Lenten Discussion Study Guide
Lenten Discussion Study
This is a study to help you think through the significance of the season. It's designed for a small group setting, but if you don't have one feel free to use it as a journaling study. Feel free to print out and share, but if you find this resource helpful please direct people to Brainstorm so they can benefit too.
Lenten Study: Week 1
As we look toward Easter:
1. Who is Jesus to you? Why? (i.e. friend, Father, Savior, King, God, etc)
2. What impact has He made in your life?
3. What is your relationship with Him like?
Do you experience Him regularly? How? Or Why not?
Do you talk to Him? Why? Why not? How? About what?
Do you listen to Him? Why? Why not? How? What have you heard?
4. In what ways have you seen Christ moving in your life?
5. In what ways would you like to see Christ moving in your life?
6. Relationships are two-way streets. If people have expectations of those with whom they are in relationship with, should they not also have expectations of themselves? In what way are your expectations of Christ in your relationship with Him inconsistent with your expectations of yourself?
Lenten Study: Week 2
As we look toward Easter:
Why do you believe? (allow people to share how they came to faith—but don’t force it)
Do you think this is your parent’s faith?
Are you convinced the events of Easter are true? (should you be? Or is it a matter of faith?)
Have you experienced Christ? How? In what ways?
Do you continue to experience Christ? Why not?
What makes you struggle/doubt faith in Christ? How do you deal with those struggles/doubts?
What questions do you have that make you struggle/doubt? (anyone have answers to those questions?)
Lenten Study: Week 3
As we look toward Easter:
1. What is the significance of the Resurrection? Why is it so important?
2. What does it mean for you?
Read I Corinthians 15:1-9, 12-58
Allow the reading to draw out discussion—don’t read straight through—pause and explore the text
Lenten Study Week 4
As we look toward Easter:
If Christ did die for our sins—erasing our debt—and if He was resurrected—proving His overcoming death—then why are we still here?
Read:
Matthew 4:17
Matthew 5:1-20
Matthew 7:21-23
Matthew 10:7
Matthew 12:28
Matthew 13:24-43, 47-52
Matthew 16:28
Having read these passages, is the kingdom something to come or something here? (don’t get caught up in preconceptions of the use of the word ‘heaven’)
How do we get ‘in’ it if it is already here?
More Optional passages:
Matthew 20:1-16
Matthew 21:31
Matthew 21:43-44
Matthew 22:1-14
Matthew 23:13-14
Mathew 24:9-14
Lenten Study Week 5
As we look toward Easter:
1. If, as we learned in Week 4, we are still here for a purpose—that being to begin building the Kingdom of Heaven, How do we accomplish this?
Read:
Matthew 16:17-20
Matthew 26:61
Matthew 27:40
Mark 14:58
Mark 15:29
In these passages, Jesus was quoted for saying that He would tear down the temple and rebuild it in three days. Most interpret this to be figurative language about His body, and that is correct, but what if it’s more than that?
Read:
Romans 12:3-8
I Corinthians 12:12-31
Ephesians 4:1-16
What if Jesus was not only referring to His own physical resurrection, but also the building of a new church which began on the third day?
Read:
Acts 7:44-53
I Corinthians 3:10-23
2. So then, how do we build?
Lenten Study Week 6
As we look toward Easter:
Last week we discussed how this building the kingdom begins with us asking: How do we accomplish this? How do we build this kingdom? We found out that Jesus started us off by beginning to build the church.
Read:
Ephesians 4 (yes, the whole chapter)
If we were to suggest that Ephesians 4 describes the kind of church Christ envisioned, are we there yet? Does the church reflect this passage? (not necessarily “a” church in general, but the worldwide church?)
What would it take to get there?
How does it start?
Who starts it?
Lenten Study Week 7 Commitment Week
As we look toward Easter:
Over the past 6 weeks we’ve talked about:
Who Jesus is
Why you believe
What the significance of the Resurrection is
Why we are still here—to build a kingdom
How Jesus intended for us to get that going—through the church
What that church should look like
1. This last week, as we consider Holy Week, THE WEEK that celebrates the death of our sin and the resurrection to life, we ask, “HOW WILL I BE DIFFERENT?” (take a few minutes and journal some thoughts)
Read:
II Corinthians 5:16-21
Ephesians 1:3-14
Ephesians 2
2. What is your part?
3. What do you bring to the construction site?
4. What are your gifts? Your talents?
Read:
Ephesians 4:11
Romans 12:3-8
I Corinthians 12:4-11, 27-31
Consider the limited culture of the day and the broad spectrum of needs within the church today. The building of the kingdom needs people of a variety of gifts—not just ministerial, but people willing, able, and ready to be used for the building up of this kingdom.
And all these gifts must be tempered with the Fruits:
Galatians 5:22-26
5. So as you look to what Christ gave up for you, what will you invest for Him?
Take some time to think this through.
Set some goals, share your thoughts with a friend.
Consider how you might team up with others.
6. What are some concrete things you can do now—e.g. go on a mission trip?
7. What are some long-term goals?—e.g. covenant with a group to raise enough money over the course of 6 months to construct a water-well in a third-world country with the intent that you’d continue to do so every six months from now till no more wells need digging (that's a very big commitment, but do we sometimes think too small not giving room for God to do a miracle through us?)
Ask yourself:
What am I good at?
What am I passionate about?
How can I use that for God’s kingdom?
Pray about it
Do it