Dunk Your Babies Matthew 3:13-17 Next Steps

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Dunk Your Babies

Matthew 3:13-17 Next Steps

OPENING PRAYER:

Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downward. Give us an unconquered heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow on us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. --Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

BREAKING THE ICE:

· What did you agree or disagree with in the sermon this week?

· Was there something new that you learned this week?

· What do you know about your own baptism?

WRESTLING WITH THE WORD:

Read Matthew 3:13-17.

If you have a peek at the chapter right before Matthew chapter 3, you’ll see that there is a large gap in time between the story in chapter 2 of Joseph fleeing with Mary and Jesus to Egypt and then eventually to Nazareth. There is very little written in the scriptures about Jesus’ growing years. Just as Jesus experienced impactful events as a very young child, sometimes people go through the powerful experience of being baptized as small children, when they are not aware of the event and have no memory of it later. Sometimes, we then pay very little attention to baptism’s meaning in our lives until we become teenagers and sometimes go through confirmation processes or become adults and begin the process of considering baptism for our own children.

· How might this gap in the story in Matthew relate to your own experience with baptism?

In Matthew 3, verses 11-12, John the Baptist says that he baptizes with water for repentance. He also says that the one who comes after him who is more powerful than he is will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

· What do you make of the fact that baptism is spoken about with these terms of repentance and

the Holy Spirit and fire, and then we see Jesus, himself, being baptized in ordinary old

water? How do you relate to the ideas of repentance, the Holy Spirit, fire, and being baptized in the same ordinary water that we drink and wash with?

· What is weird about baptism that makes the ordinary water extraordinary?

Notice that Jesus does not baptize himself. In verse 15, he talks about how it’s proper for “us” to do this. Perhaps he was describing himself and John the Baptist - but discussing how we share in baptism is different from a singular person’s experience of diving into water by themselves.

· What does the presence of community mean to you, as you consider the meaning of baptism to

Jesus and to yourself?

Verses 16 and 17 make up one of a few key scripture passages that show the fullness of the Trinity - God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, together in one scene.

· How does God’s presence gathered in all of its fullness feel to you? Why do you think this

moment was deemed to be so special?

· How does it make you feel for Jesus to be called beloved and to be named as a part of God’s

family? How would it make you feel to hear those words prayed over you?

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If you have not been baptized, what questions do you still have about baptism that would be helpful to discuss?

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If you have been baptized already, how might reflecting on this passage lead you to experience the grace of your baptism more tangibly every day of your life?

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How might this passage impact your perspective when you witness the baptisms of others?

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What role do you feel that you play in those baptisms?

4 EASY QUESTIONS FOR PARENTAL DISCUSSIONS WITH KIDS:

1. If you have been baptized, share with your child stories about your own baptism and what baptism means to you.

2. If you have pictures or videos of your child’s baptism, look at them together and talk about what they mean to you both.

3. Each time you touch water this week - washing hands, having a bath, drinking a glass, ask your child - how can touching and drinking water remind you that God loves and forgives you?

4. When we’re having a hard day, sometimes we say it feels like we’re drowning. How can our baptism remind us that drowning in sadness, or fear, or guilt is never the end of our story with God?

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK:

Strength for your Church, integrity for our nations and peace for the world - for these things we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. --Conine,

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Transform Your Core!

OPENING PRAYER:

Almighty God, you who have made all things for us, and us for your glory, sanctify our bodies and souls, our thoughts and our intentions, our words and actions, that whatsoever we shall think or speak or do may by us be designed to the glorification of your name, and let no pride or self-seeking, no impure motive or unworthy purpose, no little ends or low imagination stain our spirits or profane any of our words and actions. But let our bodies be servants to our spirits, and both body and spirit servants of Jesus Christ. --Thomas – Kempis

· Think about a time that someone angered you because they offended you or hurt you in some way and it changed your relationship with them.

· Did you voice your anger?

· Do you have a relationship with them now or are you harboring those feelings?

· Do place any value on that person today?

· Who do you think Jesus is talking to in this passage?

· What do you think when Jesus means in verse 17 about the law of the prophets and what his coming represents?

(Go deeper: Deuteronomy 18:15, Acts 3:22-26, John 1:45)

· What does Jesus mean in verse 20 about our righteousness needing to surpass the Pharisees and teachers of the law?

