Last in Line

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VIP

February 18 & 19

Last in Line

This sermon study is designed to be used the week after the sermon it supplements. Before using the study in your group, it might be helpful to work through the questions on your own. The purpose of this guide is merely to help facilitate discussion, so don’t feel pressure to visit every question.

SERIES OVERVIEW When you hear the term “VIP” (very important person), who do you think about? Maybe you think of getting your hands on a backstage pass at a concert, or court side seats to a game. VIP status isn’t given to just anyone -- you have to do something or know someone to receive it. As human beings, we all want to feel important, but we rarely admit it. In the Bible, Jesus speaks to our worth and how He sees us in Matthew 18 - 21. In God’s eyes, He sees us as one of a kind because of what He did for us on a cross.

TEXT Matthew 20:1-28

3. Read through the story that Jesus told in Matthew 20:1-16 about the workers in the vineyard. How might you have felt at the end of the day if you were one of the first workers hired? One of the last ones hired? 4. Jake said the kingdom of heaven is unfair, and that’s the best news you’ll ever hear. What does he mean by that? How do you determine what’s fair in life? Does your definition of what’s fair align with Jesus’s in this parable? 5. Have you ever been jealous of what God has given to another person? Do you think everyone receives the same benefits in the kingdom regardless of how long they’ve been following Christ or what they’ve had to endure? 6. We are all sinners in need of grace. Grace is God’s generosity, but if you’re not careful, you can lose sight and begin to think God owes you. Have you ever felt that way? Has God’s grace ever lost its luster to you?

GETTING STARTED When you were a child, what chores were you expected to do? How much allowance did you receive?

DIGGING DEEPER 1. What status symbols exist in today’s culture? How have those symbols changed from one generation to the next? How do those things compare to what God values? 2. How has this series challenged your values so far? What are you going to do about it?

7. What is Jesus teaching in Matthew 20:20-28? How does it oppose the values of the culture today? Instead of always asking the question, “What about me?”, what would happen if you started asking, “What about you?” 8. What specific ways can you serve people, using Jesus as your model?

NEXT STEPS When you receive grace, you get VIP status. Now it’s time to give it away. Who can you start serving this week? What’s stopping you?