Source: https://gracepoint-berkeley-devotions.org/2018/02/
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 14:18:50+00:00

Document:
In this parable, the manager “could no longer be manager”; however, for a season, he still had some use and control over the master’s property. What does this period of time represent?
What does it mean to “make friends” using “wealth” so that I will be received into “eternal dwellings”?
According to this passage, what constitutes being “faithful” with money? Have I been trustworthy in this sense?
Why is it impossible to serve both God and money?
When does the prodigal son come to his senses?
What is the attitude of the prodigal son as he returns home?
What does genuine repentance look like, as depicted in the prodigal son’s return home?
What does the father’s surprising response reveal about the essence of our relationship with God?
Identify the reasons for the older brother’s anger.
How can obedience (“never disobeyed your command”) produce bitterness and resentment?
What makes for a “celebration” for the older brother? Who is there, and who is not there?
How do my causes for “celebration” compare with those of God? What lessons can I learn from this?
What might have been the older son’s response to the father’s statement, “You are always with me, and everything I have is yours”?
Compare and contrast how the “tax collectors and sinners” and the Pharisees approached Jesus. What does this reveal about the Pharisees’ attitude toward “sinners” and their view of themselves?
How does my view of myself affect how I will approach Jesus?
What are two ways you can see the value of the lost items in these parables?
What is God’s view of me?
How should this parable change my view of myself and others?
What does it mean for a person to “hate” his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters, and even his own life?
What lessons can I learn from the parable of the Great Banquet about why Jesus asks for such radical commitment?
Jesus does not hide the cost of discipleship. Why does he tell the crowd to count the cost of following him before they follow?
Compare the salt that loses its saltiness (v. 34) with the fellow who began to build but was not able to finish (v. 30).
What warning does this provide for those who claim to be disciples of Christ but have not counted the cost? What would be the outcome?
In this passage, Jesus says, “You cannot be my disciple,” three times. Given that every Christian is by definition a disciple of Christ (cf. Acts 11:26), what does this reveal about the nature of Christian discipleship?
Have you counted the cost of following Christ?
What cost have I paid since following Christ? Is following Christ worth the cost?
What is the cost of not following Christ?
What have I gained in Christ?
Reflect on the fact that in this story that Jesus told, he shows the primary impediment to responding to God’s invitation to be things that everyone recognizes as good. What are some “good” things that I am seeking (or experiencing) that get in the way of responding to God’s invitation to fellowship with him at the banquet?
What good thing can potentially deafen my ears to God’s calling?
Think about how the owner of the house might have felt in v. 17, v. 21, and then v. 23.
What does this reveal about his heart?
What did these people who did not come to the banquet gain?
1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.
5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they could not reply to these things.
The Pharisees and experts in the law use a man suffering from dropsy to scrutinize Jesus. What does this reveal about them?
What did the Pharisees and experts in the law maintain by not answering Jesus’ questions? What did they forfeit through their silence?
How is the scene of the guests vying for the place of honor at the table a portrait of the world today?
How much do I value status and reputation? How is this manifested in the way I relate to people around me?
Who are “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind” that God is asking me to take care of without being repaid?
What does it mean to be “repaid at the resurrection”?
Jesus says being saved is like entering through a narrow door. Why would this be the case? Or, in what ways is this true in my life?
To Jesus’ audience who believed that only Jews could enter the kingdom of God, what would be their response to what Jesus said in v. 29?
Who are the “last who will be first” and who are the “first who will be last” in v. 30?
Who are the “prophets” sent to me today?
Do I welcome or resist Jesus’ longing to gather me under his wings?
The synagogue ruler became indignant at Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath. Is there a relationship between what angers a person and what “cripples” a heart from functioning as God intended? How does this apply to me?
How has this parable worked out in history and in my life?
What false notion was Jesus addressing by asking two rhetorical questions about the victims of these tragic events?
“Unless you repent…” With these words repeated twice, Jesus emphasizes that the issue of ultimate importance is that they repent. In what ways do I need to heed this warning?
The gardener represents Jesus, whose intervention helps us avoid judgment. The gardener says that he’ll dig around and fertilize the tree. What would it look like for me to respond to these efforts of the gardener?
Why would living a life for Jesus cause division?
Why does Jesus use the family context to describe the division he brings?
What is the proper interpretation of the present time, according to v. 58?
If going before the judge refers to the final judgment at the end of one’s life, what does settling with your accuser “on the way” to the judge refer to?

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