ST NICOLAS, NEWBURY

HOME GROUP QUESTIONS

BASIC CHRISTIANITY - 2 - THE CLAIMS OF CHRIST

For home groups that would like them, here are some questions based on Sunday morning's teaching material at 9.15 (which will be repeated at 11.00 next Sunday). There's no need to answer them all - just tackle the ones you have time for. You don't need to stick to the areas mentioned here - feel free to discuss any other issues that arise for you.

1. What do you make of the statement that 'Christianity is either completely true or completely false'? What would be left of the Christian Faith if Jesus wasn't the Son of God?

2. What would you say to someone who suggested that the evidence of the Gospels is biased and therefore unreliable?

3. "The conclusion Christians have come to about Jesus Christ is not just that he is someone to be admired but that he is someone to be worshipped." Would you like to tell the story of how you came to (or are journeying towards) this conclusion?

4. Read Luke 4:14-21. What is so remarkable about what Jesus says in verse 21? How do people react? Why?

5. Can you think of other occasions when Jesus makes startling claims for himself? See Luke 10:23-24, John 5:16-17, John 10:25-33 and John 20:26-29 for some examples.

6. Have a look at Mark 2:1-12. How does this story bring out who Jesus understands himself to be?

7. Now turn to John 5:22-30. How would you respond if your boss at work started talking in these terms? What does this say about Jesus?

8. 'Miracles are, if you like, the acted-out parables of Jesus. They tell us who he is by demonstrating his claims visually.' Can you think of examples of this? (Compare John 8:12 with John 9:1-7.)

9. Here's a quotation from C S Lewis: "The discrepancy between the depth and sanity, and (let me add) shrewdness, of his moral teaching and the rampant megalomania which must lie behind his theological teaching unless he is indeed God, has never been satisfactorily got over." What do you make of this?

10. What practical differences do the claims of Jesus make to our lives today?

11. Take some time to pray for those on the journey of discovery as they face up to the claims of Christ. Pray too that we, as individuals and as a church, might live more consistently in the light of who Jesus really is.

David Stone
26 October 2008