Week 20

 

Bible Reading

Daily readings from the last week:
John 12-18

Reflect

  • What stood out to you from your daily readings over the last week? Any questions?

  • How did you go with what you said you’d do last week?

Discuss

Mark 9:42-50

Have someone read the passage and use the SOAP method to explore the text:

  • S - Scripture (read scripture together)

  • O - Observe (what do we see? What does it make us think?)

  • A - Apply (what does this mean for my life?)

  • P - Pray (pray together)

Don’t miss
Sanctification

Jesus is getting at the seriousness of sin here. He’s using exaggerated language to show how much we should abhor sin and pursue holiness. He’s calling for a costly sacrifice; that if there are parts of our lives that continually cause us to stumble, then we may have to make radical changes to our lives (e.g. if you are struggling with pornography, you might consider getting a ‘dumb’ phone with no browser or apps). The goal here isn’t outward conformity to rules, or to simply have good behaviour. The issue at stake is our hearts (remember what we looked at in Week 16 in Mark 7:14-23) and our desire to be holy (set apart, consecrated) because God is holy.

Learn

Perhaps the most famous prayer in scripture is the Lord’s Prayer. It has been recited by Christians for millennia and serves as both liturgy and prayer guide - you can pray the words and also use the words as themes to pray through. Read aloud the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6:9-13, and then home in on one or two themes that you would like to pray into today:

  • Our Father in heaven - recognising God as your supreme authority and reminding ourselves that we pray as children of the Father, not beggars who need to plead with him.

  • Hallowed be your name - worship, adoration, desire to make His name known and praised

  • Your kingdom come - desire for God’s rule and reign in your life and the world

  • Daily bread - request for what you need

  • Forgive our debts - confession and a willingness to be forgiving toward others

  • Temptation - freedom from besetting sins, desire for a pure heart before the Lord

Pray

  • Spend time praying about what you’re learning.

Next Steps

  • What is a key takeaway from today?

  • Who are you going to tell about what you’ve been learning?

Read John 19-Acts 4 before you come back next time

 
Andrea MullerFoundations