Today, Sunday April 14, God made the Old Testament story of the 12 spies scouting out the Promised Land come alive. You can listen to it at www.newsongpittsburgh.org. Unfortunately, it was after my sermon notes were printed and the sermon discussion questions need to be revised. Below you will find the revised version.
Revised discussion
questions for April 14 sermon
1. Tell us of a time you had to persevere
and not give up.
2. What kinds of things tend to discourage
you, make you want to give up?
3. Read and compare the progression of the
10 spies versus the 2 below. What
catches your attention? What important
thoughts or lessons can we takeaway?
The progression of
response for the TEN:
I. They see what is
actually true saw how good the land was AND saw giants
II. They interpret
what is true according to what they see as biggest (notice God is not even
MENTIONED in their evaluation)
III. Their fears and
feelings get the best of them, overwhelming them – wept, grumbled
IV. They look for
someone to blame – Moses and Aaron
V. They start crazy
talk, out of touch with reality, longing for “good old days” that weren’t good
at all – would be better back in Egypt or to die there or here
VI. They develop a
very bad plan – choose another leader, go back
VII. (Later) they
will reap what they sow
The
progression of response for the TWO (Joshua
and Caleb):
I. They see what is
actually true – same as the others
II. They interpret
what is true according to what they see as biggest (notice God is at the center
of their evaluation)
III. Their faith gets
the best of them, overwhelming them – instead of fear
IV. They look to God
for hope and direction – instead of someone to blame
V. They start crazy
FAITH talk, in touch with supernatural reality, looking forward to future
incredible days that will be better than they can imagine – instead of looking
back, they are looking FORWARD to what God will do
VI. They develop a
very good plan
Do not rebel against the Lord. Or be afraid of the people in Promised Land.
VII. (Later) they
will reap what they sow – God’s reward
4. Put yourself in Joshua and Caleb’s
place... how could you not get pulled into the attitudes and actions of the
other 10 spies?
5. How do we get and keep God as biggest? What helps you to do so?
6. What things threaten to become bigger
than God for you, that you struggle with?
7. What do you most need to work on this
week - out of all we’ve talked about?
