Giving All, Getting More
June 02, 2019 | Mike Stancak
Passage: Matthew 19:16-30
One of the basic American values is the pursuit of happiness. Most of us have shaped our lives around that objective without even realizing it. For most of us, we may never achieve all our wildest dreams, but we will achieve a life of basic comfort and well-being. But if we’re like most people, we will arrive at a certain point in our lives, look back, and ask what it was we were really working for. Our pursuit of happiness will alienate us from any sense of purpose.
In this Sunday’s passage, Jesus challenges our American pursuit of happiness. He calls us to center our lives not around our own goals, but on the goals of the Kingdom. Join us this Sunday to learn how we can rediscover our purpose and follow Jesus in counter-cultural discipleship.
Discussion Questions:
- What are your impressions from the sermon?
- In what ways are you trying to have it all and have the Kingdom? In what ways do you sense the American Dream informing you more than discipleship to Jesus?
- Are there ways that you are trying to have it all together, or at least come across like you have it all together? How does that get in the way of following Jesus? How does the Gospel free us from shame over our limitations and failures?
- As disciples we live for something more than immediate happiness. We live for a transcendent purpose. In what ways might that be attractive to folks living under American secularism? (Secularism being a way of interacting with the world that does not take anything transcendent into account).
- Discipleship can be difficult and overwhelming if we look at it all as a whole. But really, day-to-day, it’s a slow process. One missionary described discipleship as doing “the next good thing.” She meant that as you watch your way of life, you’ll notice little ways that you can bring the kingship of Christ to bear on your finances, relationships, etc., and discipleship will simply be a matter of being obedient to take each small step that the Spirit brings to mind. What is might be the next good thing for you this week?
Series Information
Matthew 12:22 - 20
In the next installment in our Matthew series as we see conflict heating up around Jesus. As his ministry continues, it becomes clear that the values of the Kingdom clash with the arrogance, pride, and apathy of his day, and people start to polarize around him. I'm sure the same will be true of us. At every step we'll find that Jesus' grace is sufficient for the journey, as we learn the way of the Upside-Down Kingdom.