There are all kinds of reasons we don't fit through Kingdom gate.
Use this discussion time to find attachments and demands in your lives. We all have them. The variations only have to do with quantity. And each attachment is a reason we aren't finding life to the full. You can expect some people to come right out with it. Others may have a harder time. Keep in mind that these sorts of conversations most typically serve as a step, not the whole movement toward letting go.
Thaw
- What are a few things you have learned/relearned this Summer?
- Have there been disappointments?
- What has gone well?
- How would this Summer be different if you were able to have no expectations (good or bad)?
Read
- Mark 10:13-31
- Thoughts and impressions?
- What from Sunday morning stands out as you read through?
- Considering the setting, why does Christ mention leaving "home" and "family"?
Leader note: It may be worth reminding the group that Christ isn't advocating abandoning loved ones as a litmus test for faith. Paragraphs earlier he affirmed fidelity in marriage, the value and sacredness of children, etc. Generally speaking, he is referring to a state of mind, not a state of geography.
Read
- Matthew 7:13-14
- Luke 12:15
- Thoughts and impressions?
- How does this fit with how we have structured our society?
Leader note: Many people interpret Jesus' words about few finding the narrow path as "most people will go to Hell!" Try not to get distracted. Suffice it to say for now that if this were the case, it essentially positions God as mostly not victorious, and sin being ultimately a little too much for God to handle. If it's helpful, think of gates in the first century to reinforce the picture Christ paints. Wide gates with throngs of people moving through to say, shop for themselves or see a gladiatorial game. Something popular. A narrow gate, such as might be in front of a synagogue or the home of a poor widow, sees far less people passing through it. But the latter contains the object of Christ's greater concern. The first reinforces selfish ignorance or "destruction", the second leads to life. Few choose the second.
Discuss
- Other than material things, what are some things that we keep/possess/invest ourselves in?
- How do these things get in the way of the peace Christ invites us each into?
- Why does dropping something we know creates tension and stress and division seem so scary, or even impossible?
Apply
- Who in this group has perspectives, pursuits, ideas, desires, hopes, wounds, grudges, etc. that they feel they are unable to release?
- What would life be like without it?
- What makes you continue to hold on to it, despite the fact that you can see it makes you, where the Kingdom's "eye of the needle" is concerned, more camel than thread?
- What on step can you and the group take today that would make you freer from demands to be known, loved, understood, respected, admired, heard, etc?
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