judgement – Page 3 – New Connexions Church

Who is Jesus?

This study is based on the sermon What you see is what you get!

Before reading the passage share with each other how you would answer someone who asks ‘who is Jesus Christ, and why should I be bothered?’
Reading: Colossians 1:15-20
This passage is full of incredible and sometimes complex statements which we unpacked in the sermon.
As a group take each phrase and carefully discuss what it says about the person and work of Christ
What difference does having a right understanding of who He is make to us as individuals today.

The sermon for Zephaniah 3 can be found here: What a way to end!

Looking at verses 1-7 look at and list all the sins and consider how they were sins against God.
Consider what relevance these verses have for us: a) as a church and b) as individuals.
Verses 8-20 – looking at these verses, discuss which of these prophecies has been fulfilled by Christ and which are still to come.
Verses 8-20 – how many times does God say ‘I will?’ talk through each of these and consider the relevance for us today.
Please take some time to pray for us as a fellowship using Psalm 127 1 as a lead in to prayer.

Zephaniah starts his prophecy telling us his family background (1:1); he is a fourth-generation descendant of King Hezekiah (King of Judah from 715-686BC). Does this pedigree matter to you? Why or why not?
His opening words of prophecy tells of a terrible judgment to come: “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth” (1:2). It closes on the “day of the Lord” when God “will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth” (1:18). This just might be the harshest, most universal judgment announcement in the Bible. How does this make you feel? How does this make you feel about God?
God is clearly a little upset with Judah. What has Judah done wrong? (see 1:4-6)
Why is this book relevant to Christians today? On Sunday we talked through a lot of application for us today – what did that include?

Some questions from Russell for this week’s study groups, based on his sermon Challenging to the end

Why was Micah feeling miserable? As Christians discuss what makes you feeling sad?
Explain what analogy Micah uses in V1 to describe Israel’s and Judah’s situation. What similarities can we see today?
Where does Micah get his help v7 and how can we apply that in our lives?
Discuss the uniqueness of God – what separates Him from the other false gods?
In our ‘plural’ society where there are many beliefs, ideologies and faiths that exist- Why is it important that we understand God is absolute.
What periods in our history does God demonstrates his restoration work? Discuss our future restoration.