ICEBREAKER
Choose a photo on your phone from the last few months. Show the photo and share why that’s a meaningful picture. (For example, the picture could be something fun you did, a project you’re working on, a family activity, something nice in nature…)
VIDEO NOTES
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 NLT
1) It’s easy to get worked up over the
But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! Luke 10:41 NLT
2) It’s hard to agree on what is
But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” Luke 10:40 NLT
Some things are important but not most important
Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” 15 Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” Luke 12:13-15 NLT
Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord. Psalm 144:15 NLT
3) Only
“There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42 NLT
THE GREAT COMMANDMENT
One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:35-40 NLT
THE GREAT COMMISSION
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 NLT
KEY QUESTION
How has holding too tightly to unimportant things impacted your relationships with others and your relationship with God?
OTHER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
(Don’t feel pressured to discuss each question in this list. Feel free to select the questions that seem right for your group. It is not necessary to go around the circle before you move on to the next question. Give people the freedom to speak, but don’t insist on it. Your group will enjoy better discussion if people don’t feel pressured to answer each and every question.)
“You are worried and upset over all these details!” What details of life distract you from what is most important, and where does that lead you?
How is busyness currently affecting what you prioritize?
“There is only one thing worth being concerned about.” What makes Christ the most important thing in life? Why should it matter what he says?
Look over The Great Commandment and The Great Commission. What has made these essentials challenging in your life?
PERSONAL ACTION STEP
Find a quiet moment sometime this week and ask God to calm your thoughts and feelings. Play a worship song or offer a prayer from the Pray First book, like the Daily Prayer of Surrender.
When you are ready, read and think about these two statements that Jesus gave. (The Great Commandment & The Great Commission.) Think about Jesus telling Martha that Mary had made the better choice in how she spent her time in that moment.
Tell God, “If I’m headed in the wrong direction, would you please tell me?” Ask him to lead you and correct you. Ask him to keep you from being pulled away by unimportant things.
Picture what your life would look like if you prioritized Christ and these teachings. Describe what you see.
Close your time with God by asking Him to enable you to arrange your schedule in order to hear each lesson in this series. Pray that He will better equip you to participate in what Jesus said is most important.
PRAYER & SUPPORT
Ask how you can pray and support one another this week. Then, close in prayer. The Serenity Prayer may be a good closing prayer for your group this week…
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;
taking, as Jesus did,
this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that You will make all things right
if I surrender to Your will;
so that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with You forever in the next.Amen. —Reinhold Niebuhr