1. Can you recall a time or season when you hid the truth about a mistake or sin? What motivated you to hide? What happened when the truth came out?

2. Read Psalm 51:1-2. In these opening verses, David uses three images to describe his condition and need before God. Which of the three feels closest to your own experience? Which is the most foreign?

   • “Blot out my transgressions” - Guilt. The royal record of my wrongdoing needs to be destroyed.

   • “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity” - Shame. A heavily soiled garment needs to be soaked and scrubbed to remove deeply set stains.

   • “Cleanse me from my sin.” - Unholy/ profane. Purification is needed so that I can once more draw near a holy God.

3. Read Psalm 51:3-6. Considering David’s sins of adultery and murder, why does he say that he has sinned only against God? What does this confession tell us about the nature of sin in general?

4. Read Psalm 51:7-12. List the requests David makes of God. How do the confessional statements in the previous verses prepare David and the reader for these requests?

5. Read 2 Samuel 12:13 and 1 John 1:8-9. Why is confession good? What resources does the gospel provide to enable a life of confession and repentance?

CHALLENGE: Journal daily to confess before God. Confess your sins, fears, weakness, & need. Also confess Christ, his sufficiency, and your faith and hope in him. How do you think daily confession will affect your day-to-day life?

• Make time to praise God together as a group. One of the simplest ways to do this is to sing a familiar hymn or song together. If someone in your group has musical gifting, ask them ahead of time to prepare something!

• Can you share a time when you felt especially grateful for something someone did to help you?

• Read Psalm 113. This psalm begins and ends with the word “Hallelujah!” Why do you think the psalmist emphasizes praise at the bookends of this psalm?

• What does this psalm tell us about God’s heart for the hurting and overlooked? How can we reflect that same heart in our church or small group?

• Read Philippians 2:5-8. How does this passage deepen your understanding of God’s character revealed in Psalm 113? What impact should this have on how we treat others?

• What is your plan for praising God with your family or household this week? How can we support one another to praise God consistently as a church family?

1. Have you ever experienced the power of God’s Word impacting your life? Share a story of a particular scripture and how you experienced the goodness of God through the Word.

2. Read Psalm 119:65-72. These verses focus on the goodness of God in the Word. List all the things the psalmist celebrates as ‘good’ in these verses.

3. In these verses, the psalmist ruminates on the adversity of affliction (67, 71) and slanderous enemies (69-70). Based on these verses, how are we to reconcile the ‘bad’ of the world with the ‘good’ of the Word? What role does the Word play with regard to these hard life situations?

4. What verbs does the psalmist use to describe his ‘good response’ to the goodness of God’s Word? Is there one of these verbs that has been especially meaningful in your own experience? Is there one in particular that you would like to grow in? Share with the group.

5. The challenge this week builds upon last week. If you are comfortable, share your personal commitments or experiences with one another.

   • Set aside a daily time to pay attention to God.

   • During that time, read 1 chapter of Proverbs each day.

6. Review the WORD HAND. Which of these activities is a regular part of your personal life? How could you incorporate the Word Hand in this week’s challenge??

1. This summer we will focus on spiritual disciplines, or habits of relating to God. Have you ever had a positive experience of relating to God through spiritual disciplines? Alternately, have you had a negative experience where spiritual disciplines were used to try to achieve some other aim (earning favor, self-righteousness, etc.)? Share your experience with the group.

2. Read Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15. Identify all the instances of celebration in vv1-4; to where is the author drawing our attention? What is the result of a lifetime of paying attention to the goodness of God (vv12-15)?

3. Read Psalm 92:5-7, 9-11. These verses contrast attention toward God with the ‘stupid man’ who only pays attention to himself. What words in these verses directly contrast with words from the previous verses? Why is it so important to pay attention to God rather than ourselves?

4. Read Psalm 92:8. This is the heart of the psalm, the ‘bullseye’ of the chiastic structure. How does the eternal kingly reign of the LORD affect our capacity for rest and joy as Christians?

