Monday, March 08, 2021

Flawed but Faithful | Week 1 | Small Group Questions


Coastline Bible Church is doing a five-week sermon series called: "Flawed but Faithful." This is going to be a unique sermon series because typically when we read the Bible we are looking for the text to be God-centric; meaning we put God at the center of our focus. But for five weeks we’re going to focus on the life of Peter. We’re going to see that Peter is a human just like us. We’re going to learn that Peter followed Jesus, stepped out in faith, tried to justify himself, and had wild ideas. We’re going to see that Peter is a flawed man who was faithful to God. Peter played a key role in building the local church and because of his faithfulness to Jesus we have the local church. For this series I volunteered to write the small group questions that go along with each sermon. It seemed like a waste to leave them in a file on my computer and not share them with everyone.

Small Group Questions ::: Nothing but Net ::: Luke 5

If we were to write a short biographical sketch of the Apostle Peter it might look something like this: Born into a Jewish family in the region of the Sea of Galilee. Raised in a small fishing village called Capernaum. Followed the family trade and became a fisherman. Married. But those statistics don’t define Peter. In Luke chapter 5 we read about a wild encounter that Peter had with Jesus. Peter knew who Jesus was but now would be given a great decision of trusting Jesus. After an unsuccessful fishing trip, Peter catches the largest catch he’s ever seen. At this point Jesus invites Peter to follow Him as a disciple. This was a huge invitation for Peter to leave everything to follow Jesus. Study these questions and see what Jesus is inviting you to. 

1) Our sermon started with some actors who passed on high profile roles. In a sense they missed out. What is something that you feel like you missed out on in life? Can you point to an event that you wished would have gone different in your life? 

2) Read John 1:35-42. Near the Jordan river is when Peter first met Jesus. Jewish people were constantly looking for the Messiah (see John 4:25). Share a time when you brought someone to meet Jesus and how they responded. 

3) We don’t know how long it was until Jesus taught on the shore of the sea of Galilee (Read Luke 5:1-3). Peter was in the presence of Jesus. How do you practice being in the presence of Jesus (see Psalm 5:3, Mark 1:35, and John 1:43-51) 

4) Peter went from the back row to close proximately to Jesus (read Luke 5:4-5). Peter was willing to obey Jesus even when it didn’t make sense. Share about a time that Jesus asked you to do something that didn’t make sense.  

5) Obedience can be a tough thing because it goes against our will. Read Luke 2:51, Acts 6:7, Romans 16:19, and 1 Peter 1:14. Many of our heroes in the faith learn obedience. Where is God asking you to obey Him right now?  

6) Peter has a unique response to Jesus (read Luke 5:8-11). Share about a time when you recognized the depth of your sin and couldn’t handle being in the presence of God. How did that change your faith walk? 

7) This encounter gave Peter a new purpose in his life. He would now fish for men. Read Acts 2:37-41, 3:1-10, 4:8-13, and 10:34-46. Looking at the story in Luke and these accounts in Acts, how were these words of Jesus fulfilled?  

Close your time in prayer. Talk about who you will invite to Coastline Online? 

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