23 Apr Discussion Guide Lost from Ourselves
Before We Get Started
For our discussion today, we will be using the sermon series discussion guides. If you would like to follow along you can access this discussion guide on the website at mosaicchurchaustin.com and then select “community group resources” in the menu options.
Prayer
Because the primary goal of our time together is to establish relationships and learn how to walk with one another in all that God has called us to be and do, we’d like to begin by praying for one another. So, does anyone have anything you’d like us to pray for or anything to share regarding how you’ve seen God moving in your life that we can celebrate together?
This Week’s Topic
Today, we continue our series titled Lost and Found, in which we study one of the central metaphors Jesus uses to talk about the human condition apart from God: lostness. From Genesis until now, the biblical story reveals that people are lost in four primary ways: lost from God, themselves, one another, and creation. In this new series, we will learn to follow the path home by discovering all the ways Jesus has come to find us.
Today’s Topic
Lost from Ourselves
Discussion Questions
Have you ever met a famous person (or someone you considered to be famous)? What was that encounter like?
Luke 16:19-31
There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’
Blindness to Self
Thomas Merton
If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for, in detail, ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for.
Given what we know of him from the parable Jesus told, what was the rich man living for?
How do the rich man’s demands of Abraham and Lazarus reveal that even after his death, he is still blind to himself?
How can understanding the wisdom of scripture (ie Moses and the prophets) help us to see ourselves more clearly and live for more than our own comfort?
Lostness to Family
Luke 16:27-28
[The rich man] answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.
Bob Goff, Love Does
I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I’m more afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter….I used to want to fix people, but now I just want to be with them.
What does the rich man’s desire to send Lazarus to warn his family imply about how his life had influenced them?
How do our choices and values affect the people we care about most in life?
What message do you hope your life communicates to the people in your life?
The Helpfulness of God
The name Lazarus means, “He whom God helps.”
Tim Keller
The only love that won’t disappoint you is one that can’t change, that can’t be lost, that is not based on the ups and downs of life or of how well you live. It is something that not even death can take away from you. God’s love is the only thing like that.
How does Lazarus’s story arc offer us hope when we face suffering and injustice?
How is seeing our true selves the key to accessing God’s mercy?
What do you need God to help you with or save you from today?
Closing Thought
Amazing Grace
Amazing grace how sweet the soundThat saved a wretch like meI once was lost, but now I’m foundWas blind but now I see‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fearAnd grace my fears relievedHow precious did that grace appearThe hour I first believedThrough many dangers, toils, and snaresI have already comeThis grace that brought me safe thus farAnd grace will lead me homeWhen we’ve been here ten thousand yearsBright, shining as the sunWe’ve no less days to sing God’s praiseThan when we first begun
In the final minutes of your time together, take some time to pray, thanking God for his grace and mercy and asking him to help you see him more clearly.