Know Grow Show

The Servant King - Mark 12.28-37

 
Weekly Podcast from Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, North Gower, Ontario
www.knowgrowshow.ca
The One Thing
We love best as power cords. 
The Scripture
Mark 12:28-37
growgroup Questions
Know
Have you ever been faced with an impossible decision or task? What was it and how did you handle it?
Grow
Which of the Ten Commandments do you consider the most important? Why?
Books and movies often tell us that love is the supreme virtue. How does their definition of love often fall short of the Bible’s emphasis?
Mark 12:29 - Why is it important that God is “One”? Why did this cause the Jews to resist Jesus’ claims to be divine?
In what way is the command to love God completely more difficult than the Ten Commandments?
What do “heart, soul, mind, and strength” represent individually and collectively?
How would you respond to the person who says, “Jesus is telling us we need to learn how to love ourselves first and then to love others”?
If we are part of God’s family, connected to His power station of love, why is so hard sometimes to love others?
Are there some people we are not called to love? What about extreme criminals who prey on the vulnerable? How would you love someone like that?
Mark 12:30 - How is obedience to these two great commands different from observance of religious ritual? How do you explain that God commanded Israel to observe sacrificial rituals?
Dan said that we love best as power cords, not power stations. What did he mean by this?
Read 1 John 4:16. What does it mean to (a) know and (b) rely on God’s love?
Show
As we go into Valentine’s Day month, think of one thing your growgroup can do to transmit God’s love to someone – from His heart to theirs.

The Servant King - Mark 12.18-27

Weekly Podcast from Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, North Gower, Ontario
www.knowgrowshow.ca
The Passage
Mark 12.18-27
The One Thing
When our Bible is incomplete, so is our view of God. 
 
Know
Share one of your favourite verses in the Bible. Why is it so special to you?
Grow
Share your response to Thomas Jefferson editing the Bible. What did he cut out? What motivated him to do this?
What parts of the Bible are you prone to ignore / avoid? Why do you think this is?
What do we miss out on when we limit our reading to certain parts of the Bible?
Dan said that our passage today indicates that there won’t be marriage or sexual relations in heaven. What are your feelings about this? What does this tell us about heaven?
The Sadducees only believed in the first 5 books of the Bible. And they didn’t believe in the after-life (resurrection). From a verse in this part of the Bible (Exodus 3:6) Jesus proved that the after-life was true.
Have you ever had a familiar passage surprise you like that and change how you view things?
I imagine that if the Sadducees believed in the resurrection after this it was with some reluctance! Is it OK to reluctantly believe something the Bibles teaches?
Show
Share one practical way that you plan to bravely ‘range out into the Bible’, particularly a part of Scripture that you either are unfamiliar with or have deliberately avoided. Pray that God speaks to you powerfully as you do so.

The Servant King - Mark 12.13-17

The one thing
Jesus came to turn image bearers into message sharers.
The passage
Mark 12:13-17
group questions
Know
Dan said in Wales to say “She’s / he’s the spit of you” means “She / he looks just like you”. What characteristics (physical or personality) have you inherited from either your parents or others who raised you?
Grow
Read James 1:19. Instead of responding to the hypocrisy of the Herodians and Pharisees (Dan called them the “Heresies”) with anger, Jesus paused, gave Himself some space and asked a question. How might this advice be helpful for you when dealing with conflict in your life?
Read Romans 13:1-2. Jesus says to “give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s”. As Christians, what does being a good citizen of Canada look like? How should we respond when our ethics (based on the Bible) are opposed to the government’s perspective? Can you think of an example where this tension exists today?
What does it mean to you that you are an image bearer of God?
If you were in Rome-occupied Israel, would you pay the Roman tax or not? What if no one ever found out? Explain your answer.
God’s unshare-able (incommunicable) characteristics include His omnipotent (all-powerfulness), His infinitude and His self-existence. Have you ever meditated on these realities of God? What impact has it had on you? Why should these characteristics lead to awe or worship?
Think is what characteristics God shares with us (a couple of examples: holiness, love, kindness). These are known as God’s communicable Why should these characteristics give us hope?
The Roman denarius had both the image of Caesar and his inscription of Caesar on it. In what way do we have the inscription of God on our lives? Think of verses that might communicate this truth. Consider 2 Corinthians 3:3-4 and Isaiah 43:1.
In what ways can we consider our lives as God’s currency? How is this analogy helpful (or not) in evaluating how we are spending our lives?
Dan quoted DL Moody “The world has yet to see what God can do with someone fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that someone”. Take a couple of minutes in silence and Imagine what your life would look like if you lived this out.
 
Show
Each morning, before your day begins, stand in front of a mirror and say to yourself “In whatever circumstance comes by way today, I am a letter from God” (2 Cor 3:3).