· In verse 22, what do you think “Raca” (worthless) is equivalent to today? Are there those in your life that you have called them those equivalents out loud or in your heart?

· Why does murder in one’s heart matter if it is not carried out?

· Why must we reconciliation with another before we come to God? (Go deeper: Matthew 6:5-14)

· How can you change your heart to be righteous before you become angry? After you have become angered?

(Go Deeper: Romans 8:1-4)

· What steps can you take how you value others and your relationships?

· What steps can you take towards reconciliation with others and God?

QUESTIONS FOR FAMILY DISCUSSION:

· Why do you think there are rules?

· How do you think rules would be easy if you were happy to follow them?

· What is the right thing to do when you get mad at someone?

· How can you ask God to help you when you are mad or do not want to follow rules?

Come, Light serene and still, Our darkened spirits fill With thy clear day.

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Guide of the feeble sight, Star of grief's darkest night, Reveal the path of Right; Show us thy way.

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Talk in Riddles

Matthew 13:31-36a Next Steps

OPENING PRAYER:

Now, O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire you with a whole heart, that so desiring you we may seek and find you, and so finding you may love you, and loving you may hate those sins which separate us from you, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen. -St. Anselm

· What family story defines your family, your life, etc.?

Read Matthew 13:31-36a.

· What are your initial thoughts on this passage?

Go around the group and share your favorite parable. Look it up and read it to the group.

· Why is it your favorite? What does God tell you through this passage?

· What do others hear in this passage?

· Where might this passage have come in handy recently?

NEXT STEPS:

· What story gives you hope? Commit to telling one person the story the this week.

So, Lord, let us be sober and watchful and prepared for everything so that we may be well-disciplined in prosperity and restrained under the onset of adversity, showing great prudence and constantly

rendering thanks to the loving God, through the love and goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory, sovereignty and praise, now and forever, for ages and ages. Amen. --St. John Chrysostom

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Top 10%

OPENING PRAYER:

God our Father, guide our hearts. Free us from ourselves. Teach us to be content in all circumstances. Even now, we are concerned about the money we do have, or the money we don't have. The things that we need and the things that we want constantly bombard us. But, today, we want to recognize that all we have is from you. You are our provider, and you know our needs better than even we know them. Teach us to be content in all circumstances. Free us from ourselves. Guide our hearts, Father. They are yours. Amen.

· If salvation is not achieved by giving away possessions, why does Jesus give the young man the instructions in v. 21?

· What do you make of the disciples’ astonishment in v. 25?

· In the parables, Jesus is often known to exaggerate. So in light of that fact, what is Jesus truly saying to you in v. 24? What do you see Jesus calling you to give up? How is Jesus calling you to live?

· Matthew 19:1-20:16 are a reversal of the world’s values. What is God trying to teach you through these scriptures?

NEXT STEPS:

· What would it look like for you to begin to step up to giving 10%? What tangible actions could you take over the next 3 months? 6 months? 1 year?

· Take your credit card statement and highlight the consistent themes: (Pick one color for each category) restaurants/take out food, clothes, groceries, pharmacy, entertainmennt. What is your highest spending area? What does this say to you? Dave Ramsey says our check books reflect our values, what do your highlights say about your values?

Teach us, good Lord,

to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest;

to labor and not to ask for any reward, except that of knowing that we do your will;

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Put Others First

OPENING PRAYER:

O Lord, how easy it is to turn away from portrayals of a world in which so many of your children exist in abject destitution alongside our colossal opulence. Break our hearts with that which breaks your own, O Lord. Till the unplowed ground of our souls with Christ's very hand, that we might become a living sacrifice of first fruits for all those who hunger and thirst. Empower us to be and bring manna amid the deserts of despair--through Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. Amen.

· When you think about the conditions in our world, what breaks your heart?

Justice has a two-fold meaning: punishment for the wicked and putting the world right. Read about God’s justice in Matthew 25:31-46.

· How does God live out both definitions of justice?

· Jesus provides six areas of need. Which is the most comfortable for you to serve? The most difficult?

o Who would you add to the list in light of the world today?

· How do you respond to the clear judgment of this passage? What does it teach you?

NEXT STEPS:

· Volunteer in one of the ministry areas you discussed tonight. Make a plan and mark your calendar.

· The intro question on what breaks your heart. Spend 3 minutes each day praying for that group/person/condition.

