Lesson 9 (Feb 23-Mar 1), Discipling the Powerful

Which fruit of the Spirit give one the gift of reaching those in positions of power?

Respecting Authority

1. What gives people the right to rule over others? Does God recognize all governments?
2. What gave Rome the right to rule of the Jews? How did Jesus react to that?

Have You Not Read

1. What was the attitude of Jesus to religious authority of the priests?
2. What did Jesus rank higher as authoritative, the scriptures or the priesthood? What evidence is there for your answer?
3. When the Bible is silent on a topic, can the church legislate?

The Centurion

1. How can we account for the fact that several centurions acted more respectfully to Jesus than ordinary soldiers?
2. Does a person lose respectability if he or she is humble? Why or why not?

Judgement Day

1. Why do powerful leaders seem impervious to the gospel?
2. Is it okay to be an anonymous follower of Jesus or must one declare it publicly?

The Early Explosion

1. What factors contribute to secret followers finally announcing their faith publicly?
2. Did the disciples keep track of exact numbers joining the church or just approximate?
3. What are the advantages of counting the exact number of "converts?"  What are the disadvantages?

Lesson 8 (Feb 16-22), With the Rich and Famous

At what point does a person become categorized as rich?
When Jesus declared that it was harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, did He mean it was possible or not?

Richly Blessed

1. Why do people want more money than they need?
2. Do we envy people who have less wealth than we?
3. Do all blessings come from God? Why does He distribute wealth so unevenly?  

Rich and Infamous

1. What is the difference between "illegal" and "immoral?"
2. What is the modern moral equivalent of the Biblical "tax collector?"
3. Was what the tax collector doing illegal or immoral?
4. Describe the process of change that saved Zacchaeus? 

Nighttime Rendezvous

1. Why do the wealthy come to Jesus cautiously?
2. Are the rich and famous concerned about their reputation?
3. Why do we have so few rich people in church?

Gold-plated Messages

1. What does it mean, "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also?"
2. If there were no heaven, would it be worth to chase money?
3. What did Jesus mean by the "deceitfulness of wealth?"

Terms of Endangerment

1. Could anything have been said to the rich young ruler to encourage rather than discourage him? 
2. Is there any evidence that the rich young ruler in fact had not been keeping the commandments as he thought he had been?
3. On what grounds could Jesus promise that all who had forsaken their earthly possessions and relationships would be rewarded a hundredfold? Could there be exceptions? 

Lesson 7 (Feb 9-15), Discipling the Social Outcasts

Bottom Dwellers

1. How do people get to the bottom of society, birth or circumstances?
2. How can people climb up the ladder of society? Which is easier to climb up or to fall down?  How does one fall lower?
3. Is being at the bottom a result of sin?
4. Who were at the bottom in Jesus day, and how did they get there?

In the Very Act

1. Do we still look down on young people caught in adultery? Why or why not?
2. How should we treat church employees caught in adultery?
3. Why did God make sex so pleasurable? 
4. Why is adultery harder to forgive than lying or stealing?

The Lowest of the Low

1. Why do doctors think the demon possessed are merely mentally ill? Is that possible?
2. Can schizophrenics be cured either by medicine or faith?
3. Are the mentally ill responsible for their sins? If so, to what extent?

The Woman at the Well

1. Was the woman spiritually thirsty or did Jesus create that desire?
2. Does society always condemn the woman caught in adultery more than the man? Why or why not?
3. What can we learn from Jesus about attitudes to sinners?

Publicans and Sinners

1. Why were publicans at the bottom of society? What would be their equivalent today?
2. What Biblical evidence is there that there is hope for publicans and tax collectors? How is that hope realized?

Lesson 6 (Feb 2-8), Discipling the Ordinary

What would the church have been like if Jesus had picked priests and noblemen to be his disciples? 

If an "ordinary" stranger came to your church would he/she feel at home or out of place?

Humbles Beginnings

1. Why couldn't a good carpenter become rich?
2. Are poor people more spiritual?
3. Why do you think Jesus chose not to be born into a high priest's family? Wouldn't that have been appropriate?

Transforming the Common

1. Who are the ordinary people, the middle class, the lower class or the outcasts?
2. Are common people more open to change? Why or why not?
3. Can poor people remain the same if they become rich overnight? If not, what affects them?

A Flawed Fisherman's Calling

1. If you were the one to interview Peter for a potential disciple position, what would your evaluation be, and what would it be based on?
2. Why do we know nothing about Peter's wife? How important is a wife to a person's ability to change?
3. What was it that was inherent in Peter that made him so powerful when he was converted?

Heavenly Evaluation

1. Did Jesus do anything to reach out to the wealthy? What attracted the few who were converted?
2. Was it practical for Jesus to ask the rich young ruler to give up all his possessions in order to follow Him? Could the young ruler have been a follower without giving up his possessions?

A Classless Society

1. If you could choose to be born at any level, what class would you choose to be born in, and why?
2. How do you think the caste system came into being?
3. Can money buy class? Why or why not?
4. How can one overcome caste prejudice?
5. How can one rise above being classified?