CrossWay Community Church | Bristol, WI

<p>Sermon Application Questions - 11/8/2020<br><br>1. Sunday's message focused on four specific promises. Which one of them most encouraged you? Which one do you need to more actively lay hold of?<br><br>* God is with me. Hebrews 13:5<br>* God is for me. Psalm 56:9<br>* God will provide everything I need. Romans 8:32<br>* God will sustain me to the end and all will be well. 1 Corinthians 1:8-9<br><br>2. Are there specific areas of your life where you deal with fear? Name them very specifically. What has God said that is designed to help you replace that particular fear with particular trust?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions - 11/1/20<br><br>1. The account of the Tower of Babel is a very carefully written and constructed account. What parts stand out to you most in communicating the point of the story?<br><br>2 What are ways you are tempted to 'make a name for yourself'? Are there ways you are seeking to do that currently?<br><br>3. How do you distinguish the good and godly effort to do good work and accomplish things from the prideful seeking to make a name for yourself?<br><br>4. The sermon referenced the following words from C.S. Lewis: 'In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.' What needs to be in our lives in order for what Lewis is encouraging to happen?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions<br><br>1. Do you think personal righteousness is a 'foundational issue' like the other key issues that we’ve been considering? How is it like the others? How is it different?<br><br>2. How do each of the forces opposing your righteousness—the world, the flesh, and the devil—show up in your life? Which of them are you most aware of in your current circumstances?<br><br>3. Think of the things God has provided as allied forces in our pursuit of righteousness. What is most helpful to you in your pursuit of personal righteousness these days?<br><br>Bonus Question: How do you square the statement 'Noah was a righteous man' (Gen. 6:9) with the statement 'there is none righteous' (Romans 3:10)? Look up Hebrews 11:7 to see if there is any help there.</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions<br><br>1. Cain’s murder of his brother started with pride, a feeling that he deserved God’s approval. Why is pride so dangerous, and why is it so hard to see in ourselves?<br><br>2. Can you identify any areas of your life in which you struggle with anger towards others? How might that anger be a manifestation of pride?<br><br>3. God has called his people to love their neighbors as they love themselves. Describe what it would look like to love another human being the way you love yourself—what would you want to make sure happened for them? As you consider what love ought to look like, can you think of any opportunities before you right now to show that kind of love?<br><br>4. How does knowing and trusting what Jesus has done shape us increasingly into people of love? How do you want the truth of the gospel to help you in your struggle from question 2?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions <br><br>1. What should we learn from the fact that the instruction to 'be fruitful and multiply' is repeated so many times throughout the book of Genesis?<br><br>2. What should we make of the fact that the instruction to 'be fruitful and multiply' grows out of God’s design for human sexuality (1:27) and God’s design for marriage (2:24)? How important is that? How would you respond to someone who challenged that connection?<br><br>3. Read Psalm 68:5-6. What does this verse tell you about what God is like and what does it tell you about his design for families from Genesis 1?<br><br>4. During the times when the hard work of raising children seems overwhelming what truth from God’s word will help sustain you and keep you going?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions <br><br>1. What does the fact that both Jesus and the Apostle Paul refer to and quote Genesis 2:24 say about this verse?<br><br>2. What tells us that Genesis 2:24 applies to all humanity and not just to Adam and Eve?<br><br>3. How does the fact that marriage grows out of human sexuality—remember the 'therefore' at the start of Genesis 2:24—shape our understanding of marriage and singleness? Is marriage the only expression of maleness and femaleness?<br><br>4. If you are married, do you remember promising exclusivity and permanence to your spouse? If you are hoping to be married, would you want those promises made at your wedding? Why?<br><br>5. What does 'one flesh' mean and what should that reality look like in a marriage?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions <br><br>1. Which of the four truths about human sexuality from Genesis 1 and 2 do you find most vigorously challenged in your interaction with people—designed, distinct, different, or determined?<br><br>2. Have you experienced the pressure of being forced into either the position of compromising on biblical truth or being considered someone guilty of hating certain groups of people? What has that been like? How do you think God wants you to respond to that pressure?<br><br>3. At one point in the sermon Pastor Mike said, 'Actually Christians have a view of human sexuality that is the only truly loving and unifying and holistic view.' What makes that true?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions<br><br>1. What do you think are the different implications of receiving the 'breath of life' from God (Gen. 2:7) as opposed to being made 'in his image' (Gen. 1:26-27)?<br><br>2. There are many ways we can be guilty of not honoring or protecting the sanctity of human life—some very obvious, some less obvious. Think through what some of those ways might be and how they might show up.<br><br>3. Look again at Genesis 2:7, Exodus 21:22-24, Psalm 139:13-16, and Isaiah 46:3-4. What conclusions can you draw from the fact that this truth of the preciousness of human life is presented in such a wide range of Scripture?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions<br><br>1. What comes to your mind when you think of yourself or others being 'in the image of God'? Is there anything in Genesis 1:26-27 or the surrounding verses that help you understand what that phrase means?