WHO IS THIS MAN?: WEEK 1 DISCUSSION GUIDE
READ
This week we started a new series called, "Who Is This Man?" We are focusing on who Jesus really is and what he is all about. This week's focus was about the fact that Jesus came to us as a servant and as a King. Jesus loves us and serves us. He even laid down His life for us. He also requires us to give him authority over our lives. In the first century, his followers were comfortable with the idea of Jesus as King. They wanted a Savior and Liberator. However, they were not as comfortable with the idea of Jesus as a servant either. Jesus' disciples reprimanded Him for attempting to wash their feet as a slave would. They tried to chase children away from Jesus, and they sought positions of glory and authority instead of positions of servanthood.
Today, however, people most commonly have the opposite perspective. We like to think of Jesus as a servant. We can try to emulate the way He loves and serves others. We like the gentle image of a Savior who gives us his everything. The image of Jesus that we tend to struggle with is Jesus as King. If Jesus is our King then we have to submit to Him and His authority. To follow Jesus as a servant, we simply need to love and serve others. To follow Jesus as King, we must surrender control of our own lives and our own choices. We give His teachings authority over our lives. In a culture that values independence, freedom and autonomy, the idea of submitting to Jesus' as King can be difficult.
DISCUSS
Share a story about when you were younger and had a hard time with authority.
Have you ever had a person under your authority who struggled with the idea of being accountable to you?
Does your present job, education, or life phase require you to surrender to another person's authority? Is this difficult for you? If so, why?
Is there a person in your life to whom you gladly surrender authority?
What does it take to submit to someone else's authority? What does it require of you? What does it require of the other person?
Do you gravitate more toward the image of Jesus as Servant or Jesus as King?
Do you struggle with the idea of Jesus having authority over your life? If so, what would it take to get you to a point where you are willing to submit to their authority of Jesus as King?
PRAY FOR YOUR GROUP
Pray that we will grow to be people who allow Jesus to have authority over our lives. Pray that he will truly be our King.
PRAY FOR FCC
Pray that as a church we will honor Jesus as our King. Pray for the leadership of FCC and their wisdom in leading us to follow Jesus as a church.
PRAY FOR OUR GLOBAL PARTNERS
Pray for FCC's global partners, the "B" Family, in India. Praise God for the work that they are doing among an unreached Muslim people group, who do not know Jesus. Pray that our global partners' school and business will continue to be successful tools in helping to build relationships with the community and open more hearts to the hope and love Jesus offers.