INTRODUCE: Where are you or what are you doing when you feel the least encumbered, the most free?

READ: John 14:6, Luke 4:14-21, 28-30, Isaiah 61:1-4

WATCH SERMON

DISCUSS
1. Jesus began His ministry by introducing it through reading Isaiah 61:1-4 in the synagogue in Nazareth. He claimed to be anointed by the Spirit of the LORD for a specific work with humanity. Each of the four groups of people about whom He spoke could be considered from both a spiritual and a physical perspective. Christ’s followers are to continue on with His ministry even though they also are in need of being touched by His ministry.
2. Read Matthew 25:35,36, and 40 and James 2:5. Discuss what it means to be poor in both the physical and spiritual realms. What was Jesus saying He was called to do for such people? In your sphere of influence, how are you carrying on Jesus’ ministry in both the spiritual and physical realms?
3. Discuss what it means to be imprisoned in both the physical and spiritual realms. What was Jesus saying He was called to do for such people? What ways have you found to carry on Jesus’ ministry in both the spiritual and physical realms for people who are imprisoned? Brainstorm new ways to carry on Christ’s ministry.
4. Discuss what it means to be blind (disabled) in both physical and spiritual ways. What was Jesus saying He was called to do for such people? How are you carrying on Jesus’ ministry for those who are disabled? (Consider how people who have been hurt badly by someone claiming to be a Christ follower could be spiritually disabled.)
5. Discuss what it means to be oppressed in both the physical and spiritual realms. How did Jesus minister to such people? What Biblical examples can you give? What ways have you found to carry on Jesus’ ministry in both the spiritual and physical realms of oppression? What obstacles have you come up against and how have you pushed back against them?
6. Even as Christians carry on Christ’s ministry in the world, personal struggles with poverty, imprisonment, disability, or oppression in either a physical or spiritual realm can affect our daily lives. In which of these areas are you feeling led to walk into a year of Jubilee…freedom from it?
7. Using the analogy of the Goldfish Prison, why do we still swim in circles even when Christ has set us free and came to give us abundant life? (John 10:10) What would it look like if you walked in that freedom…that when the prison door was opened you completely walked out of the cell and never returned to it again?

PRAYER
Spend time asking God to show you any areas in which need to walk into Jubilee. Pray for one another to experience and live in that freedom that Christ gives.

In groups of 2 or 3, share one thing you need prayer for today.

Take time to pray for one person at a time
Invite the Holy Spirit to guide your time
Listen to the Lord for guidance in how to pray for one another
…and then pray….