Sermon Text: Matthew 25:1-30

Cross References: Matthew 25

Sermon Outline:

Waiting

Waking

Wanting

Warning

Growth Group Questions:

1.    Why are weddings usually such special occasions of festivity and joy? Tell the other members of your group your favorite wedding memory (from anyone’s wedding). Do you know any ways in which American weddings generally differ from the wedding
traditions typical in the days of Christ’s earthly ministry? Do any of these figure into our understanding of the first parable?
2.    Why are five of the virgins described by Jesus as wise? Read Zechariah 4:1-6. What does the oil symbolize? How do you know?
3.    Do we know why the groom is delayed? What is the meaning of the wake-up call?
4.    Do you think that the second parable relates closely to the first? Why? Discuss.
5.    In the second parable, what is the basis for the distribution of the talents?
6.    Does this parable make you uncomfortable in any way? Discuss.
7.    How are we to understand the master’s dealings with the third servant? Did the servant rightly understand the master? How do you know? Explain and discuss.
8.    Read Luke 19:11-27. Is this the same parable? Why or why not?
9.    To guard against what attitude or behavior (or whatever!) is our Lord Jesus Christ warning us here?

Sermon Text: Matthew 22:41-46

Cross References: Matthew 22

Sermon Outline:

The Question of the Hour             Verses 41-42

The Heart of the Question            Verses 43-45

The Loudness of the Answer         Verse 46

Growth Group Questions:

1. Ligon Duncan says of the question posed by Jesus in Verse 42: “The right answer to this question is the difference between life and death.”  Is Pastor Duncan correct in his assessment?  Why or why not?
2. Read Second Samuel 7:12-16.  What did God promise David?
3. Read Psalm 110.  Who is David describing?  How do you know?  How does Jesus use the psalm’s first verse to confound and silence the Pharisees?
4. Were all of the Jewish people willing to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of David?  Cite Biblical support for your answer.  Is it enough to believe that Jesus is the Son of David?  Why or why not?
5. The Pharisees believed that Israel’s greatest need was to be freed from the imperialistic cultural invasion of the pagan Romans.  How did this blind them from the glory of the Messiah who was standing right before them?  What was Israel’s greatest need?  What is our greatest need?  What often blinds us from the truth about our greatest need?  Discuss.
6. Why must we acknowledge that Jesus is the fully divine Son of God?  What are the consequences from shrinking back from this truth (and this truthful confession)?
7. Read Revelation 22:6-21.  Does Jesus testify that He is the Son of David?  Why must we take Christ’s claim to be both Son of David and Son of God very seriously?

Sermon Text: Matthew 21:23-46

Cross References: Matthew 21

Sermon Outline:

The Charges                                         Verses 23-27

The Evidence (Exhibit A)                     Verses 28-32

The Evidence (Exhibit B)                    Verses 33-41

The Verdict                                            Verses 42-46

Growth Group Questions:

1. Do you enjoy watching famous trials?  Why or why not?  Are you glad when justice is clearly administered?  Are you angered when justice is thwarted?  What is so unjust about the accusations – often in the form of unfair or “trick” questions meant to intimidate our Lord – that keep coming Jesus’ way?  What does this teach us about Christ’s accusers?
2. Read Mark 11:27-33 and Luke 20:1-8 for parallel accounts.  Are the accusatory questions of the chief priests, scribes, and elders (we’ve seen these before) premeditated behavior?  Explain.
3. In Verses 24-25, why does Jesus answer a question with a question?
4. In the parable of the two sons, about what behavior is Jesus warning us?
5. In the parable of the tenants, how are Verses 38-39 an indictment against the entire human race?  Cite Scriptural support for your answer.
6. How can Christ be both a cornerstone and a stumbling stone?  Which is He for you?
7. When it’s all said and done, who is the only Judge whose opinion matters?  Though Christ is headed for the cross – quickly – how is His ultimate sovereignty clearly demonstrated in this passage?

Sermon Text: Matthew 21:12-22; 22:15-22

Cross References: Matthew 21 & 22

Sermon Outline:

Why has Christ’s judgment come?

