These questions are connected to the message, Stop Over-Spiritualizing Abuse, from Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. You can watch it here.
- Read Luke 17:5-10 out loud in a couple of different translations. How would you have interpreted these verses and what new insights did you glean from them after hearing this message?
- “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed you can say to this mulberry tree be uprooted and planted in the sea and it will obey you.” (17:6) How have you understood this verse in the past? How does the context change your understanding of what’s actually being said?
- Compare Luke’s version of this to the contexts of Matthew 17:20 and 21:21,22. How do the contexts impact the meaning? How is Luke’s context different than Matthew’s?
- Marc said “Faith is belief in action.” Is this how you’ve understood faith in the past? What might this look like for you in your circumstances, relationships, doubts, etc.?
- Often we are tempted to the big, the bold, and the powerful. What would it look like if we all committed to mustard seed sized actions, behaviours, and outlooks? Why does this take great faith?
- Jesus basically said “trust me with these 3 simple behaviours: watch your behaviour, watch the behaviour of your sisters and brothers in Christ, and forgive.” Which one of these is the easiest and which is the most difficult? What are the potential dangers or snares in each of these? What impact would living this way have on our life together and our witness?