Questions by Kurt Box. Posted on the Amazon Discussion Forum.
We will be considering some of these questions to use in our discussion on Sunday January 17 from 8:30-9:30pm in the KTM chat room.
Chapter 5
Points for consideration…
1. Given our discussion in Chapter 4, what do you think it mean to be “lukewarm?”
2. Do our beliefs always translate into action?
3. Francis Chan says that those who live like the lukewarm in the last chapter won’t be in heaven. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
4. Based on your answer above, what does that mean for you regarding how you answered the questions during the last study (on an overall basis), especially the last one?
5. Pg. 83 - Have you recently sat down and read the Gospels/James/Colossians as if you were reading them for the first time as Chan did? If so, what was that experience like?
6. From above; did it confirm/deny Chan’s statement that “the thought of calling oneself a “Christian” without being a devoted follower of Christ is absurd?”
7. What do you think about Chan’s statement that we have made the “non-fruit” bearing Christian a means of making Christian living easier?
a. First what do you consider to be a fruit-bearing Christian?
b. Second would you consider “non-fruit-bearing” people (by your definition of what that is) to be Christians?
8. Pg. 83 - Do you agree with Chan’s interpretation of the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-9; Mark 4:2-9; and Luke 8:4-8)? Have you heard it interpreted differently? By whom?
The Parable of the Sower concerns a sower who scatters seed, which falls on four different types of ground. The hard ground “by the way side” prevents the seed from sprouting at all, and the seed becomes nothing more than bird food. The stony ground provides enough soil for the seeds to germinate and begin to grow, but because there is “no deepness of earth,” the plants do not take root and are soon withered in the sun. The thorny ground allows the seed to grow, but the competing thorns choke the life out of the beneficial plants. The good ground receives the seed and produces much fruit.
Jesus’ explanation of the Parable of the Sower highlights four different responses to the gospel. The seed is “the word of the kingdom.” The hard ground represents someone who is hardened by sin; he hears but does not understand the Word, and Satan plucks the message away, keeping the heart dull and preventing the Word from making an impression. The stony ground pictures a man who professes delight with the Word; however, his heart is not changed, and when trouble arises, his so-called faith quickly disappears. The thorny ground depicts one who seems to receive the Word, but whose heart is full of riches, pleasures, and lusts; the things of this world take his time and attention away from the Word, and he ends up having no time for it. The good ground portrays the one who hears, understands, and receives the Word-and then allows the Word to accomplish its result in his life. The man represented by the “good ground” is the only one of the four who is truly saved, because salvation’s proof is fruit (Matthew 3:7-8; 7:15-20).
To summarize the point of the Parable of the Sower: “A man’s reception of God’s Word is determined by the condition of his heart.” A secondary lesson would be “Salvation is more than a superficial, albeit joyful, hearing of the gospel. Someone who is truly saved will go on to prove it.” May our faith and our lives exemplify the “good soil” in the Parable of the Sower.
9. Pg. 87 - Do you feel needy? What do you need that you don’t have?
10. Why do you think Chan talks so much about money and material things? Why do you think the Bible talk so much about material things and money?
11. Pg. 89 - Why do we feel good about what we do give God?
12. Pg. 90 - How do you feel about token praise? Based on what God wants for our lives from the New Testament do you give Him token time/money/praise/worship?
13. Pg. 91 - How do you believe God measures our lives? (1 Cor. 13: 2-3)
14. Pg. 92 - Try the “replace with your name” exercise.
15. Pg. 93 - What is meant by James 2:17 (Faith, by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.”
16. Pg. 94 - I think what I’m having a hard time with is how we can be lukewarm, know it, and NOT care; not feel a pressure in your chest from it! How can we really GET God and what He wants from us and just say, okay, what are we studying next week? What’s for dinner? Etc…
17. Pg. 95 - Do you think that what we do with our time, money, energy, treatment of others, etc. is equivalent to choosing God or rejecting Him?
Chapter 6
When You’re In Love…
1. Pg. 98 - Have you ever met someone who is utterly and desperately in love with God and Jesus? How can you tell they’re so in love? What are they like?
2. Pg. 99 - What is the answer to our lukewarm, selfish living?
3. Pg. 99 - Why do you think God created us? What is our ultimate purpose (in your own words)? How did you come to this conclusion?
4. Pg. 100 - What does being a Christian mean to you?
5. Pg. 100 - Do you feel free in life and in your expressions of your heartfelt beliefs?
6. Pg. 101 - If we have/admit to living large swaths of our lives in a lukewarm way with respect to what God desires from us, how fulfilling and joyful has it been for you personally?
7. Pg. 101 - How do we (realistically and practically) grow in our love for God and Christ? Our love for others?
8. Pg. 105 - What can you give God?
9. What have been the most rewarding times in your life?
10. Pg 108 - Have you ever really tested God? How? In what? What was the result?
11. Pg. 108 - Have you known someone (you?) who has said I’ll come to God when I’ve straightened “this” out in my life?
12. Pg. 109 - What goes in your ________ in this sentence?
