The message of Easter is all about the seeker… But the seeker may not be who you think it is.
Lifegroup Discussion questions AND a link to this week’s video is just beyond the jump!
If you are the discussion leader for your group, have everyone open to this page on their mobile device so they can all be on the same page. Remember to lead discussion. Let everyone participate by dividing up the questions and scripture reading responsibilities.
By popular request, here is the YHWH PROJECT video that was shown on Easter Sunday morning!
YHWH from DanStevers.com on Vimeo.
On Easter Sunday morning, we talked about God’s unrelenting search for you. Where or how did God find you?
We looked at two stories Jesus told about finding us… The parable of the lost sheep, and the parable of the lost coin. Have someone read these stories aloud to the group.
The parable of the lost sheep
So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
-Luke 15:3-7
The parable of the lost coin
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins* and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
-Luke 15:8-10
Based on reading these stories, do you get the feeling that we find God, or that God finds us?
How does this relate to the question of “free will?” Who does the searching? Who does the finding?
Some churches adamantly teach the doctrine of complete free will. Others strictly teach that God alone does the choosing. Can you name some of them? Which is it? Is it us, or is it Him? What is your background in this?
There certainly seem to be passages that teach each way on this topic. Thankfully, we can find the clear answer to this question embedded throughout scripture, if we look closely.
Joseph (of the Old Testament), not Jesus’ stepfather) seemed to understand something about the way this works out. He had been captured and sold into slavery by his own brothers, who were very jealous of him. He spent years as a slave, then in prison, before being elevated to 2nd in command in Egypt. Ultimately God used Joseph in his position in Egypt to save his family from starving to death. It was a long, painful road to get there, but in the end, Joseph said to his brothers:
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. –Genesis 50:20
See that? Joseph understood that the intent of his brothers worked perfectly in concert with the intent of God. The brothers chose to sell Joseph, AND God intended this all to happen.
We can find this principle of God’s will running throughout scripture, even where it relates to our salvation. Here are just a few of those:
“those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.” -Jesus, John 6:37
God chooses who to give to Jesus, and those given choose to come. Both work together.
“No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.” –Jesus, John 10:18
But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. –Acts 2:23
Jesus chooses to lay his life down for us, yet clearly Judas and the high priests chose to conspire against him and make that all happen. Both work together.
As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first* to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. –2 Thessalonians 2:13
God chose those Thessalonians… And he did it through their belief. Both work together.
as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. –Acts 13:48
Those that were appointed had to choose to believe. Both work together.
Scripture makes it pretty clear that there is no contradiction between God’s choosing and our free will. God isn’t limited by an “either-or” equation here… He is big enough that it can be a “both-and.” Isn’t it great that we serve a God who is bigger than our limited understanding?