This Tuesday, we will be discussing the first chapter and I came up with a few questions, as well as a couple from the discussion guide. Some of these questions are meant to be considered and answered privately.
- The parable is traditionally referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Who is Jesus really speaking to and how did you come to that conclusion?
- Was it a revelation to you that the first Christians were called atheists? How do you think we differ from those first believers and how are we alike?
- Do you think it’s a true statement that “people like Jesus, but not the church?” If so, why do you think the church in America is so unlikeable?
- If you agreed that “people like Jesus, but not the church,” do you think you might part of the problem?
- Do you think our Christian institutions, our buildings and programs are a barrier to the “younger brothers” in our culture? What do you think our attitude to such things should be?
- How can we be more inviting to the “broken and marginalized” around us?
- Tim Keller shifts from Jesus and His attraction to “younger brothers” to ask if our churches are inviting to those outside the faith? Do you think that is a valid question – I mean, do Jesus and His church serve identical roles?
- What do you think about a Church, where a crowd of “younger brothers” always seems to be around? Would you consider it a healthy Church or a “worldly” one?
- How do you resolve the tension between Jesus’ frequent rebuke of obedient, religious, “older brothers” in the Gospels and Scriptures like Matthew 5:20 when He says, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven?” (ESV)
November 28th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Regarding Question #8. If we are effective in reaching the unsaved this would be a common occurrence. We should not dilute the gospel or compromise our “walks” to become palatable to non believers, but the gospel itself and our changed lives (i.e. our testimonies) should draw people. This creates a tension that is hard sometimes. You have people like the “sinners and tax collectors” mentioned in this parable hanging out in our churches. How do we respond? …. like the Pharisees or like Jesus?
November 28th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Yes, Jesus calls us into the Kingdom of God and, as we saw in our recent study, that Kingdom overlaps and is in conflict with the kingdom of this world. There is an “already-not yet” quality which will be present in the church until Jesus comes. We are the people of God with full status as His children, yet we are still broken and struggling against sin, to “live up to” that identity.
It’s not unlike the conflict between the old man and the new creation in individuals. There is an ongoing process of sanctification at work, as the Spirit transforms us into the image of Christ. The progress appears, like the mustard seed, to be small and insignificant at first. But, over time it will grow and grow into the plant it was destined to be.
I think the key in the church, as in the individual, is the orientation or the trajectory; is the community as a whole moving towards that Christ-likeness, is it static and going nowhere or is it actually sliding backwards? If a group of believers is moving forward, growing in Christ and reproducing, then I think it is healthy. It would actually be “unhealthy” if there are very few “younger brothers,” because the finger-pointers and “accusers of the brethren” shut them out. Tim Keller’s point from the passage is that the “younger brothers” outnumbered the “older brothers” and were far more receptive to Jesus and the message… I think that’s something I need to be reminded of.