Snapshots of Heaven (Week 2)
In this Easter series, we’re exploring the implications of Jesus’s four predictions of His death in Matthew. Each of Jesus’s predictions offers us a unique window – a snapshot – not just of the crucifixion but also the also the Kingdom of Heaven!
Warm-Up: What type of traveler are you? Do you have to be in control of the itinerary, or do you prefer to go with the flow?
1. Have you ever thought about the difference between faith and belief? Discuss.
Read Matthew 17:20
2. What does it mean to you to have “faith as small as a mustard seed”? How have you understood this in the past?
Read Matthew 13:31-32
3. Discuss this passage in the context of the following points Pete made in his sermon:
Belief is seeing Jesus as a resource that alters our life.
Faith is seeing Jesus as a seed planted deep within us that grows and transforms our life in unexpected ways.
4. How is it helpful to think about faith as a seed?
5. What is it about the deep, but slow, growth of a seed that challenges you when it comes to your faith? What encourages you about this?
Read Matthew 17:22-23
6. Jesus tells his disicples he will be raised to life on the third day. Why, in spite of this, do you think they were “filled with grief”?
Read Matthew 21:1-9
7. How does Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem here challenge a worldview based on gaining power?
8. In his sermon, Pete mentioned that the donkey Jesus rode on showed that he came in peace. How can we embody this peace in our lives and community today?
(*Video available after Sunday services)
