The Crisis of Humanity
Introduction
On Palm Sunday, we looked at Jesus cleansing the temple in John 2 and the crisis at the heart of humanity. This message calls us to examine our worship, our beliefs, and our faith, and to turn our hearts back to Jesus. Only He can set us right and lead us into what is true
Discussion Questions
Outline
I. Crisis of Worship. John 2:13-17
· When humans are left to themselves long enough, they begin to find ways to make worship about themselves.
II. Crisis of Belief. John 2:18-22
· When our actual beliefs don’t match our stated beliefs, we fall into a trap of self-centered worship that misses the point of genuine worship and genuine service.
III. Crisis of Faith. John 2:23-25
· Belief becomes faith when it begins to change the way we live and define what we’re willing to fight for.
Study Questions
1. What is something you do habitually that goes against reason or what you say you believe?
2. Read John 2:13-17. How was the worship practices Jesus discovered self-serving instead of God-centered? What are some ways our worship can subtly shift into being self-serving?
3. Read John 2:18-22. Last week, Pastor Keven introduced the idea of stated beliefs vs. actual beliefs. What are these and how does it apply to these Jewish leaders? How do actual beliefs tend to shape our behavior more than stated beliefs?
4. Read John 2:23-25. What do we learn about the kind of “belief” the people had versus the kind of belief Jesus is looking for? How do false beliefs led to false faith?
5. Belief becomes faith when it begins to transform our lives and guide our decisions. What are some ways faith can become shaped by personal preferences, experiences, or culture rather than Scripture? What does this say about our belief?
6. How do we confront false beliefs in our own lives, especially when we might not be able to see them clearly? How can the outworking of our faith give us clues?
7. CALL TO ACTION: Memorize Proverbs 3:5–6. Share with someone an area where your stated and actual beliefs may not match. Then take one step this week to wrestle through that issue with Scripture and someone you trust.