Message Title: A Reasonable Faith

Series: Reasons for God

Key verses:

Isaiah 1:18; Isaiah 53

Sermon Notes:

Worldview offers answers to four primary life questions:

1. Origins: Where did I come from?
2. Meaning: Why am I here?
3. Morality: How do I understand right and wrong?
4. Destiny: What happens to me when I die?

5. Is it reasonable to believe that everything comes from nothing?
6. Is it reasonable to believe that intelligence is produced from non-intelligence?
7. Is it reasonable to believe that a cosmic explosion produces universal order and fine tuning?

Follow-up Questions from Sunday’s Message:

Getting to Know You:

What was the best memory or highlight from your summer?

Quick Review:
Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, what was the most memorable part of the message for you on Sunday?

Digging Deeper:

1. Why do you think college campuses are so hostile to Christians/a Christian world view? Did you ever experience direct or indirect challenges to your faith in college?  Please share.
2. When you think about your world view, how has it changed over the years and what/who has had the most influence in that change?
3. Read Isaiah 1:18. How would you define reason?
4. What do you believe is the most reasonable part of your faith?
5. Read Isaiah 53. Pastor Frank shared on Sunday that this chapter is what convinced him that the Christian faith/world view was true? Do you believe that this chapter is evidence for the existence of God?  Why or Why not?
6. Read John 5:39-40. Jesus says that the Scriptures testify about Him and His coming.  Do you think Jesus was referring to passages like Isaiah 53?  What other Scriptures can you think of that testify about Him?
7. Read 1 Peter 3:15. What does this passage say to us about sharing our worldview with others?  What do you think is so hopeful about our Christian worldview that others don’t have?  How does your faith give you hope for today and into eternity?

Taking it Home:

What is one thing you can apply to your life from this message and how can this group remember you in prayer this week?

Prayer request:

Please pray that this message series will impact people’s lives especially our brothers and sisters attending or soon to be attending college.

Message Title: The Coming Messenger, John the Baptist

Series: Messengers

Key verses:

Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:1-3; Luke 7:24-27; Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon Notes:

Who was John?

1. He lived out in the wilderness as a loner. (Isaiah 40:3)
2. He lived out of fashion with his dress and diet.
3. He embodied the spirit of Elijah. (Matthew 17:10-13)
4. He was intense.

What was John’s message?

5. His message was a call to repent.
6. God is near, the Kingdom is at hand!

Who was John’s message targeted at?

7. Religious people.
8. Religious leaders.

9. It was a humbling thing to come to the Jordan.
10. Repentance prepares the way of the Lord in our lives.

Follow-up Questions from Sunday’s Message:

Quick Review:
Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?

Digging Deeper:

1. Read Malachi 3:1-4; Malachi 4:1-6, How many “comings” of the Lord do you see? How are they similar and how are they different? For each coming of the Lord, who is the person coming before Him?  How does Luke 2:11-17 and Matthew 17:10-13 help us answer that question?
2. Read Matthew 3:7-10. How do you think people use religious excuses today to justify compromise in following God?
3. Back then, a Jewish person getting baptized was a humbling experience. In what ways do you think pride and lack of humility keep people from God today?
4. Who has been a “John the Baptist” in your life? How did they prepare you to meet Jesus?
5. How is repentance linked to your experience of salvation? In the past? Now?  Where does repentance to God and/or others still need to happen in your life?

Taking it Home:

What is one thing you can apply to your life from this message?

Message Title: Wearying the Almighty God

Series: Messengers

Key verses:

Malachi 2:17; 3:1-7

Sermon Notes:

1. People who constantly complain, weary people around them. (Malachi 2:17; Proverbs 19:13)

Who is coming to answer their accusations of His character? 

2. The Lord God Himself! (Malachi 3:1-5)

What is the mission of the Messiah?

3. To purify the evil of mankind.
   1. 1. His First Coming deals with the cleaning of sin. (Malachi 2:2-4)
      2. With His First Coming, He brings grace, cleansing, and forgiveness. (Malachi 2:2-4; John 3:16;  Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23)

    

4. To judge the evil of mankind.
   4. 1. With His Second Coming, He brings justice to human evil. (Malachi 2:5)

If we weary the Lord, why does He put up with us?

