This week’s sermon talked about authority. In general, what is your attitude towards authority? Is it something you resist? Are there people or situations where submitting to authority is hard for you? Are there situations or people that it is easier for you to submit to their authority?
**Before group download this free book “What Jesus Demands from the World and read chapters 2, 9, and 33 be better able to answer these questions:**
What two things “show us that repentance is an internal change of mind and heart rather than mere sorrow for sin or mere improvement of behavior” (p. 40)? Who is excluded from the demand to repent? Why? How is the kingdom of God and the universal need for repentance related? Why is the need to repent so urgent?
Is the repentance that Jesus demands from all people a one-time thing or an ongoing way of life? Why? What things in your life do you need to repent about? How will knowing that repentance is an inner change of mind and heart affect how you seek to obey Jesus’ demand for repentance?
How is Jesus the litmus test for our love for God? Why can Jesus be this litmus test? Why does the author say we must see and savor God as “compellingly beautiful” (p. 77)? Why should we think that love for God most essentially involves the affections, not behavior?
Explain why Jesus assumes we love ourselves. Is he right? Why or why not? How is this profoundly counter-cultural for 21st century America? When does self-love become sinful pride and selfishness? Why is the second commandment threatening to our desires to be our own God?