PREPARE

Isn’t it amazing how gracious, generous, and welcoming God is to us - all we need to do is ask for His help and He comes to our rescue! His Throne is a Throne of Grace, not a throne of performance, and He responds to our pleas for wisdom, mercy, and forgiveness with such care. Since we are treated in this way by the God of the Universe, we can in turn treat others with the same care we have received.

Prepare for this week’s message by reading Matthew 7:7-12 with Hebrews 4:14-16

ATTEND

Verses: Matthew 7:7-12

Main Point: Disciples pray hard and work hard to actively bless others

1. Praying and Working (7:7-8)

2. Good and Evil Fathers (7:9-11)

3. Actively Blessing Others (7:12)

REFLECT

1. What impacted you most from this week’s message? What challenged you or encouraged you? What did you learn about the character of God? How did this week’s sermon affect your perspective on God or your perspective on yourself?
2. Examine your prayer life. Do you pray consistently? How often do you pray for “big” things? Would you consider your prayer life “shameless and audacious” (Luke 11:8)?
3. Do you tend to rely more on your own work, or on prayer? What are the dangers of neglecting either work or prayer?
4. What impact has your earthly father had on your view of your Heavenly Father? Do you believe God is disinterested and absent in your life, or out to harm you? Do you believe he is a good Father, who loves you and is seeking your well-being at all times?
5. Examine your prayer life. How often do you pray for the Holy Spirit to be present and active in your life? Pray for Him even now!
6. What is the difference between Rabbi Hillel’s negative summary of the Law (“What is hateful to you, do not do to anyone else”), and Jesus’ positive summary of the Law (“Do to others what you would have them do to you”)? How actively do you seek to bless others?

ACT

- What is one specific thing you can do this week to put into practice what you learned in this message?
- How can you deepen your relationship with God and follow Him more closely this week?
- Who is someone you can share what you learned with?