03-21-2021
03-21-2021
Dr. E. Dale Locke (West, East & Online), Pastor Efrain Silva (Español)
Sermon Series: Descending Into Greatness
Week 5: Where?
English PDF file for printing.
Para imprimir el archivo PDF en Español
1. Sir Edmund Hillary was the first human to reach the summit of Mt. Everest on May 29, 1953 – the highest place on earth. The first thing he did when he reached the summit was place a cross there – the symbol of the lowest place a human could go. The tradition of putting crosses on mountain summits dates back to at least the 4th century. As an icebreaker, tell your group about the highest elevation you’ve ever been to, and how it felt for you to be there.
2. Practice our Scripture memory passage for this series. Philippians 2:5-11: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
3. In our culture, we’re addicted to “up.” Pastor Dale shared this quotation: “We rise against gravity, the odds, the crowd or whatever happens to get in our way. We ascend to money, fame, the spotlight, power, comfort and pleasure. And from the world’s perspective, it’s the only direction to go. Just as a compass needle points north, the human needle points up; in each heart is a built in mechanism that craves self-promotion, advancement, and the climb of ego. So Philippians 2 may be the most counter-cultural chapter in the Bible.” Share how you’ve experienced our culture’s pull to go “up.”
4. Today we focus on verse 8, “even death on a cross!” The cross is the single, most universally recognized religious symbol in the world. The Christian faith didn’t begin with a book or a person’s teaching. It began with an event – the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. We’ve come to think of the cross as a beautiful symbol that we put on jewelry and buildings. But in the 1st century, this would have been like making a decoration out of a guillotine or an electric chair. How did this transition happen that the cross went from being an ugly, horrible symbol to a beautiful, comforting one?
5. What ideas and images come to your mind, when you think of Jesus dying on the cross?
As you discuss the rest of these questions, draw Pastor Dale’s salvation illustration together as a group:
6. The Bible describes that on one side, we have God who is perfect, holy and loving. But on the other side, we humans are broken, sinful and conflicted (sometimes good, sometimes not). So our sin separates us from God. How would you define the word “sin”?
7. Theologian and teacher N.T. Wright said, “Our problem is that, particularly since the 19th century we hear the word ‘sin’ only in a purely moralistic sense. It’s the idea that God has made all these ‘fussy’ rules to stop us from having fun. We can’t help it, and we break some of them. So God gets cross at us. And we say, ‘Oh dear, we’re guilty!’ That’s how people often learn it as a child, and many of us just never grow up from that. But actually, sin is a collection of all the evil in the world, that all of us in large and small ways have contributed to.” Pastor Dale told the story of a garbage barge named Mobro that everyone was outraged about, despite the fact that every one of us contributes to the garbage problem in our world. How does this story relate to the problem of sin?
8. Paul described our human struggle in Romans 7, saying that the very thing I don’t want to do, I keep doing; and the very thing I want to do, I don’t do. If you’ve ever experienced this struggle in any area, share with your group how that feels.
9. Read Romans 3:23 – “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Sometimes we wonder why God doesn’t just get rid of all the sin, pain and injustice in the world. But if God were to do this, he’d have to get rid of us! What solution did God come up with to deal with this problem?
10. Read Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And read 1 Timothy 2:5-6 in both the NIV and the TLB (see below) and talk about what you notice in these passages.
1 Timothy 2:5–6a (NIV) - “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.”
I Timothy 2:5-6a (TLB) - “That God is on one side and all the people are on the other side, and Christ Jesus, himself man, is between them to bring them together, giving his life for all humankind.”
11. Complete your illustration with Jesus as the bridge connecting an imperfect humanity with a perfect and loving God. To make this operational in your life, all a person has to do is admit that you can’t be good on your own, and then receive God’s gift. Tell your group about the moment when you received this gift for yourself.
12. There are terrible things in our world, like evil, sorrow and death. But because of what Jesus did on the cross, we can have hope and confidence that God will have the last word. Share how you personally have gained hope in your hard times because of what Jesus did on the cross.
On your own: If you’ve never said yes to God’s gift of what Jesus did for you on the cross, you can do that now. If you need help, let us know by texting the number below. If you’re taking this step for the first time, let us know, so we can rejoice with you and offer you some helpful resources.
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If you would like to take a next step in your faith journey, such as trusting your life to Christ or getting baptized, text the word “Next” to 561-264-6079 and follow the steps there, and we’ll contact you to help you do that.
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· Prayer Night - Thursday, March 25 at 7pm: Join us as we ask God to work in our church and especially in all of our Easter outreach. The West Campus event will be in English. The East Campus event will be in Spanish. We will worship together, and our primary focus will be on group prayer and intercession.
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