The people who claim to belong to God have abandoned

• reverence and awe                           21:12-13

• love and care                                     21:14-15

• praise and worship                          21:16-17

• faith and prayer                               21:18-22

• honesty and truth                            22:15-21

• confession and repentance           22:22

Growth Group Questions:

1. Is Jesus more like a lion or more like a lamb?  Explain your answer, and defend it with Scripture.
2. Read Isaiah 56:1-8.  When was this written?  What was God proclaiming through Isaiah, His prophet?  Why is this Old Testament text an important backdrop for Matthew 21?
3. What were the money-changers doing that was sinful?  Does the Lord care what we do in the church?  How do you know?  Discuss.
4. In the minds of the chief priests and the scribes, what was wrong with the cries of the children?  What was wrong with the chief priests and the scribes?
5. Why would Jesus curse a tree?  What were the disciples to learn from Christ’s action?  From His teaching?
6. Why do the Pharisees and Herodians want to trap Jesus with a question about taxes?  Is their question really about taxes?  How does Jesus use a malicious question to teach important truths?  Why do you think He doesn’t quote from the Scriptures?
7. In light of how seriously the Lord regards sin among His people, how might He be dealing with our church right now?

Sermon Text: Matthew 20:20-28

Cross References: Matthew 20

Sermon Outline:

A Mom’s Desire                   Verses 20-21

A Universal Description    Verses 20-21

A Costly Discipleship         Verses 22-23

A Humble Dominance       Verses 24-28

Growth Group Questions:

1. Do you think that it was wrong for the mother of “the sons of Zebedee” to want “the best” for her two sons?  Why or why not?  How can you relate to her desire?  Read the parallel passage in Mark 10:35-45.  Are James and John really angling for the best seats in the kingdom?
2. Is ambition a good thing, is it always wrong, or is the truth somewhere in between?  Explain your answer.  The British playwright George Bernard Shaw said: There are two tragedies in life.  One is to lose you’re heart’s desire.  The other is to gain it.”  What did he mean?
3. The “cup” to which Jesus refers here is His burden of bearing the sins of the world.  In terms of the timing of this passage, Christ will soon experience His “baptism” of blood on the cross – He will be fully immersed in suffering for us.  This will be His voluntary ministry on our behalf (Matthew 20:17-19) – how does that truth illuminate the utter folly of the disciples’ jockeying for position?
4. Do you think that the apostles truly understand that they are being called to suffer?  Why or why not?  Why is it difficult for us to accept Christ’s call to suffering?
5. Why do you think the ten became indignant?  Would you have become indignant?
6. How is true Gospel authority different than worldly authority?
7. How can a servant be a leader, and how can a leader be a servant?  What does this teach us about the kingdom of our Lord and Savior?

Sermon Text: Matthew 24:32-51

Cross References: Matthew 24

Sermon Outline:

The time is now.
Stay awake and alert.

Right now matters forever.

Growth Group Questions:

1. Have you ever been taken by surprise (caught off guard) by something that you should have been fully expecting?  What was that moment like?  Why?
2. Read Genesis 8:20-22.  What are the first signs of spring?  The first signs of summer?  Why would Jesus use a “seasonal” illustration to help us understand the importance of rightly evaluating events in our world and how they may relate to Scriptural promises (and particularly how they may relate to Christ’s teaching in Matthew 24)?
3. In Verse 36, when Jesus says that the Son does not know the day or hour, is He claiming to be less than God?  Explain and discuss.
4. How can a single event – namely, Christ’s Second Advent – be both anticipated and yet surprising?  Will it be anticipated and surprising for the same people?  Discuss.
5. What does Jesus mean by “awake” in Verses 42-43?  Cite relevant Biblical support (from other passages) for your answer.
6. If you knew that the Lord were returning tomorrow, what would you be doing today?
7. How is Verse 35 a key to unlocking this passage, and in fact a key to all of the Christian life?

Sermon Text: Matthew 24:15-31

Cross References: Matthew 24

Sermon Outline:

The Precursors to the End

The Hastening of the End         (Verses 14-26)

→     g

→      g

• s

• s

• s

The Glorious Return of Christ   (Verses 27-31)

The Present Call to Readiness

Growth Group Questions:

1. Why do we who believe in the return of Christ not spend more time thinking about the return of Christ, or preparing for it?
2. Why do you think that the Olivet Discourse elicits so many varying interpretations?  How can we know who’s right?  Read Daniel 11:29-37 for help in understanding Verse 15.
3. Nearly two centuries earlier, Antiochus Epiphanes (who ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175-164 B.C.) had gone into the Jerusalem temple and set up a pagan altar in the place of the temple’s altar.  In a ceremony intended to incite the people of Israel, he sacrificed a pig to his pagan deities.  Do you think that this historical event in any way connects to Daniel 11, and/or foreshadows another future event?  Discuss.
4. Describe the period of “great tribulation” (Verse 21) in your own words.
5. Have you ever endured a period of tribulation?  If so, has the Lord used that experience to help you learn to trust Him with the uncertainties of tomorrow?
6. How can Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 24 help us avoid being naively optimistic about the state of our world?  At the same time, how does this chapter help us avoid being faithlessly pessimistic?
7. Before praying together, sing one verse of Joy to the World: “He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness, and wonders of His love, and wonders of His love, and wonders, wonders, of His love!”

