Blessed are the Peacemakers AWS
WEEK ONE Nov 5 & 6, 2016
Blessed are the Peacemakers Pastor Jared Herd STUDY QUESTIONS 1. Why do you think games – at any level or age – are appealing?
Why do we live in a world where there are usually only winners and losers?
2. Consider this thought from the message: Winning and losing is about competition. Peace requires imagination. Why does peace require us to think creatively?
3. Take a look at Matthew 5:38-48. Jesus imagined a new world and a new way for us. How is Jesus’ vision for our lives different than mainstream society?
4. Jesus addressed the question of what His kingdom is like more than 160 times. How would you describe what His kingdom is like?
5. Pastor Jared said: “As Christians, it’s our job to engage with the world, but to always imagine a new world.” What does it mean to engage with the present world while imagining a new world? 1
What does that new world look like?
6. How do you keep the peace with someone whose opinions on what matter most to you differ from your own? What does it mean to “dignify” that person?
7. What does it mean to label someone?
Have you ever been labeled? What is the trouble with applying labels to people?
8. Theologian Sinclair Ferguson wrote: “We belong to a new order of things, a new age altogether, a new humanity in Christ. But that new life has to be lived in the context of the old.” How did Jesus show us how to live this new life in the old world? (see Matthew 5:1-16)
9. What does it mean to be right in a wrong way?
MEMORIZE: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” – Matthew 5:9 CRB CORE VALUE THOUGHT: As you approach election week, consider how you can extend dignity to everyone around you, regardless of what will be the outcome or how you may disagree with them. Behind every person’s stand on an issue is their story. Do you know it? How does dignifying someone rather than vilifying him or her fulfill the vision to impact our community (OUTWARD) through love and service?
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Blessed are the Peacemakers Pastor Jared Herd STUDY QUESTIONS 1. Why do you think games – at any level or age – are appealing?
Why do we live in a world where there are usually only winners and losers?
2. Consider this thought from the message: Winning and losing is about competition. Peace requires imagination. Why does peace require us to think creatively?
3. Take a look at Matthew 5:38-48. Jesus imagined a new world and a new way for us. How is Jesus’ vision for our lives different than mainstream society?
4. Jesus addressed the question of what His kingdom is like more than 160 times. How would you describe what His kingdom is like?
5. Pastor Jared said: “As Christians, it’s our job to engage with the world, but to always imagine a new world.” What does it mean to engage with the present world while imagining a new world? 1
What does that new world look like?
6. How do you keep the peace with someone whose opinions on what matter most to you differ from your own? What does it mean to “dignify” that person?
7. What does it mean to label someone?
Have you ever been labeled? What is the trouble with applying labels to people?
8. Theologian Sinclair Ferguson wrote: “We belong to a new order of things, a new age altogether, a new humanity in Christ. But that new life has to be lived in the context of the old.” How did Jesus show us how to live this new life in the old world? (see Matthew 5:1-16)
9. What does it mean to be right in a wrong way?
MEMORIZE: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” – Matthew 5:9 CRB CORE VALUE THOUGHT: As you approach election week, consider how you can extend dignity to everyone around you, regardless of what will be the outcome or how you may disagree with them. Behind every person’s stand on an issue is their story. Do you know it? How does dignifying someone rather than vilifying him or her fulfill the vision to impact our community (OUTWARD) through love and service?
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3