5. God is true to Himself.  (Malachi 3:6)
6. God is familiar with our ways.  (Malachi 3:7)

Follow-up Questions from Sunday’s Message:

Quick Review:
Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?

Digging Deeper:

1. Read Malachi 2:17; 3:1-7.  What do you learn about God from these verses?
2. Do you think you have ever wearied the Lord? If so, how?  How did the Lord respond?
3. Read Malachi 3:1-4.  Who does God say is coming to His people?  What does God say this person will do?  400 years later Jesus came.  Who did He say He was and what did He come to do?  Do you find this miraculous? Why or why not?
4. Read Malachi 3:5.  What does God say He is going to do to people that don’t fear Him?  What do you think it means to fear the Lord?  Why do you think that is so important to Him?

Taking it Home:

What is one thing you can apply to your life from this message and how can this group remember you in prayer this week?

Message Title: Dishonoring Our Faithful God

Series: Messengers

Key verses:

Malachi 1

Sermon Notes:

1. Malachi is like God’s good-bye letter.
2. Malachi is a book of God’s grievances to His people before He goes silent.

What can we learn from God in Malachi?

1. Be careful who your spiritual leaders are.
2. When we ignore and forget the faithfulness of God in our lives, He gets upset.
3. When we begin to blame God for all our problems, He gets upset!

Follow-up Questions from Sunday’s Message:

Quick Review:
Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?

Digging Deeper:

1. Read Malachi 1. How would you describe the tone of God in this chapter?  What would you say are some of the biggest mistakes that God’s people have made from reading this chapter?  Have you made any of these mistakes in your life?
2. Have you ever had to sit someone down that you love and give them tough love? (speaking truth to them in a forceful tone regarding what they were doing wrong and what the consequences of their course would be?)  If so, how was the outcome?
3. How would you say has God shown his love for you over the years of your life?
4. Read verses 6-8. When was the last time you felt disrespected?  How do you think we dishonor and disrespect God today?
5. Read Isaiah 65:1-3. What do these verses tell you about the heart of God?  How do you think we are guilty of this today as a people?  Do you think God has ever felt this way about you?  Please share.
6. Was there ever a time in your life when you blamed God for your problems instead of you? If yes, why do you think you did that?

Taking it Home:

What is one thing you can apply to your life from this message and how can this group remember you in prayer this week?

Message Title: A Coming Judgment

Series: Messengers

Key verses:
Joel 2:1-11; Psalm 2; Revelation 19:11-19

Sermon Notes:

The Prophets’ job description was twofold:

1. Forth-telling is to reveal God’s present thoughts, feelings, and will for His people.
2. Foretelling is to reveal future events before they come to pass.
3. Joel 1 is forth-telling as God speaks to the present judgment on His people by locusts.
4. Joel 2 is foretelling as God speaks to a future judgment of the nations as God Himself is at the head of a heavenly army.
5. Joel 3 is foretelling as God speaks to a future trial of the nations.

What does Joel teach us about God and the deeds of man?

6. God sees how we live our lives and He cares.
7. God will let evil go on for only so long.
8. In God’s timing, He will judge the evil of mankind.
9. God is patient with us because He loves

Follow-up Questions from Sunday’s Message:

Quick Review:
Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?

Digging Deeper:

1. Read Joel 2:1-11; Psalm 2; Revelation 19:11-19. When you read these prophetic chapters of the last days and the 2nd coming of Jesus, what thoughts and emotions go through your mind?
2. Read 2 Peter 3:3-10. Peter says that in the “Last Days” the world will mock the idea of Jesus coming again to judge the world.  Do you think this is happening today? Where and how?
3. What frustrations does God’s patience produce? How is God’s patience a benefit?
4. If you were in charge of creating, destroying, and redeeming the world, which one of these would you spend more time doing and why?

Taking it Home:

What is one thing you can apply to your life from this message and how can this group remember you in prayer this week?