Sermon Text: Matthew 24:1-14

Cross References: Matthew 24

Sermon Outline:
(go to Pastors’ Blog for full notes)

WHAT’S COMING DOWN?

WHEN IS IT COMING DOWN?

WHY IS IT COMING DOWN?

WHAT ELSE IS COMING DOWN?

HOW CAN WE KNOW WHEN IT’S COMING DOWN?

SO WHAT THAT IT’S COMING DOWN?

Growth Group Questions:

1. For centuries the Jerusalem temple had served as the symbol of the true Temple who would come to usher in all the realities of the Kingdom of God.  Why would it be shocking for the disciples to hear that the temple will be destroyed?  When and how was the temple destroyed?
2. What will be the significance of the temple’s destruction?  Practically in Jewish life, and spiritually (eternally)?
3. Apart from the temple’s destruction, does Jesus predict other events in this text?  How do you know?
4. What event(s) will be signaled by these false prophets, wars, political instability, famines, earthquakes, and persecutions?  Could we ever know with absolute certainty that we were witnessing these signs?  Discuss.
5. Should believers today expect persecution?  Cite Biblical support for your answer.
6. Are there any enduring principles of Christian living that we can glean from this text?  Any promises for today?
7. Who is the enduring Temple to whom the temple at Jerusalem always pointed?  How do you know for sure?  As a Growth Group, spend some time worshipping Him!

Sermon Text: Matthew 23:1-36

Cross References: Matthew 23

Sermon Outline:

I.    Jesus Warns the Crowds and His Disciples Matthew 23:1-12
A.    The Overall Problem

B.    Specific Examples

C.    The General Conclusion

II.    Jesus Warns the Scribes and Pharisees Matthew 23:13-36
A.    Misleaders, not leaders

B.    Legal matters

C.    External focus, Internal problems

III.    So What?
A.    We believe so well

B.    Christ’s righteousness, not self-righteousness

Growth Group Questions:

1. In 36 verses, Jesus unleashes on the scribes and Pharisees!  Read Mark 12:38-40 and Luke 20:45-47.  What do these much shorter parallel accounts add to our understanding of the general behavior and attitude of the scribes and Pharisees?
2. Why would Jesus call these men “serpents” and “vipers”?  Did Christ generally use this kind of language when talking to sinners?  Discuss.
3. What is apparently the heartfelt posture of these Jewish leaders toward God’s Law?
4. Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9.  In light of what we know about their phylacteries (“wallets” worn on the wrist and around the forehead that contained OT Scriptures written by a special rabbi tradesman), how did these religious leaders view holiness?  Were they rightly interpreting and applying God’s Word?  Why or why not?
5. How did the scribes and Pharisees lead people away from God?  How is this a warning for us?  What was deficient about their view of (and rules about) tithing?  What was wrong with how they viewed and practiced oaths?
6. What does Jesus mean in Verse 31?
7. Sometimes we have to face the “Pharisee” in us!  Why is this so difficult a task?  How can we pray for each other, and for ourselves, in this regard?
8. Why is it not always easy for us to practice what we preach?
9. Do you think that Jesus hates the scribes and Pharisees?  Cite Biblical support for your answer.

Sermon Text: Matthew 20:1-16

Cross References: Matthew 20

Sermon Outline:

This Thanksgiving, may the Spirit of God our Heavenly Father safely tuck away in my heart 3 wonderful truths …

What God does

We are

Thankfulness

Growth Group Questions:

1. In what ways can you relate to the laborers who were hired early in the morning?  Please be specific.
2. Why must we always allow God to define words like “justice” and “fairness”?  Is God fair?  Why or why not?
3. Read Luke 23:39-43.  How does this account of Christ’s saving the thief on the cross relate to today’s text in Matthew?  What should be our heartfelt response when a person comes to saving faith “at the last minute”?  Discuss among the members of your group.
4. Why is it easier for us to be judgmental than it is for us to be thankful?  How might we pray for each other in this regard?