Why was John preaching repentance? Is this the type of response you typically expect when an important person is coming?
Is repentance an important part of your life as a Christian?
Verse 3-6: Do you think God needs us to make his will known/done? If God is control of everything, what’s our responsibility?
“As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives— the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
Luke 19:37-40 ESV
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Romans 10:14-17 ESV
Verse 7-10: In what did the Pharisees and Sadducees have their confidence?
Can you honor God with your heart without honoring Him with your actions?
If we are saved by faith in Christ, how do we reconcile John’s statement, “Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”?
Verse 11-12: What is the importance of baptism? What does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire?
“And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 2:38 ESV
Why does a loving God condemn people to be burned in an unquenchable fire? It seems kind of harsh to provide eternal punishment for behavior in a temporal realm.
Verse 13-15: Why would Jesus choose to be baptized?
What does Jesus’ example tell us about how we are to approach and lead people who are different from us?
Verse 16-17: Of all the things that God the Father chose to say to his son, he chose to say he loved him and he was proud of him. What are some powerful ways fathers can build up their kids?