Questions for Covenant Groups: Thy Kingdom and Thy Will

Bible Study Questions following the Sermon of 10/20/13

“your Kingdom come, your will be done”

• Read Matthew 8:9-13.  Can you find the five parts of this prayer that we have identified these past Sundays?  Which verses go with each part (i.e. “praise and worship” verse 9).
  
  
• What does Jesus mean by the “kingdom?”  Matthew often uses the term “kingdom of heaven” while the other gospel writers use “kingdom of God.”  How are these similar or different?  Why?
  
  
• Kingdoms in the 21st century aren’t what they used to be.  We have no license to change the Word of God, but we are called to communicate eternal truths in the language of today.  What are some other words or phrases that catch the original meaning of “kingdom” in our own day?
  
  
• What does Jesus mean by the “will” of God?  Do you think it is more alike or different from the “kingdom?”
  
  
• What were the three pictures shared on Sunday of better ways to find God’s will.  Talk about each one and discuss
  
  
• One of the most difficult prayers of Jesus was the one he offered to the Father while Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane.  Read Matt. 26:36-46.  Why might Jesus have wanted his close followers to join him in prayer?  What does this tell us about how we might find the will of God?  What kind of people would you want to accompany you in payer when you face a deep and difficult decision?
  
  
• In his prayer in Gethsemane, what was it that Jesus sought of the Father?  What about his prayer models “prayer truth” for us as we seek God’s will in our own decisions?  
  
  
• In what ways do we sometimes find our “spirit willing?”  In what ways do we find our “flesh weak?”