Sermon Response Guide
PRIMARY SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 9:14-17 ESV
14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
Key Points
- All grief is the result of some kind of change.
- Why? is a question of resistance.
- Comparison keeps us from seeing what God is uniquely doing in our own lives.
- The greatest barrier to our better future is often the good things God has done in the past.
- Fasting is a means to draw near to God. We give something up to gain something greater: God.
- Jesus frees us to adopt and adapt to what God gives us in times of change.
- It is always time to obey God and continue moving forward with him.
- Our hearts and minds are like old garments. We need the new heart and mind Christ offers us each day.
- The old wine is our plan, the new wine is God’s plan.
Memory Verse
Ask God to write this word on your heart this week:
“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”
-Revelation 21:5 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: How have you been wrestling with God’s timing lately?
2: In times of change – especially change we cannot control – we most often ask God, why? Where in your life do you find yourself asking why these days?
3: In view of your present why, how might a better question be, who? Specifically, God, who are you?
4: In times of change, we’re more prone to ask questions of comparison, such as, why me (and not them)? When was the last time you felt this way?
5: How have your own questions of comparison hindered your ability to see how God is uniquely working in your life for his glory and your good?
6: Sometimes we can’t see the new thing God wants to do in our lives because we are still wrapped up in something from our past. What do you need to relinquish from your past so you can welcome the newness of God in your life?
7: How is God inviting you to obey him and continue moving forward with him in response to today’s message?
Pray
Lord, we grieve the changes in our lives that are beyond our control. Though we try hard to trace your hand in these times of transition, sometimes it is hard to see you – and even harder to feel you. When all we can ask is why, God, will you show us who you are? Give us new hearts and new minds to welcome the new things you want to do in our lives with each new day. Lord, we believe your ways are higher and your plan is better. Help us in our unbelief.
