Covenant Group Questions (2/5-2/11)

During our current sermon series focused on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, we will publish weekly a set of small group questions for your Covenant to make use of should you desire to use them.  Here are the questions for this week:

1. Read Matthew 5:21-26.
   
2. Many of our legal codes recognize some forms of justifiable manslaughter or homicide.  Jesus seems to be going in a different direction.  How should today’s followers of Jesus deal with this distinction?
   
3.  What do you think about the fairly new legal proscription of “hate crimes?”  What do you say to someone who points out the difficulty of prosecuting a hate crime.  God knows heart.
   
4. If someone came to you claiming their anger was justified because it was about right and wrong and God cares about right and wrong—what would you say?  How might you counsel them?
   
5. When Jesus says one should leave off making an offering and rush to reconcile, is he engaging in dramatic overstatement or is he giving serious instruction?  Would you ever leave a worship service to try to reach someone who had a grudge against you?  Why or why not?
   
6. Raca is an insult.  But scholars, although they know it is an Aramaic swear word of sorts don’t know exactly what it means.  It is Untranslatable.  Maybe on purpose we have to fill in the blank.  A driver ahead cuts me off, “You blankity, blank blank blank!  Have you blanked anyone recently?  What should you do about it?
   
7. Can you share an example of a reconciliation that went well?  Leaving out names if that is helpful describe the thoughts and feelings before, during and after the talk.