Glencairn Church

Going Deeper is designed for use with your small group, a friend, or on
your own. Its aim is to create time for you to spend with God and his word. Do as much or as little as you like. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our pastoral staff.

1.Pray for each other, our church, and our leaders, for personal and corporate renewal, and to allow God’s word to transform us. Share a recent entry from your Life Journal with the group.

2. This Sunday we looked at the mission Jesus gave his disciples and by extension each of us who call themselves followers of Jesus. In Matt 10, Jesus gives his disciples an instructional manual on how to relate to the world. We are to express the compassion of Jesus but also share in the offense of Jesus since he warns that we will be hated by the world
because of him. What thoughts or questions did the message raise for you? Which ones, encouraged you or posed a challenge to you?

3. Read Matt 10:5-8. It is clear in this passage, and elsewhere, that Jesus is sending us into the world to preach the gospel and heal the sick. What
thoughts/images do you conjure up in your mind when you think of being sent out into the world in this way? What obstacles/confusion/fear do you face when being sent? What excites you about being sent?

4 Read Matt 9:35-38. What is the two-prong approach Jesus had when he was on a mission? Discuss the tension that often exists within churches and Christians, to keep that balance of evangelism and social justice. Which one comes more easily to you? Why does Jesus compare people to sheep?

5. Take some time to pray together. Thank God for his default posture of
compassion towards human beings, and pray that you will exhibit that same attitude towards others. Also, pray v38, and ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into the harvest field.

7. Take a moment of silence to consider how God is speaking to you. Is He asking you to make changes or to do something new? What concrete steps of response do you want to take? How can your group support you in these steps?

6. Read Matt 10:16-31. Jesus warns us that our mission to the world won’t
always be easy. What are the characteristics he encourages us to have in the midst of opposition? Why are we not to be afraid? How does this opposition impact your response to being sent out?

7. Take a moment of silence to consider how God is speaking to you. Is He asking you to make changes or to do something new? What concrete steps of response do you want to take? How can your group support you in these steps?