QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS & SMALL GROUPS

Welcome to our online sermon questions. Our goal is to provide you with enough material that you will be able to more fully process the sermon and take away insights that are applicable to your daily life. We hope this will be a valuable resource for individuals and small groups.

Sermon Discussion Questions
Date: August 3, 2008
Title: Who Does He Think He Is? The Caster
Scripture: Matthew 8:28-34

1. Have you encountered any part(s) of scripture that you’re tempted to ‘skip over’ or avoid? What’s going on in that/those text? Do you think it’s possible that God could be up to a redemptive purpose that is not easily seen? How would you go about finding out?
2. Matthew’s use of the Greek work “Idou” translated ‘look’ or ‘behold’ points to 3 key features of this gospel narrative; what the demons say about who Jesus is, what happens to the pigs, and how the townspeople respond. If you were to choose a 4^th element of this story that is central to your understanding of it ~ what would that be, and why?
3. The demons essentially answer the disciples’ question “What kind of man is this; even the wind and waves obey him?” in verse 27. What do you think the disciples’ reaction might have been upon hearing this? Do you think they would have found it as amazing as 21^st century readers might? Why is it important for us to know about demons?
4. What have you learned from this text about the ministry of Jesus presence? Have you ever experienced someone blessing you with their presence? What was that like for you and how might you choose to bless someone else that way?
5. Read Ephesians chapter 6 and list as many attributes of Christ’s character as you can come up with it. Hint: each piece of armor represents at least one.
6. Have you ever encountered or heard of spiritual warfare such as Shari describes taking place in Thailand today? What would be the significance of burning or cutting spiritual images or charms? Why would someone do this prior to Christian baptism?
7. Talk about the tragic consequences of evil that you have seen in your lifetime. Certainly you’ll talk about the ‘biggies’ like Rwanda, Sudan, and the Holocaust, but don’t stop there; also think about what are some of the smaller, no less insidious ways that evil impacts us?
8. Read John 4 in a study Bible including the notes. What was significant about Jesus choice to travel through Samaria? Why does it matter that Jesus went there? How are Samaritans different than Jews in matters of faith? What might Jesus have taught them that helped them believe?
9. Write your own ‘what if’ imagining a new ending to the story if Jesus came to your town, healed the lives of some desperate people what might happen? What might the role of the local church be in that?
10. Have you had a recent ‘little faith’ moment in the past few weeks? Looking back on that now, what have you learned from it? Do you trust God for it now? What would it take for you to trust God more in your life, in our church, and beyond?
11. Write your own words of confession about question number ten. Next, write in response to your confession some words of assurance that come from any of the passages covered in today’s sermon.