ST NICOLAS, NEWBURY

HOME GROUP QUESTIONS

BASIC CHRISTIANITY - 3 - THE CHARACTER 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 people you know think of Jesus? Where do they get their ideas from? How would you answer the suggestion that Jesus was 'just a good man and nothing more'?

2. Look at Luke 18:18-19. What does it really mean to describe Jesus as 'good'?

3. Now turn to John 8:1-11. None of those opposing Jesus dared claim to be without sin. But now look at verse 46. What does this underline about how Jesus thought of himself?

4. Read Mark 2:15-17. What does this tell us about how Jesus saw himself compared with everyone else?

5. Can you think of other occasions when Jesus underlines the extraordinary contrast between himself and the rest of humanity? (Think, for example, of the 'I am...' sayings of Jesus.)

6. Turn to 1 Peter 2:21-24 and 1 John 3:5. What are Peter and John saying about Jesus? How would you answer someone who suggested that they and the other disciples were biased?

7. In what ways did the enemies of Jesus try to undermine the evidence of his character? Have a look at Mark 2:6-7, Luke 5:29-30, Luke 7:33-35, Mark 2:23-28.

8. What does Matthew 26:59-61 tell us about the efforts of the enemies of Jesus to prove him guilty of sin?

9. What conclusions have you come to about the character of Jesus? How did you reach them?

10. How are we to reconcile "the combination of the selfcentredness of his teaching and the unselfcentredness of his behaviour"?

11. Take some time this week to pray that the life of our church will reflect more of the character of the one we seek to follow and that we will be increasingly effective in communicating how wonderful he is to others.

David Stone
9 November 2008