Lent 2008
Small Group Bible Studies
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You are cordially invited to participate in the annual Lenten Bible Study series at St. Paul’s. As a practical aid to the Lenten focus on penitence, personal reflection, and preparation for the salvific work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, the Lenten Bible Study is designed to help Christians personally and corporately to apply biblical teaching to their everyday lives. This year’s study is devoted to the parables, Jesus’ primary teaching tool in the Gospels. The program will include the following:
Feb. 13: The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-20)—Jesus’ First Parable and Its Key to All Others
Feb. 20: The Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13:31-33, 44-46)—What’s It Like & Do We Want It
Feb. 27: Building a Tower (Luke 14:25-33)—Considering the Cost of Following Jesus
Mar. 5: The Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14)—A Party With a Dress Code
Mar. 12: The Sheep & The Goats (Matthew 25:31-46)—How We “Invite” Others to the Party
In contrast to recent years, this year we are all meeting together at St. Paul’s on Wednesday evenings, starting February 13. We will begin at 6:15pm with a light supper of soup and salad, then commence with the formal study at 6:45ish. At that time, all who are present will be divided into small groups of roughly 8-10 people and directed to various parts of the church. There will be three small group leaders to facilitate discussion of the week’s scripture passage and to help with application. We will reconvene corporately at 7:50ish to read Compline together to close the evening.
I personally hope you will join us for these engaging studies as an encouragement to your Lenten disciplines. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me as noted below. May God richly bless you this Lent!
Jonathan Juilfs
juilfs@juno.com
(574) 233-3673
Study Guides
- Week 1
- Week 2
Download:
PDF | Word Document
Lenten Study Week 1: The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-20 RSV)
1Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2And he taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3“Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; 6and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. 7Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10And when he was alone, those who were about him with the twelve asked him concerning the parables. 11And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables; 12so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven.” 13And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14The sower sows the word. 15And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown; when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which is sown in them. 16And these in like manner are the ones sown upon rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, 19but the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20But those that were sown upon the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
Study Questions
- What is a parable? Why do you think Jesus chooses parables as his method of teaching?
- Imagine yourself as one of the crowd on the seashore. What do you make of Jesus’ teaching? Would you be curious enough to ask him some questions if you didn’t understand something?
- What do you think “the secret of the kingdom of God” is? Would you like to know?
- In Jesus’ interpretation of the parable, the soils represent states of the human heart. What kind of soil is your heart? If it’s not “good soil,” what can you do to become good soil?
- Jesus is very explicit that some will hear his words but not understand, and thus not experience forgiveness. Do you feel like this sometimes? What separates an honest seeker, someone like the third case where the soil is good enough to grow but gets choked by weeds, from someone whose heart is hard? What parts of our hearts could use some aggressive weeding this Lent?
- Why do you think Jesus says this parable is the key to understanding all the others? If an answer doesn’t immediately come to mind, we will put the principle to the test in next week’s study of four parables about the Kingdom of Heaven!
Download:
PDF | Word Document
Lenten Study Week 2: Parables about The Kingdom of Heaven (Matt 13:31-33; 44-46 RSV)
31Another parable [Jesus] put before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; 32it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
44“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Study Questions
1. In the first two parables, Jesus suggests that the Kingdom of Heaven is something small, potentially unnoticed. How do we feel about choosing to be a part of something that isn’t glamorous? Do we feel “small” as Christians? What hope might we take from the parables?
2. The second parable compares the Kingdom to leaven, which, as Barclay points out, was traditionally thought to be a negative agent (see Mark 8:15, Matt. 16:11). Do we think of ourselves as leaven when we serve Jesus in the real world? Are we perceived negatively for doing the things that Christians are supposed to do? What hope might we take from this parable?
3. The third parable suggests that we can “stumble onto” the Kingdom when we aren’t really looking for it. Is this how some of us have come to the Church and to Jesus? What hope might we take from this parable, even if we don’t feel like we’ve stumbled onto the Kingdom?
4. The fourth parable suggests that we can fastidiously seek out the Kingdom. Were we looking for it when we “found” it? Are we still looking for it? Do we ever sense that we “find” it? What does it look like? What hope might we take from this parable?
5. All of these parables are about the Kingdom of Heaven. Are we attracted to, intrigued by this Kingdom? Do we want to be apart of it? If so, what do the last two parables say to us about what we should do to get this Kingdom? What do we need to “sell” (i.e. get rid of) to more fully experience God’s Kingdom in the here and now? Are we ready to give we all we have for it?
6. Although these parables don’t make any mention of it specifically, the existence of a Kingdom implies a King. Who is the King of this celestial Kingdom? Are we ready to serve this King as His loyal subjects? What sins and character faults do we need to deal with in order to better serve Him?