ENGAGE INSPIRE EQUIP

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Life Group Sermon Study

A high priest who understands October 26-27, 2013

Break the Ice:

EN GAGE

(A key part of healthy group life is to make sure your group gets to know each other and builds good relationships. The purpose of these first questions is to help your group open up. Please don’t feel like you have to ask each question. Once you feel like the group is ready, move onto the “Inspire” section.)

• Did you ever disregard a warning as a teenager or young adult? What was involved and what was the outcome? • What’s the best news you have received recently? Describe your feelings and why it brought excitement. • What did God teach you during the message this weekend? Did anything in particular stand out? Prayer: Take some time to pray for God to speak to your group through this week’s study. Questions:

INSP IRE

(Each question has a lot to unpack. Since the group may need time to process each question, don’t let silence scare you. Try to avoid filling the space with unnecessary explanation or moving on from the question too quickly.)

1. Matt stated, “When we understand the bitterness of sin, then we can taste the sweetness of the Gospel.” • How did this understanding draw you to Christ? How does this continue to have relevance for you today? How would you explain this to someone who doesn’t believe?

2. Read Hebrews 4:13. • Explain the “good news” and “bad news” referenced in this verse. Does being held accountable to God frighten you? Why or why not?

Read 1 John 4:8 and Romans 2:4-5. • Do you struggle with understanding both God’s wrath and God’s grace? Explain your answer.

3. Read Hebrews 4:14. This verse says, “We have a great High Priest,” meaning that He is our possession now; the work of atonement is done and never to be repeated. • What is the significance of Jesus being seated at the right hand of the throne that Matt referenced? What was the posture of the high priests in the Old Testament?

Read Ephesians 1:13-14, Romans 5:9-11, and Romans 8:1. • How do these verses create in you a heart of dependence, repentance, and worship? What are some ways we can drift and allow something (or someone) other than Jesus to occupy that space in our lives?

Read Hebrews 4:15. Focusing on this verse, Matt said, “We have a God who can honestly say to you, wherever you are, ‘I know how you feel.’” • How does this encourage and give you comfort when tempted, struggling, or experiencing pain or suffering? Read Hebrews 5:1-10. These verses state the qualifications for a high priest and show how Jesus is our High Priest, specifically in verses 8 and 9. Matt’s summation of these verses was, “Obedience to Christ starts with death to self.” Application:

EQUIP

(These questions will challenge your group members to apply the study to their daily lives. How can they live out what they take in? It is highly important that you go over this section with your group each week for the group study to be a success.)

Read Hebrews 4:16. Matt said, “Because Jesus, our High Priest, has sprinkled His own blood on the throne—changing it from dread to delight. And because it is the throne of grace for all who put their trust in Jesus, we can have confidence as we draw near to it that we will receive the grace and mercy promised to us when we’re tempted, when we struggle, and when we are in a time of need.” • Who is your confidence really in? Is it in Jesus or your own works? • During times of trial, do you run towards Jesus or away from Him? • In what ways can you unite faith with obedience in order to die to self? • What action steps can you take to build faith so that you can approach God with confidence? Prayer: Take some time to pray over each group member’s identified action steps and life issues. Pray that God would strengthen us to live for Him and die to self. Equip Your Mind: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20, ESV)