Matthew 7:13-29 (Part 1)
1. How do Muslims believe they find their way to God?
2. How are your relatives finding their way in life?
Judo, kendo, taekwondo all end in do. This term means way, discipline, method or path. Judo is the gentle way, kendo is the way of the sword, and taekwondo is the way of the foot and the hand. People have codes or ways by which they live. People practice paths or disciplines in their lives. In our western society stories tell us ways to live our lives. Star Wars gives us the Jedi way of attunement with the force and acceptance, Titanic gives us the way of the passions and the heart, Easy Rider gives us the way of the journey or the road. Our culture teaches us there are many ways to live life.
3. Which movies do you know where a young person is directionless, rebellious or confused and a mentor comes alongside them to show them the way?
The Bible has a lot to say about the ways that people choose to live their lives. Jesus talked about The Way, or walking different paths, but he was building on wisdom literature from the Old Testament.
4. Read Psalm 37:1-7; Proverbs 5:8; Proverbs 16:25
5. What ways does the Bible describe in the Old Testament?
In Proverbs there are two paths that a person can walk, the way of the righteous or the way of the wicked. Proverbs 1-9 lay out the foundation for the rest of the book. In summary, they teach a child that there is a pathway that starts with fear of God and leads to God. It is also walked with God. It is the path of wisdom, prosperity, joy, and peace. People are inclined to follow their own path which seems like a good idea at the time, but is the way of foolishness, loss, misery, and disquiet. After committing yourself to a certain path, the rest of the Proverbs 10-31 are like a thousand ways to take your pulse and measure whether you are on the right path. They cease to be a purposeless, random explosion of verses in a cookie factory. The wisdom tradition of the Old Testament had been lost at the time of Jesus. Proverbs were no longer markers to check that you were walking with God – keeping every little rule became the path itself and God was lost.
6. Read Matthew 7:13-29
7. How many ways, trees, professions and builders are given?
8. Is the gate the entrance to the pathway or its exit? Why is this important?
9. What does a wide gate teach us?
10. Why would Jesus encourage a path that is hard and difficult to find? Isn’t he meant to make our lives easier?
11. Do churches portray the good life with Jesus as hard or easy? Should they keep their message the same or change it?
12. What might these verses teach us about democratic systems in society?
13. If we are Christians are we going to be the majority or minority in society?
14. Is the Jesus life really worth the hassle? Why? Why not?