of a passage or verse. The following questions can help us understand the context of a passage: What’s happening in the story? Why was this written, and to whom? How does it fit with the verses before and after it? What does God intend to communicate through this text? 

• Apply it to your life: Application is the heart of the process! Answering a series of questions can help us uncover the meaning of these verses to us on a personal level. What is God saying to me? How can this help me? What does this mean today? How would applying this look in my life?

• Respond with action: This is the last part of the HEAR Journal. Your response to the passage may take on many forms. You may write a call to action. You can describe how you’ll be different because of what God said to you through His Word. You may indicate what you’re going to do because of what you have learned. You can even respond by writing out a prayer to God.

This week, you can share something from your own reading or focus on the Main Passage from Pastor Roland’s sermon: Matthew 13:24-30. We’ll write our responses and share them with our group. (If you journal some other way, feel free to do that!) Pay special to the Apply and Respond steps; that’s where God’s Word comes to life! 

Let’s encourage each other in God’s Word!

Lord of the Sabbath

Main Thought

The Sabbath was an important part of Jewish life. In The Old Testament, God made it one of the Ten Commandments. It was a day to remember His goodness and rest in His promises. Yet people forgot the meaning of the Sabbath over time. It became an oppressive religious ritual. The end result was that keeping the Sabbath became more burdensome for some than the days that were filled with work! When Jesus arrived on the scene, He revealed God’s heart behind the Sabbath. God’s compassion values people’s needs over religious rules. Sometimes, people need rest; at other times, people need help. God wants to meet our needs. He also blesses us with His best. But those gifts can become burdens when not used properly. Ultimately, God extends relief from our burdens when we rest in the finished work of Jesus. Jesus is the true fulfillment of the Sabbath. In Him, we can rest from trying to earn God’s love through work, receive it as a gift, and enjoy growing in it from a place of acceptance instead of fear.

Main Passages

9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 

- Matthew 12:9-13

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 

- James 1:17

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

- Matthew 11:28-30

Discussion Questions

1. What stood out to you from God’s Word over the past week, either from your personal reading or the Main Passages above?

2. Why do you think God made the Sabbath one of the Ten Commandments?

3. What do you think it means for Jesus to be the Sabbath? How can that affect our lives as Christians?

Life Group HEAR Journal - Weekly Reading: Matthew 5:17-9:8

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

- Matthew 6:19-24

An easy, memorable way to learn how to read and process the Bible is through the HEAR journaling method. This process helps us read God’s Word with the goal of understanding it and applying it to our lives. The letters stand for Highlight, Explain, Apply, and Respond. 

• Highlight a scripture: Pick one verse (or pick a set of connected or related verses) from the Book of Matthew. Highlight this verse or write down the Book, chapter, and verse number.

• Explain the context: By asking some simple questions with the help of God’s Spirit, we can understand the meaning of a passage or verse. The following questions can help us understand the context of a passage: What’s happening in the story? Why was this written, and to whom? How does it fit with the verses before and after it? What does God intend to communicate through this text? 

• Apply it to your life: Application is the heart of the process! Answering a series of questions can help us uncover the meaning of these verses to us on a personal level. What is God saying to me? How can this help me? What does this mean today? How would applying this look in my life?

• Respond with action: This is the last part of the HEAR Journal. Your response to the passage may take on many forms. You may write a call to action. You can describe how you’ll be different because of what God said to you through His Word. You may indicate what you’re going to do because of what you have learned. You can even respond by writing out a prayer to God.

This week, you can share something from your own reading or focus on the Main Passage from Pastor Matt’s sermon: Matthew 6:19-24. We’ll write our responses and share them with our group. (If you journal some other way, feel free to do that!) Pay special to the Apply and Respond steps; that’s where God’s Word comes to life! 

Let’s encourage each other in God’s Word!

Life Group HEAR Journal: Matthew 1-5:16

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

- Matthew 5:13-16

An easy, memorable way to learn how to read and process the Bible is through the HEAR journaling method. This process helps us read God’s Word with the goal of understanding it and applying it to our lives. The letters stand for Highlight, Explain, Apply, and Respond. 

• Highlight a scripture: Pick one verse (or pick a set of connected or related verses) from the Book of Matthew. Highlight this verse or write down the Book, chapter, and verse number.

• Explain the context: By asking some simple questions with the help of God’s Spirit, we can understand the meaning of a passage or verse. The following questions can help us understand the context of a passage: What’s happening in the story? Why was this written, and to whom? How does it fit with the verses before and after it? What does God intend to communicate through this text? 

• Apply it to your life: Application is the heart of the process! Answering a series of questions can help us uncover the meaning of these verses to us on a personal level. What is God saying to me? How can this help me? What does this mean today? How would applying this look in my life?

• Respond with action: This is the last part of the HEAR Journal. Your response to the passage may take on many forms. You may write a call to action. You can describe how you’ll be different because of what God said to you through His Word. You may indicate what you’re going to do because of what you have learned. You can even respond by writing out a prayer to God.

This week, you can share something from your own reading or focus on the Main Passage from Pastor Roland’s sermon: Matthew 5:13-16. We’ll write our responses and share them with our group. (If you journal some other way, feel free to do that!) Pay special to the Apply and Respond steps; that’s where God’s Word comes to life! 

Let’s encourage each other in God’s Word!