Lifegroup Leader Guide 6/20/21

by | Jun 18, 2021 | Church Wide, LifeGroup Guide

LIFEGROUPS: WEEKLY DISCUSSION GUIDE

Week of June 20, 2021 

SERIES: The Gospel of Mark          

Week #7 – To Follow is to Be Led 

Mark 8:27-9:1 

MESSAGE PREVIEW: 

Happy Father’s Day! This Sunday, Pastor Brian continues our series in the Gospel of Mark by diving into Mark 8:27-9:1. He will challenge us to personally answer the question that Jesus posed to the disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” Below is a preview of this upcoming message:  

Question: Why march the disciples 25 miles to ask a question? 

Opening Illustration: Pastor Brian will begin by sharing the illustration/picture attached to this Leader Guide email. It is a picture of the grotto at Caesarea Philippi, where our passage takes place. 

Paneas was dedicated to the god, Pan. It sits at the foot of Mt. Hermon, at the headwaters of the Jordan River. To the far left of the picture is the Temple to Zeus and the cave that is known as the “gates of hell”. It was believed to be the entrance to the underworld. Central in the picture is the Temple to Augustus. Herod the Great built this temple to honor Caesar Augustus  (Imperial cult worship in Israel). Herod Philip renamed this place: Caesarea Philippi. At the far right is the Goat Court for worship to the god Pan. 

There is a parallel passage to these verses in Matthew 16:13-20. 

Jesus takes his disciples here because He knows that this is the world they will encounter as the gospel spreads from Jerusalem to Judea and to the uttermost parts of the world. Let’s look at three key ideas from these verses.

WHO DO YOU SAY I AM? (8:27-30)

  1. Who do you say I am? 
    1. Jesus poses this question to the disciples. 
    2. Peter correctly identifies who Jesus is in response to the question: 
      1. “You are the Christ” – the anointed one. 

THREE LESSONS FOR LIVING YOUR BELIEF THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST (8:31-38)

  1. Three lessons: 
    1. Set your minds on the things of God, not man. (8:31-33)
    2. If you follow me, you will need to give up your life. (8:34-38) 
      1. “Deny yourself” – not aestheticism but taking the position of a follower. 
      2. “Take up your cross” – an instrument of death/suffering/martyrdom) 
      3. “Follow Me” – Jesus is saying, “I lead, you follow”.
  2. Never be ashamed of me and my words in this sinful generation. 

HERE’S YOUR SIGN (Mark 9:1) 

  1. The Kingdom of God comes in power. 
    1. At the resurrection of Jesus. 
    2. At the giving of the Holy Spirit. 

OUR RESPONSE

  1. Who do you say that I am? 
  2. Do you live that way? 

ICEBREAKER QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION

Opening Discussion: 

As we continue the practice of sharing “God moments” with those in our group, use the following questions to guide your discussion.  

  1. What are the “God moments” from this past week?  How have you seen God at work that is unmistakably Him? 
  2. How did God speak to you through His Word this past week? 
    1. As you hopefully read this week’s selection from Mark, what did God say to you? 
    2. What did you do about what He said? 
    3. How are you hearing and obeying? 
  3. How can we specifically pray for you this week? 

Pray as a group – thanking God for how He is at work and asking Him to answer the requests that were mentioned. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Ask and discuss the following questions.

Q: What is significant about the setting of these verses? How does the location where this exchange occurred help us better understand the words and teaching of Jesus? 

Q: Read Mark 8:27-28. How would those our culture answer the question, “Who do you say Jesus is?”  How can we help others see Jesus for who He really is? 

Q: Read Mark 8:29. What does the word “Christ” mean? What does Peter’s answer reveal about Jesus? 

Q: Read Mark 8:31-33. Why do you think Peter responded to Jesus the way He did? 

Q: How can we keep our minds set on the “things of God” and not on the “things of man”? What “things of man” are most tempting for you to focus on? 

Q: Read Mark 8:34-38. How does Jesus say we must live if we are to follow Him? What does this practically look like in our daily lives? 

Q:  What does it mean to be “ashamed” of Jesus and His words in our generation? How do we avoid living this way? 

Q: What are ways we are tempted to live to “gain the whole world” but forfeit our soul? How do we resist this?  

WRAP-UP

The question we all need to answer is “who do I say that Jesus is?” A great follow-up to this question is to then ask, “Does my life say the same thing by how I live?” 

Use the following questions to wrap-up your discussion of today’s message and talk more about how we can apply it to our lives. 

  1. What did you hear? 
    1. What is your one “take-away” from this week? 
    2. How did God speak specifically to you through this passage and study? 
  2. What do you think? 
    1. How did this passage and study affirm, challenge, or change the way you think about the love of God?  
  3. What will you do? 
    1. What is your next step? How will you take the truth of God’s Word and apply it to your life this week?   
    2. If we are going to live the way Jesus describes here, what are some things that need to change? 

SCRIPTURES FROM THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE: 

  • Mark 8:27-9:1, Matthew 16:13-20

UPCOMING MESSAGES: “The Gospel of Mark” 

  • June 20 – Mark 8:27-9:1
  • June 27 – Mark 9:42-50
  • July 4 – Mark 10:17-31
  • July 11- Mark 11:1-11
  • July 18 – Mark 13:1-37
  • July 25 – Mark 14:53-65
  • August 1 – Mark 15:21-39
  • August 8- Mark 16:1-8