“Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you — you of little faith? So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” —Matthew 6:25-34 CSB
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Examine the Text:
- Read through the passage in two different translations.
- As you heard the Scripture, what stood out to you?
- Are there any questions that you have about the text?
- Are there other portions of Scripture this passage brings to mind?
Sermon Review and Application:
- How has nature reminded you of God?
- How does it feel to you to think about nature as “God’s first book?”
- How could slowing down and reflecting on God in nature lead you to spiritual growth?
- In what ways can reflecting on birds help you with your anxiety?
- How can reflecting on wildflowers help you with embracing your true self, the person God created you to be?
- What were your thoughts in seeing the beauty of the environments Jesus hung out in? The Negev, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, and the location of the Sermon on the Mount.
- How can reflecting on nature help you to “seek first the kingdom of God?”
For further study:
Scripture: Psalm 8, Psalm 19, Matthew 5-7, Romans 1:18-20
Resources: “New Seeds of Contemplation” by Thomas Merton
To prepare for next week:
Meditate upon Luke 15:11-31