Come into the Desert to
Meet
With God!
Discipleship
Group Questions for February 13, 2005
Scripture:
Gen. 2:7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust
of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,
and the man became a living being. 8 Now the LORD God had planted a
garden in the east, in
Gen. 3:1
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild
animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You
must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the
serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did
say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden,
and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” :4
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God
knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like
God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the
tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining
wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was
with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made
coverings for themselves.
Psa. 51:0
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed
adultery with Bathsheba. 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to
your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my
transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always
before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I
sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when
you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth
in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. 7 Cleanse
me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in
me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do
not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to
sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners
will turn back to you. 14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who
saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open
my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not delight in
sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God,
you will not despise. 18 In your good pleasure make
Rom. 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world
through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men,
because all sinned — 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the
world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14
Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even
over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a
pattern of the one to come. 15 But the gift is not like the trespass.
For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s
grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ,
overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result
of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation,
but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For
if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how
much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the
gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18
Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men,
so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings
life for all men. 19 For just as through the
disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the
obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Matt. 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the
desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After
fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came
to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become
bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread
alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the
devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the
temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down.
For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will
lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a
stone.’” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord
your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high
mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9
“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord
your God, and serve him only.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels
came and attended him.
Questions for Reflection:
1.
“What is Lent all
about? Can God use the
next 40 days to change you and me in profound ways? Yes! Let me say it again
“Yes!” That’s the whole point of Lent – it’s a time when God creates space for
us in which we can change - if we’re willing. He’s inviting us over the next 40
days to come into the desert with Him and to allow Him by the power of the Holy
Spirit to cleanse us of old habits and old sins that have been with us for too too long.” Please
discuss.
2. Genesis tells us where sin began – we inherited a bent towards sin from our ancestors Adam and Eve. What is the resolution to this? Read Romans 5:12-19 for your answer.
3. Please read Psalm 51 our loud – what in it strikes you? Please discuss.
4.
In this Gospel reading (Matt 4:1-11), we see
Jesus Himself going into the desert of testing and engaging in a 40 day fast –
this to prepare Him for the next three years of revolutionary ministry – a
ministry that would turn the world upside down forever! Could God be telling us
that the next 40 days are to be our “days in the desert” to prepare each and
every one of us for a transformative ministry that may turn
5.
The central theme linking the First Reading and the Gospel is that of “temptation,” with
the Second Reading offering Paul’s theological analysis of the Fall and Christ’s answer to it – His substitutionary
sacrifice! Christ died on our behalf so that we might be fully forgiven and
thereby restored into right relationship with our Creator God!
And the Lenten Psalm becomes our
cry for transformation – that God would create in us a clean heart! Please discuss.