Reaching Jesus’s help in times of rejection
Introduction
In this session, Luke 18:15-30, Jesus taught his disciples how to approach help from above (Psalms 121:1-7) in the face of rejection. Where does our help come from? What must we overcome to access help in times of need? Jesus taught that as we approach the throne of grace, we must deal with our faithlessness, our pride, our tendency to bother Jesus, our feelings of success and self-sufficiency, and our attitude of entitlement.
Objectives
By the end of this session, the learner will have:
- Understood the key issues we need to overcome as we approach the throne of grace, which are faithlessness, pride, our view of bothering Jesus, and our feeling of success, entitlement, and wrong view about the helper (the blind man had the right view)
- Appreciated Jesus’ teaching in approaching help in the face of persecution.
Outline
- Approaching Jesus in the face of rejection
- Attitude to overcome to approach His throne in prayer.
- Attitude of Faithlessness
- Attitude of Pride
- Attitude of Bothering Jesus
- Attitude of self – Success, self-sufficiency
- Attitude of entitlement
Group Study Time
Luke 18: 15-30
Connecting
- Gather with two or more people for a community discovery bible study session.
- Start with a heartfelt prayer, inviting God to guide and bless your understanding.
- Explore the passage by reading it at least twice, using different Bible versions if available, then retell the story together as a group.
- Reflect and share the challenges and blessings you experienced from the previous study.
Comprehending
- Read Luke 18: 15-17. List the main people mentioned in the story. What is said about each of them? What lessons have you learned about children’s ministry today?
- Read Luke 18 18-23. What did the rich man need to overcome to access the kingdom of God (rule of God)
- Read Luke 18: 24-27, Why did Jesus say, it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God? What is the meaning of ” what is impossible for people is possible with God “?
- What is the spirit of Entitlement? Why does this spirit cause conflicts in relationships? How can we deal with the spirit of entitlement in relationships?
- Luke 18: 29- 30. What was Peter’s attitude towards rewards for following Jesus? When he said, We have left all we had to follow you? Verse 28. ( What then will there be for us? Matt 19: 27b).
- How did Jesus correct him?; ( compare Matt. 19: 28-30, Mark 9: 29-31).
Committing
- Engage with the Bible—read, study, memorize, meditate, pray, listen, and live it out.
- List three lessons you have learnt as an agent of change that you would like to put into practice and teach others about.
- Take time and worship Jesus with the attributes revealed about Christ.
- Use the SPACEPETS model, to assist you in putting God’s word into practice. Look for:
- Sin to confess
- Promise to claim
- Attitude to change
- Command to keep
- Error to change
- Prayer to make
- Example to copy
- Truth to obey and
- Something praiseworthy
Communicating
- Identify one person you can connect with and share the valuable insights and lessons you gained from this session.
- Reach out to a new believer—either in person or by phone—and pray with them to support them through their challenges, including any concerns about attending church.
- Create a new group and guide others through this study to help them grow in their understanding.