GROWTH QUESTION #1
Who would like to share a highlight, praise report, or testimony from this week?
“Religion vs. Relationship - It’s a Heart Thing!”
MEETING AGENDA
- OPENING PRAYER – Ask one person to open the meeting in prayer.
- GROWTH QUESTIONS – Ask everyone the Growth Questions.
- ATTENDANCE – Take attendance through the DG Attendance System.
- TODAY’S LESSON – Go over this week’s DG lesson.
- GIVING – Encourage everyone to give on the App.
- CLOSING PRAYER – Ask for prayer requests and pray.
GROWTH QUESTION #2
What did you learn from this week’s sermon?
GROWTH QUESTION #3
What was your most important accomplishment this week?u
TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Matthew 15:1-9 NLT 1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, 8 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”
INTERACTIVE QUESTIONS
What did you learn from what we just read?
TRUTH #1
Religious activities do not make us holy or righteous in the eyes of God.
- Jesus’s response to the Pharisees (religious leaders) makes it clear God is concerned with the spiritual condition of our heart.
- Fulfilling man-made religious traditions does not please God.
- Tradition: an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior
- Religion is a system of man-made rules and regulations people attempt to follow in order to make themselves ‘right’ with God (without going through Jesus).
- God has not sanctioned religious acts as a route to heaven.
- Religion does not save us because it does not change our sinful hearts. Only a personal relationship with Jesus can do that!
INTERACTIVE QUESTIONS
In what ways do people try to get to heaven without going through Jesus Christ? Can you share a challenge or struggle you attempted to ‘fix’ on your own but did not get victory over until after you accepted Christ in your heart?
TRUTH #2
Emphasizing religion over a personal relationship with Jesus contradicts God’s Word and can hinder our ability to obey and discern His will for us.
- Discernment: ability to judge well; to be able to see, recognize, understand, or decide something.
- Some traditions, customs and even cultural practices may be clouding our judgment. We should take inventory of ungodly practices passed down through generations that we may be holding on to. If it contradicts God’s Word, it does not please Him.
- God’s desire is that we would desire to hear His voice and obey His commands over the voice of any other.
- We must rely on God’s Word and the discernment of His Holy Spirit to eliminate things (ways, mindsets, practices) we may be holding on to that are not pleasing to Him.
- Religious, cultural, social and even family traditions are no excuse for violating God’s Word (verse 6), not for a moment, a night, a special gathering, etc.
INTERACTIVE QUESTIONS
What customs, traditions or practices have been passed down through the generations that you need to let go of? What types of events or situations do we find ourselves wherein we may feel compelled to compromise what God has commanded, even if temporarily, for the sake of tradition?
TRUTH #3
Ultimately, we must surrender our hearts to God to have victory over sin and our own selfish will.
- Farce: a comedy in which everything is absolutely absurd. This usually involves some kind of deception or miscommunication; buffoonery.
- We need a heart transplant - the heart of Jesus in place of our own.
- Our hearts should yearn to please Jesus (not man).
- If we have not committed our heart to God, we cannot worship Him in spirit and in truth.
INTERACTIVE QUESTIONS
Has there ever been a time when, even though you were walking with the Lord as a believer, you felt far from God? What was getting in the way of your ability to experience true worship? How did you overcome this?
CLOSING QUESTION
What is one thing you have learned from today’s lesson?
GIVING
The call to give without expecting anything in return challenges us to embody a selfless generosity that mirrors God's love for us.
Luke 6:30 (NLT)
Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.
Encourage everyone to give their tithes and offerings.
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
PRAY
QUESTION #1
Who are you praying for to be saved?
QUESTION #2
Who can you invite to the next meeting?
QUESTION #3
What are your prayer requests?