5. Look over the Navigators Discipleship Wheel. These are the spiritual disciplines we will cover together this summer. Which of these habits are already in place in your life? Which would you like to start this summer? Spend time turning your attention to God, celebrating his good work, and praying for one another.

1. Have you ever celebrated Pentecost with your family or another church? What did you do, and what did you think of it? Why do you think this holiday is subdued in many Western Evangelical churches?

2. Read Acts 2:1-4, 13-17. Pentecost celebrates the Holy Spirit Outpouring. How would this event have looked different if the Holy Spirit didn’t empower the people for ministry? How does the Holy Spirit empower us today?
   * If time permits, take a look at 50 Things the Holy Spirit Does

3. Read Acts 2:5-12, 41. Pentecost celebrates the Birth of the Global Church. How does this story help fulfill Jesus’ promise in Acts 1:8? How is this promise still being fulfilled today?

4. Read Acts 2:32-36. Pentecost celebrates the Exaltation of Christ. According to Peter, what is the connection between people speaking different languages and Jesus’ exaltation in the heavens? Why is the exaltation of Jesus important for our faith?

5. Read Acts 2:37-39. How should we respond to the realities of Christ’s Exaltation, the Holy Spirit’s Outpouring, and the birth of the Global Church? What does it mean to repent?

1. On a scale of 1-10, how much do you like to argue? Do you like conflict, or do you try to avoid it?

2. Read Titus 3:8. What is the trustworthy saying Paul is referring to here in this verse? What effect does this saying have on us as a community?

3. Read Titus 3:9-11. In his book Finding the Right Hill to Die On, Gavin Ortlund argues for using theological triage in disagreements as a strategy for maintaining unity. Just as a hospital staff might prioritize which patients to treat based on the severity of an injury, so we must prioritize how we respond to disagreements based on the severity of the perceived error. For example, a disagreement about whether or not Jesus is God would be a more severe injury than a disagreement over the millennium. Dr. Ortlund offers these four questions to help diagnose the error:

   1. How clear is the Bible on this doctrine?

   2. What is this doctrine’s importance to the gospel?

   3. What is the testimony of the historical church concerning this doctrine?

   4. What is this doctrine’s effect upon the church today?

   What do you think about this idea of theological triage? How can we disagree well according to this passage?

4. Read Titus 3:12-15. In his commentary on these verses, Bill Mounce writes, “As a result of God’s gracious work, believers are obligated to be intent on performing good works, not in order to earn salvation but as the necessary consequence of being recipients of God’s graciousness.” What do you notice about the people and tasks Paul is giving to Titus? What role does God’s grace play in that?

5. Read John 17:20-21. What does Jesus pray for in these verses? Take some time together as a group to pray for these things with him.

6. What is one practical step you can take as a group to apply this week’s sermon?

1. How do you think Christians ought to engage with politics & civic affairs? When you think of Christians in the public sphere, what positive examples do you think of? What about negative examples?

2. Read Titus 3:1-2. What are the seven instructions listed for the church in these verses? Which of the seven do you think most embodies your own engagement as a citizen? Which is most challenging for you?

3. Read Titus 3:3-7. What is the primary focus of these verses? How do these verses relate to verses 1-2?

4. Read Titus 2:1, 2:6, 2:15, 3:1, 3:8. Consider having each verse assigned to a different person in your group to read aloud. What instruction does Paul have for Titus in these verses? Why are these instructions vital to the life & wellbeing of the church?

5. How has this passage challenged you personally? Discuss as a group which ‘layer’ is most challenging for you personally, and what steps you might take this week to grow. Spend time praying for one another and worshiping the Lord together.

   • vv1-2 - Engaging as a Christian in civic affairs.

   • vv3-7 - Remembering the gospel in all things.

   • vv1, 8 - Engaging in Word Ministry by connecting the gospel to various aspects of life.

1. Share a time when you or someone you love experienced hopelessness. How did that hopelessness impact those around them?