O Merciful God, fill our hearts, we pray you, with the graces of your Holy Spirit, with love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Teach us to love those who hate us, to pray for those who despitefully use us, that we may be your children, our Father, who make your sun to shine on the evil and on the good and send rain on the just and on the unjust. -St. Anselm (1033-1109), Archbishop of Canterbury.

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Palm Sunday

OPENING PRAYER:

O God, whose dearly beloved Son was greeted by the crowd on Olivet with hallelujahs, but who in that same week was mocked as he went lonely to the Cross, forbid that our welcome to him should be in words alone. Help us, we beg you, to keep the road open for him into our hearts; and let him find there not another crucifixion, but love and loyalty in which his kingdom may be established evermore. Amen. -Walter Russell Bowie (1882-1969)

· We all know what it’s like to feel powerful - and powerless. When you think of powerful people, who comes to mind? And do you think those people use their power to positively or negatively impact the world?

Notice in verse 1 that Jesus gave 2 disciples the task of recruiting the donkey and colt.

· Why do you suppose he sent two people?

· How are power dynamics affected when two people must share a task?

Notice that there is both a donkey and a colt.

· Why do you think Jesus asked for both?

· Thinking through the lens of power, what do you think those animals represent?

In verse 3, Jesus appears to describe himself as “master.” That’s not a word we often use in our culture.

· How does describing Jesus as your master make you feel?

This story is one of the more well known stories of scripture. The image of Jesus riding on a donkey is portrayed often.

· Share about how you see this image in your mind. Has it become a caricature or cartoon-like? · Does it seem like a nice, pastoral idea, but do you find yourself thinking - this is an interesting

story, but what does it actually have to do with real life - with my life?

· Then, ask each other the real question - what does this image of humility have to do with my

real life and the way that power is set up and lived out in our real world today?

NEXT STEPS:

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How does your own power, or the power of others, impact how you live your daily life? How would specific aspects of our daily life change, if we exemplified the kind of humility that Jesus embodied?

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How would systems in our world change, if we advocated on a community, national and global level for the kind of power and kingdom that Jesus showed us?

4 EASY QUESTIONS FOR PARENTAL DISCUSSIONS WITH KIDS:

· What’s your favorite superhero? What is their superpower? Why do you think that power is the best?

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· How are Jesus’ powers different from the power of your favorite superhero?

· What does it look like for you to share the kind of power Jesus had?

And so it begins, we walk through this week From palms now to passion, it’s Jesus we seek.

Each moment we walk through these days now with Jesus, Is time to see people, the way Jesus … sees us.

To watch for the ones, who need hope, who need kindness. Seeking the light, not the darkness that blinds us.

As you walk through these days, may the love you now know Be spread to each person you meet on the go.

And may God who now blesses and keeps you in love Whose face shines upon you with grace from above Who looks on you with such joy and such favor,

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Raised from the Dead Easter

OPENING PRAYER:

Creator of life, in raising Christ Jesus up, through, out of and beyond the chains of death, you opened for us the way to eternal and abundant life. May our alleluias on this day float high above the ceiling of what we think we know and transcend to the heaven of what we believe — and thus live.

Raise us up! Renew our lives! Resurrect our dreams!

Through Jesus Christ our Living Savior, Amen.

—Karen Turner BREAKING THE ICE:

· If you could talk to anyone in heaven, who would it be?

· What do you think the women were hoping to find when they arrived at the tomb?

· What do you think it was like for the women to bump into Jesus? What might have their emotions been? What expressions might they have had on their faces? What might they have said that wasn’t recorded in the Scriptures?

· Imagine yourself into the text. With whom do you most relate? Why?

· How is this telling of the resurrection different in Matthew than the accounts in Mark, Luke, and John?

NEXT STEPS:

· In what ways have you experienced Jesus in your life recently?

· As an activity- commit to capturing daily reflections in a journal (paper, computer, phone. . .) of how you experience Jesus throughout each day.

· With whom can you share the good news (the ways in which you have experienced Jesus in your life recently) you know in the resurrected Christ?

Christ is Risen: The world below lies desolate Christ is Risen: The spirits of evil are fallen Christ is Risen: The angels of God are rejoicing Christ is Risen: The tombs of the dead are empty

Christ is Risen indeed from the dead, the first of the sleepers, Glory and power are his forever and ever.