<br><br>2. In the sermon it was said that being made in the image of God is the central and defining truth about our identity. Do you agree with that? What other things that define your identity might you be tempted to elevate to the primary position?<br><br>3. How is the truth that sin takes particular aim at distorting and destroying the equality of worth among humans showing up in your life? Where are you having to fight that effect of sin?<br><br>4. How is the truth that God is aiming his redemption at restoring his image in us and restoring the equality between people showing up in your life? Where are you able to rejoice in this redemptive work?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions <br><br>1. The meaning of Proverbs 27:19 is not immediately clear. How do you initially respond to the second part of that verse?<br><br>2. Do you feel like you are aware, on a regular basis, of how important what is going on in your heart is? What might keep you from being attentive to your heart?<br><br>3. At the end of the message, three lines of pastoral counsel were given: 1) We guard our hearts by guarding what we take in. 2) We guard our hearts by guarding what we dwell on. 3) We guard our hearts by how we choose to act. Which one of those felt most pertinent to your present Christian walk?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions<br><br>1. What does strength and vulnerability look like in Proverbs 31:8-9?<br><br>2. Where do you sense strength in your life right now? Where do you sense vulnerability?<br><br>3. If you're a follower of Jesus, how do you remember what God has done for you?<br><br>4. What would/does it look like for you to practice proximate care?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions<br><br>1. Is there anyone in your life that models repentance well? What does it look like?<br><br>2. Are there any areas in your life that you need to be quicker to confess when you sin (to God and others)?<br><br>1. How do you think the gospel can help keep us from both wallowing in sin and concealing sin?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions<br><br>1. In what areas of life do you need to exercise some degree of self-control every day? See how many you can name.<br><br>2. What area of self-control do you find most consistently challenging? Why do you think that area in particular is so challenging for you? What could happen if you continue to have trouble exercising self-control in that area?<br><br>3. Look at Titus 2:11-14. Why does grace train us in self-control more effectively than fear of punishment? How does being more aware of God’s grace to you change the way you will approach your struggle from #2 above?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions<br><br>1. Is there some situation you are regularly in where you are tempted to “whisper” or to listen to “whisperings”? How might you best void sinning in that situation?<br><br>2. The second half of Proverbs 26:22 says that the words of a whisperer “go down into the inner parts of the body.” What do you think that is trying to communicate? What is God warning us about there?<br><br>3. Look up and read Proverbs 25:9. What does that proverb tell you about how you should handle something you feel needs to be addressed?<br><br>4. As we are going through this series in Proverbs are you finding it challenging or easy to keep in mind that this is God’s grace for us? What helps you to remember that God’s moral instruction is a gracious gift?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions<br><br>1. Of the two proverbs found in Proverbs 26:4-5, which one are you more naturally inclined toward? Do you think that is due to a character strength or a character weakness?<br><br>2. How might you develop your ability to exercise the wisdom in the proverb you didn’t choose in question 1? What specific Christ-like character might need to be strengthened? Humility? Gentleness? Courage? Self-control? Something else?<br><br>3. Do you think you can get better at discerning which of these two proverbs should be followed in a particular situation? What would be necessary for that growth to happen?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions <br><br>1. Can you think of a time you were more concerned about “expressing your own opinion” than “taking pleasure in understanding” someone else? What was the effect of that?<br><br>2. Which of the four characteristics laid out in the message—self-restraint, understanding, humility, and love—was most compelling to you? What is it about that characteristic that makes you want it? <br><br>3. Which of those four characteristics is most in need of development in your life? Is there a proverb that comes to mind that might help you focus on this need? <br><br>4. Think about how you see these characteristics show up in Jesus’ life. How does seeing those things in him affect your love for him?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions<br><br>1. Does the strong language of Proverbs 11:1 surprise you? Why do you think God's Word uses such strong language in connection with simple, everyday business dealings?<br><br>2. Look back at Proverbs 1:1-3. How does Proverbs 11:1 fit into this category of wisdom?<br><br>3. What are ways a 'false balance' might show up in your life? Where are the places you face temptation in this area? Make sure to think over your life thoroughly.<br><br>4. Proverbs 1:7 says, 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.' Look again at Leviticus 19:35-37 and Proverbs 16:11. How do these verses relate to the truth of Proverbs 1:7?<br><br>5. How does it make you feel to know that your acts of honesty are a 'delight' to the Lord?</p>

<p>Sermon Application Questions<br><br>1. Have you ever made the connection between Jesus and Solomon before? Look at Matthew 12:42 and Colossians 2:3. What does the connection made in these verses tell us about how we might hear Proverbs?<br><br>2. How does Proverbs 1:1-7 keep us from thinking that wisdom is just something that has to do with our minds?<br><br>3. What comes to your mind when you read the words 'The fear of the Lord'? Based on God’s Word, what should come to our minds? How might a verse like Proverbs 14:27 help us here? <br><br>4. What is an area in your life right now where you feel you could use some wisdom and/or guidance? Does the Book of Proverbs have anything to say that relates to that area of your life?</p>

<p> </p>