Sermon Response Guide

Sermon Response Guide En Español

PRIMARY SCRIPTURE: Ezra 3:10 – 13

Key Points

• BEYOND 2021: The Year of Blessing
• You have been blessed to be a blessing.
• Success in life is:
  1)    Faithfulness to God (John 1:14 & 18)
  2)    Faithfulness to one another (John 13:34 – 35, 17:22 – 23)
  3)    Faithfulness to God’s mission (Matthew 28:18 – 20)

Memory Verse

Ask God to write this word on your heart this week:

“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”
- John 1:16 ESV

Questions for Reflection

Take time to reflect and respond to these questions on your own in the presence of the Holy Spirit, or with trusted friends or family members:
 
1: What grief followed you into this new year? What joy has already found you in this new year? How do the two relate to one another?
 
2: In Ezra 3:10 – 13, why do you think some wept while others rejoiced when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was being laid? How does that resonate with you today?
 
3: Ezra 3:11 says, “they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord.” After the year we just had, how will you respond to God in this new year?
 
4: Consider the order of today’s message. Success in life is faithfulness to God first, people second, and God’s mission third. Why do you think that order matters? Why is faithfulness foundational to every aspect of success in the Kingdom of God?
 
5: Reflect on the diversity of gifts God has given you (consider your time, your talents, your resources, your home, your personality, your passion, etc.). How may God want you to use your God-given gifts to give back to God and to your neighbor this year? In other words, how has God blessed you to be a blessing for such a time as this?
 
6: Pastor Jeff shared with our PCBC faith family, “If we don’t focus on the future, we will not have a future.” What do you think he meant by that? Why might that be true?

7: “Though the truth does not change, the way we communicate the truth must change.” What is the unchanging truth referenced in this statement? Why might the way we communicate the truth need to change? Read John 8:24 – 32. How have you communicated the truth to the past? How might you communicate the truth to the future?

8: If God is bringing an end to “Sunday morning cultural Christianity” post-2020, what might God be bringing a beginning to? How might God begin with you?

Pray

Lord, everything we have comes from you. We believe you have given to us so we will give to others, but we confess our lives do not always reflect that truth. Open our eyes to see your generosity in each new day. Lord, we rejoice over the new day you are bringing to your church. Show us how you have uniquely created and called us to serve you and your Kingdom for such a time as this. In our weeping and rejoicing, all we have and all we are is all yours, Lord.