2. Read Titus 2:1-10. Paul instructs Titus to teach gospel culture–practical patterns of relationships. What are the practical, relational patterns in accordance with (v. 1)?

3. How does gospel culture impact someone’s experience of God and his word (v. 5, 8, 10)? As a specific example of that, how has the culture of your family shaped your understanding of God and his gospel?

4. Read Titus 2:11-14. What is gospel hope directed toward? How does Paul connect gospel hope to our beliefs and our relationships?

5. Why do gospel doctrine and gospel culture only make sense in light of gospel hope? How do specific instructions from 2:1-10 make sense in light of the hope of 2:11-14?

6. To lead into your time of prayer, share how you need the hope of Jesus to transform your life and your relationships.

1. Split into groups of 2-3 people to debrief this week’s sermon. What stood out to you? What questions did you have? Do you have any takeaways?

2. Read Titus 1:5-16. What are the different sections in this chapter? How does Paul contrast the elders and the “talkers”?

3. Look closely at the list of qualifications in verses 6-9. Which of these virtues or attributes seems especially important? Are there any attributes which are surprising to you?

4. Have you ever rebuked someone? Have you ever been on the receiving end of rebuke? Share about your experience and how the conflict was (or wasn’t) restored.

5. Read John 14:25-26. How do we see Jesus teaching his disciples during his life, death, and resurrection? How should we expect his Spirit to give us instruction today?

6. Robb mentioned two practical applications from this week’s passage: (1) Honor your elders and (2) Hold firm to the trustworthy word, together! As a group, discuss and commit to one way you will do each of these things this coming week.

1. Take a few minutes to debrief this week’s sermon in groups of 2-3. What stood out to you from the sermon? What questions did you have? Do you have any takeaways already coming into our discussion tonight? Come back together and share briefly with the whole group.

2. Read Titus 1:1-5. Are there any major sub-sections or breaks in this passage? Are there any key connecting words that help you follow the argument?

3. What can you learn about Titus or the church in Crete from this passage?

4. What does this passage teach you about God’s character?

5. Read John 4:39-42. How do we see Jesus as Savior in this passage? What does it mean to you that Jesus Saves?

6. What is one practical application you can make this week to apply this passage?

1. Break into groups of 2-3 people to debrief this week’s sermon. What were the highlights? Did you have any questions about the passage? What takeaways do you have? Come back together as a group and share.

2. Read Acts 2:32-36. How familiar were these people with the events of Jesus’ life? Do you think they are aware of the empty tomb? Given that, why does Peter emphasize the resurrection?

3. Read Acts 2:24, 30-31. What are the implications of the resurrection and ascension for Jesus? For the people? What would it mean to the people that Jesus is the Messiah?

4. Read Psalm 110. How does this psalm help you to understand what Peter is saying here?

5. Read Acts 2:29. What facts about Jesus would be key for non-believers to understand from Peter’s sermon?

6. Have you made an initial commitment to Christ? If so, share about that experience. If not, what has kept you from making that commitment, and how can we as a group come alongside you?

*Questions are adapted from Serendipity Bible, 10th Anniversary Edition: New International Versions, Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI, 1531-1532.

1. Take a minute to debrief the sermon. What highlights did you have from Robb’s sermon? Did anyone in your group have any questions? What were the main takeaways?

2. Read Acts 2:22-24. What is Peter saying in these verses?

3. Read Acts 2:37-41. What do these verses reveal as Peter’s main point in the sermon? How does verses 22-24 lead to this response?

4. Read Luke 22:54-62. What has happened to Peter between this story and the sermon we’re discussing in Acts 2? Have you experienced that kind of transformation in your life?

5. What is one practical step you can take this week to apply this text?

1. When have you experienced tension with an authority figure? Why is a distrust of authority so prevalent in our society?

2. Read Matthew 7:28-29. What astonishes people about Jesus’ teaching? What are some specific examples from the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7) of Jesus teaching with authority?

