Color, scene three

This week will feel in some ways like not only part III in the series, but a sequel to last week. Jesus moves in His sermon from the issue of harbored anger and contempt to the use and abuse of others. It comes from the same sick heart according to God, and has the same outcome- people encountering hell on earth due to another's chronic selfishness. But rather than merely pronouncing judgment or launching new rules to further control behaviors- Jesus continues to invite us where we are into something and somewhere we've never imagined.

The spirit of the message may have felt in some way redundant, but make sure and capitalize on a repeat opportunity to allow Christ access to your group's heart; as a group, and as individuals. Though the message was based on content that is admittedly fired more at men than women, be sure and utilize the general thrust of the message for men and women alike, as well as the daily devotional/guide downloadable on the Crosspointe website to get your group wrestling with the topic. Additionally, you may note that some of the language of even this study sounds more uptight by comparison to the mood of most studies. That is due to the fact that where sexuality and marriage are concerned, that's how the scriptures roll. It's just too serious to take lightly.

Thaw

• Anyone have any Mother's Day stories?
• Anyone have any college graduation stories/updates?

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• What impacted you most from the message Sunday?
• Were there any insights that you had not come across before? What were they and why do they matter?

Read

• Proverbs 4:23
• Jeremiah 17:9-10
• Mark 2:13-17
• Thoughts?
• How do these texts altar your view of God's view of sin?
• Why is the heart so important to God?
• Why don't rules and rule keeping affect the innermost places of a person?

Leader note: In Acts chapter 1, after the resurrection and the ascension of Christ, the Apostles are replacing Judas who had hung himself. They narrow their search down to two men that fit their criteria for the job. It's recorded in 1:24 that to choose between the two, Peter prays "Lord, you know everyone's heart; show us which of these two you have chosen...". In the original Greek, Peter calls God "kardio-gnostes", or "the heart-knower". God is the heart-knower, yet isn't disgusted by what He sees. Instead, He gets to work healing the sickness He so plainly sees inside it. What a thought: God sees and knows the heart, and loves/redeems/saves anyway!

Read

• Matthew 5:27-37

Leader note: You may want to divide up the reading into the sections on Adultery/lust, Divorce and oaths, asking the same kinds of questions for each section. Also note that it may be helpful and appropriate to steer some of your members to a message on divorce done May 27th 2007 (click here) that spends a lot more time on the issue of divorce specifically.

• Thoughts?
• How do you think the first men and women hearing this felt as Jesus said these words?
• How are these words similar to what He had just said about anger, resentment and contempt held for others?

Leader note: See if you can get members of your group to recognize that harbored anger towards others, and lust towards others, are both way that we treat other human beings as objects to be used and discarded, rather than loved and sacrificed for. Sending women away and having to call on realities outside your own control to bolster people's confidence in your trustworthiness are more ways that we have to control people and compensate for a corrupted heart.

• Jesus speaks of being "scandalized" by even your own hand and eyes when someone is turned into a product for consumption. But doesn't a "Thou shalt not" based on how strongly He feels about it. Why would jesus feel like what He said was stronger than a command?
• Similarly, He gives no law about divorce, but turns the attention to the condition the woman would find herself in, as well as the future husband; why this over a new command about divorce?
• Jesus does give a command on oaths, saying "don't swear at all". What would be the side-effects of someone suddenly, in obedience to Christ, refusing to say anything from "I promise" to calling on God's name and reputation to get their word to be taken seriously?

Leader note: People "swear on a stack of Bibles", tell the "honest to God truth", etc. to make their apparent historic untrustworthiness be ignored. Though Jesus does seem to give a command here, by following it, one would actually put themselves in bad spot if they have a habit of lying or not following through. It would force them to have people learn to trust their real heart, and they would have to be willing to put up with a long process of building their reputation up to the point where when he or she spoke, people knew it would happen just like he or she said without all the extra language is used to take to sell them. You may also add that, throughout history, people have sometimes taken this literally and refused to make vows in their own weddings or swear oaths in court. This is the point missed, most likely. The idea is that you have a reputation for having a trustworthy heart in all (mostly daily) matters. In a marriage ceremony, it is often a beautiful thing to affirm vows in such a high commitment. You wouldn't mean it less if you just said "I do". It's that marriage vows invite God and witnesses as accountability and assistance into this, the highest human relationship. As for being "sworn in"...it's for show anyway if you think about it; sick hearts can swear an oath and still lie. And if they catch you, they don't go to work on your heart. You'll be stuck with a perjury charge. This type of swearing is not for the swearer, but for the upholding and safeguarding of human law.

Discuss

• What is working against us as we take Jesus' words seriously?
• Why is what Jesus saying so difficult?

Leader note: As leader, do not let go of this thought: If we can follow Jesus' words here by "trying harder", then Jesus has simply given a new righteousness code that does NOT require His own Spirit and presence. And that would be completely against His own purpose of being part of our lives and taking up residence in our hearts. Don't let your group leave thinking that this is a "know better=do better" issue for Jesus. Only Christ's heart can cure ours. Our will power is powerless. Those that refuse to follow Christ cannot love others the way He is explaining, because the heart is too broken to do it. It needs saved. Rather than this being another religious exclusivity- it's the sum of Christ's beautiful invitation to all gathered to listen to his Kingdom message.

• Is there anyone in the group that feels like they want to take a step in trusting Christ, in order to allow Him to create a heart of love within them?
• How can this group come along side you in the days and weeks and months to come as you surrender your heart to Him?
• What steps are you taking in the short term? Long term?
• Does anyone feel like their are parts of their day-to-day to existence that drive out Christ's heart for people?

Leader note: Some people are required to use sales tactics that demean people. Some people work for companies that use women's bodies to sell things or ideas. Some people work in environments where marriage is cheap and the office flirting (and more) is completely anti-Kingdom. You may want to devote some time to allowing your members to evaluate out loud what they can do to better honor and love in their contexts. Some may feel judgmental in doing this ( and some may become judgmental in doing this!), but that's not the goal. The goal is to deal decisively and boldly with anything that treats others like objects to consume or use. Let them be "scandalized" the way Christ is, not the way a religious prude would be.

Prayer

Spend some time in prayer over the hearts of the members, and the heart of the group. What if we could become the kind of people that have hearts being purified and mended to the extent that the closer you looked into them, the more of God's love could be seen. That our innermost being would shape how we saw others, men and women alike, as well as how people saw us. Pray this over your group, as the Holy Spirit dreams exactly this for everyone of his children.