Thursday Bible Study

  {sermon on the mount}   MAKING THE CHOICE OF A LIFETIME_   Matthew 7:21-29     The most momentous decision a person will ever make – more than the choice of career or life-partner – is the choice about life itself.   How will I respond / react to Jesus?       [Group discussion starter] If during a discussion about different religions, a friend says, “ Well, at least we’re all headed for the same place.” how would you reply?     The two final paragraphs of the Sermon are very similar. Both contrast the wrong and right responses to Christ’s teaching. Both show that neutrality is im possible and that a definite decision has to be made. Both stress that nothing can take the place of an active, practical obedience. And both teach that the issue of life and death, on the day of judgement, will be determined by our moral response to Christ and his teaching in this life...     [Read Matthew 7:21-29]     [Activity] Des...

  {sermon on the mount}   DETECTING THE LIES OF OUR WORLD_   Matthew 7:13-20     In our consumer-oriented society and the ‘have-it-your-way' culture, people like the opportunity to combine elements of several religions or even design one of their own, but Jesus will not all ow us this comfortable / easy option. He insists that, ultimately, there is only one choice.     [Group discussion starter] If God hired a consultant to help improve His image among the twenty-first-century British public, what character qualities would the consultant want to emphasise ? What changes might the consultant suggest that God make to become more popular?     In the Sermon on the Mount, the contrast between the two kinds of righteousness and devotion, the two treasures, the two masters and the two ambitions, has been faithfully portrayed; now the time for decision has come. Is it to be the kingdom of Satan or the kingdom of God? The prevailing culture or the...