Taught the weekend of Oct. 25th - 26th

This weekend's subject - "The Joker"
Core Scripture - Matthew 5:43-48

Memory Verse:
Matthew 5:44 (AMP) "But, I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."


Discussion Questions:
1. What law was Jesus completing in this teaching? Why did it need to be completed?
2. What new spin did Jesus put on this law? What did he say was at the root of our view of our enemies?
3. Why did Jesus tell us to love our enemies? Why is this difficult for us? How does this affect our enemies' perception of God?
4. What are some specific ways we can love our enemies? What is a first step you can take to do this in the coming week?
5. How will loving our enemies lead us to wholeness? How will it lead us to live out our God-given identity? What will this look like in our everyday lives?
Bottom Line:
• Most of us have been desensitized to the smoking ace that Jesus played when He said love your enemies. But this smoking ace was so hot that there was not anything like it in the Jewish or pagan writings of the time.
• This teaching is just as shocking in our day. We can spend so much time isolating and protecting ourselves from those who reject God's law and love that it is easy for us to forget we are called to love them.
• Just when you thought the joker was all out of jokes, Jesus set off one last smoke detector: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." The Hebrew word for perfect can also mean wholeness. Jesus tells us to be wholehearted, complete, and single-minded in our devotion to God. We can only do this by allowing God's grace and generosity for us to flood over us, in us, and through us all the way to our enemies.
• The question is whether you are living in this smoking-aces reality and whether it is living through you. The opportunity is here and now for you to be a part of a revolution that radically reverses the social and political landscape of our world. It's your turn - what card are you going to play?