3. Scan the whole of Matthew 8. On the heels of the Sermon on the Mount, how does Jesus utilize his authority in this chapter? For help, see Matt 8:16-17.

4. Read Matthew 21:1-27. Trace the theme of Jesus’ authority through these verses. What does Matthew tell us about the scope of Jesus’ authority, and about how people respond to it?

5. Read John 10:17-18, and Phil 2:5-11. What does Jesus’ death and resurrection have to do with his authority over our lives today? Do you find it easy or difficult to trust Jesus’ authority? Why? Spend time praying for one another in light of Jesus’ authority.

1. Have you ever had to deal with ‘foundation issues’ on a home? If so, share your story with the group. What was the issue, and how costly was the fix? What did your experience teach you about the importance of a solid foundation?

2. Read Matthew 7:24-27. In this familiar story, what does Jesus mean when he calls the one builder wise and the other foolish? What makes each deserving of the title Jesus gives?

3. Read Luke 6:47-49. What details does Luke record differently in this story? What does it mean that the wise man ‘dug down deep’, and how does that detail relate to how we understand discipleship with Jesus?

4. Compare vv25 and 27. What does the storm represent, and what effect does it have on each of the houses? If you were explaining the meaning of this parable to a non-churched friend, how would you say it in plain language?

5. In Matthew 7, the sermon ends abruptly in v27, but the story of Jesus continues. How is your understanding of these verses affected by the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection?

1. When a matter is unclear or unsettled, we look to judgment to reveal the truth. Share a time in your life when you looked for judgment to reveal the truth. Whose judgment did you seek? (Examples: went to court before a judge or jury, asked a friend to help you sort through an issue, submitted a dispute to a church elder, sought the wisdom of an online guru, posted an issue to social media for the input of the masses, did some soul searching to find truth within.) What truth was revealed?

2. Read Matthew 7:21-23. What does it seem like Jesus cares about most? The faith we profess, the works we achieve, or something else?

3. Sometimes it’s helpful to hear the same idea in someone else’s words. Read James 1:22-25. How are Matthew 7:21-23 and James 1:22-25 similar?

4. God’s judgment exposes who we really are. God isn’t deceived about who we are, and he doesn’t want us to be deceived either. How does someone examine themselves? What are they looking for on the inside? What role does God have in our own self-examination?

5. It is good news that Jesus is our divine judge. What does it mean that God’s judgment embraces who we truly are, without any claim? What can’t we claim before God? Is there anything or anyone we can claim?

6. Read Psalm 139:23-24. How do you need God to do these things for you? What vulnerability do you feel about willing exposing yourself to God, to hear who he says you are? Share and pray for one another.

1)        Read Psalm 1. Note the characteristics of a healthy tree. What are the wicked compared to here?

2)        If you encouraged someone to be a fruit inspector of Christ, what verses might you share with them? How is Christ still bearing fruit?

3)        How is it beneficial to be a fruit inspector of your own fruit? What fruit from your words and actions have blessed God and others recently?

4)        How can the message of coming to Christ for salvation be truncated?

5)        What has been your experience with ‘fire and brimstone’ messages? How could a loving God send people to hell?

6)        Read 2 Corinthians 13:5. What is the test? (See also John 15:1-6)

7)        Where are you at in living by faith? High or low? Spend time praying for each other!

1. Who is the quintessential “wolf in sheep’s clothing”? Name a character from fiction or history who embodies this saying to you. What specifically made you think of that person?

2. Read Matthew 7:13-15. What commands does Jesus issue in these verses? How are the commands related to one another?

3. What does it mean to ‘beware’? The imagery of “sheep’s clothing” means the person identifies as part of the faith community. How do you imagine such a person would look, act, and talk? The imagery of ‘ravenous wolves’ points to the life-threatening danger of false prophets. Why does Jesus consider them so dangerous?

4. “Pseudo-prophets always advance a pseudo-gospel.” In the sermon, Robb identified two categories of pseudo-gospel: Jesus-Light and Jesus-Plus. What does each of these terms mean, and what would such a pseudo-gospel look like in our context?