The Servant King - Mark 12.1-12

Weekly Podcast from Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, North Gower, Ontario
www.knowgrowshow.ca
The Passage
Mark 12:1-12
The One Thing
Our access to God’s amazing grace has an expiration date.  
 
growgroup questions 
Know 
Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? 
Grow 
Put yourself in Isaac Jogues’ position. Consider his mind and heart. Consider his thoughts. What drove him to return to a place and people group that he knew 100% were very dangerous? Could you do what he did?
Israel killed the prophets God sent. In what way are we guilty of killing the prophets? of crucifying Christ?
If your attempts to get people to fulfilltheir contractual obligations had been violently refused, what would you do? What was the logic of the father in the parable in sending his only son? What was the motivation for God to send His only Son? 
What did the tenant farmers think they would gain from killing the landlord’s son? What did the Jewish leaders hope to gain by killing Jesus? What did they in fact accomplish?
Whatdo secular people say when asked about judgment and hell? What do you think is necessary for them to accept the truth? Do you know any logical arguments that might be compelling? 
How did the Jewish leaders react when they lost their debate with Jesus? What persons or organizations do you know of that, when faced with the truth claims of Christianity, respond with hatred or violence?
The Sanhedrin postponed their persecution of Jesus because they feared the crowd (12:12). How does this expose faulty reasoning on their part? 
Show 
How might it be helpful to highlight people’s faulty reasoning during evangelism?
 

The Servant King - Mark 11.27-33

Weekly Podcast from Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, North Gower, Ontario
www.knowgrowshow.ca
 The Passage
Mark 11:27-33
The One Thing
Without honesty and humility, we have nothing with God.

The Servant King - Mark 11.12-25

Weekly Podcast from Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, North Gower, Ontario
www.knowgrowshow.ca
 The Passage
Mark 11:12-25
The One Thing
Worship means regularly saying to Jesus: Come in and clean house.
Some reflection questions to talk through with God
What things have you introduced into your life, His temple, that is preventing true worship from taking place?
 In what way are you treating this temple of your body (your life) as a convenience, as something that is to be used for your purposes and your pleasure rather than for the glorious purposes of God? How are you taking shortcuts?
How are you using your body, your life as leverage against others? In what way are you bringing others into bondage and slavery, or taking advantage of others through your body or your life, God’s temple?
 

A Few Surprise Guests (The Servant King) - Mark 11.1-11 (The Christmas Speech)

Weekly Podcast from Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, North Gower, Ontario
www.knowgrowshow.ca
 The Passage
Mark 11.1-11
The One Thing
We call to God for help. He gives us happiness. 

A Few Surprise Guests (The Servant King) - Mark 10.46-52 (The Needy Neighbour)

Weekly Podcast from Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, North Gower, Ontario
www.knowgrowshow.ca
 
 
 
The Passage
Mark 10:46-52
The One Thing
Jesus gives sight to the blind; and vision to the sighted. 

A Few Surprise Guests (The Servant King) - Mark 10.32-45 (The Self-Entitled Sister)

Weekly Podcast from Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, North Gower, Ontario
www.knowgrowshow.ca
 
 
 
The Passage
Mark 10:32-45
The One Thing
God's limo for your lemon. 
 

A Few Surprise Guests (The Servant King) - Mark 10.17-31 (The Upscale Uncle)

Weekly Podcast from Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, North Gower, Ontario
www.knowgrowshow.ca
 
 
The Passage
Mark 10:17-31
The One Thing
God doesn't want your stuff. He wants your heart. 
Know
Have you ever felt God call you to give something away? What was this experience like for you?
Grow
10:19 – Why did Jesus ‘test’ this guy only on the second half of the ten commandments and not the first half (see Exodus 20 for reference)?
10:19 – How honest do you think this man was being when he said he kept all these commandments?
Nathan said that the 10 commandments reflect God’s character: God isn’t a murderer, God isn’t a thief etc. How does this information help us apply the 10 commandments to our day to day living?
10:21 – Jesus looked at him and loved Him. Therefore He told him he had to sell everything he had. What’s the connection here between the love Jesus felt and the command He gave?
Nathan said that Jesus told this guy to give away his stuff (i.e. do something) in order to get the free gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23). How can this be? (verse 21 gives us a clue).
“God doesn’t want your stuff. He wants your heart”. What are the potential risks of giving God your stuff without giving Him your heart? How can we avoid these risks?
10:23,25: Jesus says twice that it’s hard to get into the kingdom of God. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Which is it? Hard or easy?
God doesn’t want us to give away our stuff. But He wants us to be willing to give away our stuff and to trust Him to provide. How willing are you?
Show
Look at Philippians 3:7-10. Contrast this passage with the rich man in Mark 10. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you through these verses.