We're treking through Luke in Connection groups. This past Sunday we spent a lot of time thinking through the message of Jesus--grace to the outcast--and our natural bent toward self-righteousness from Luke 5:33-39.
The comfort of religion for the Pharisees was enticing.
Change and transformation can be really painful. All-to-often we choose comfort instead of the new garment / new wine of grace. All to often, we forget that we too were once the outcast.
The Pharisees and religious leaders liked the old way of doing things.
In fact, they made their way of doing things—with all its man-made rules and regulations— more important than following God. They forgot that the purpose of things like fasting and prayer was to spend time with God, not to make other people think they were holy. Jesus, the Bridegroom and Son of God, was right in front of them, but they couldn’t see that he was God’s way for people to come to him.
We want to keep the conversation rolling.
What is the Spirit doing in your heart? I know he is speaking.
How is he taking the message of "self-righteousness is like a taxidermist" before you? Help us answer some of these questions, let's continue pressing into what the Spirit wants to say to us.
Here are some questions for us:
- What things do you do sometimes to make other people think you are religious or close to God?
- Why are we inclined to prefer old wine? How does that affect your ability to abide in Jesus? In other words how does treating Jesus like a "if/then" instead of an "as if" effect us?
- Where do we need to be new wineskins?
Thanks, in advance, for allowing the Spirit to work through you.
Want to prepare for this week's Connection? We're going to be going through the next set of verses in Luke, dealing with Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath. You can download the observation worksheets here (They're the same from last week). We'll start offering this every Wednesday, so that you can begin soaking into the text before Sunday.
Comment on Facebook. Let's learn from each other and what the Spirit is teaching us. We'll throw in a little incentive--each person that comments by Saturday night will be entered to win the brand new EP from Citizens. While we love comments from all over, You'll need to be present at theGATHERING on Sunday in Connection to claim your epic prize.