5. In the sermon today, Robb offered four practical applications to this verse. Which stands out to you in this season of your own life? Spend time praying for one another and our church family.

   1. Beware your own itching ears (Jeremiah 5:30)

   2. Beware the witch-hunters (Matthew 7:1-5)

   3. Lean on the elders (Hebrews 13:17)

   4. Fill your vision with the glory of Jesus as BOTH Lord and Savior (2 Pet 3:18)

1. Can you remember a season of relinquishing control of your whole life to Jesus? What circumstances, people, or scriptures led you to that moment? How did the decision to surrender affect your life?

2. Read Matthew 7:13-14. In this story, Jesus introduces two gates / ways to his hearers. What does each gate represent? What kind of person might you meet walking through the wide gate? What kind of person might you meet walking through the narrow gate?

3. The two gates lead to two fates. What are the two fates Jesus names? What is counterintuitive about the gate/fate pairings?

4. Jesus commands his hearers to ‘enter by the narrow gate.’ If someone unfamiliar with Christianity asked you what it means to ‘enter,’ how would you explain it to them? (Hint: In today’s sermon we looked at this command in parallel with Mark 1:15)

5. How does this simple story prepare people for final judgment? Is there a truth from this scripture that you may want to share with a particular person this week? Pray as a group for those specific people and conversations.

• To read F B Meyer’s message on ‘the golden ring’, click here.

1. As we prepare for the season of Lent, share your memories of the Lenten season with one another. Did you or your family observe Lent when you were young? How did the season affect you, and how has your posture toward it changed over time?

2. Read Matthew 7:12. If there are children present, have one of them explain the verse to the group. What sorts of situations can you think of where the ‘Golden Rule’ applies?

3. In the sermon today, we saw how Matthew 7 can be roughly divided into two halves. How does the Golden Rule relate to each of these halves?

   • Our Judgment - Matthew 7:1-11

     • vv1-2 Judge not that you be not judged.

     • vv3-5 Why do you seek the speck but not notice the log?

     • v6 Do not give dogs what is holy.

     • vv7-11 An antidote to the judgmental heart: Ask, seek & knock.

   • God’s Judgment - Matthew 7:13-27

     • vv13-14 Wide & Narrow Gates

     • vv15-20 False prophets are diseased trees who will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

     • vv21-23 Those who cry “Lord Lord” will hear, “I never knew you.”

     • vv24-27 The wise & foolish builders

4. The “So” at the beginning of v12 ties Jesus’ teaching here to the first half of the chapter. Why is it important that Jesus gives the Golden Rule in the context of judgment?

5. Jesus equates the Golden Rule with the entire Old Testament Law; and just like the Law, we fail to meet its standard. How does the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection relate to our practice of the Golden Rule?

This resource was used on Feb 12th at Missions Night. Links to each video clip are below.

History of Bible Translation

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb6ceumPOh4)

1. What stands out to you from this video? 

2. Explain the significance for you to have the Scriptures in English.

3. What strategy did William Carey use to help with his mission?

4. How long was/is a single translation project?

Who Could You Be in the Next Story

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsOZR5rMQPA)

1. VBCC committed to the Isnag Bible translation project for decades. Explain the significance for a church to partner to help reach a specific people group with the gospel?

2. The video mentions several different roles that contribute to reaching a people group with the gospel. List those here:

3. Discuss any experiences you’ve had in filling one of these roles.

Why Millions Are Still Unreached by the Gospel

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33uwuIf-uvo&list=PLPWYBBat7NTnQV97d0o5Z06nxpW-sciZR&index=17)

1. What is the difference between an ‘Unreached People Group’ (UPG) and ‘lost people’?

2. List some challenges that make reaching the unreached difficult.

3. What does the video mean by ‘Cultural Christianity is easy’?

4. The video talked about ‘return on investment’ being easier to see in reached places. What does success mean in missions?