Sermon Study Guides

God is calling us to give highest priority to five pursuits. The most important is:

1. PURSUING SIMPLICITY

Jesus lived a very focused and purposeful life. He never seemed to be in a hurry. Simplicity is NOT doing less or working less hard. Simplicity is bringing clarity to what is most important to us in life and going after that with a laser focus. Jesus devoted all of his energies toward one goal.

Simplicity at its core is the will to serve ONE MASTER, to have one major focus. Whereas simplicity leads to freedom, duplicity leads to bondage. Whereas simplicity brings joy and peace, duplicity brings fear and anxiety. Ask yourself: what is the ONE main thing I'm giving my life to?

Keep this question in mind as we examine the four other pursuits.

2. PURSUING GOD with all our heart.

God created us in large part because He wanted to be friends with us. From God's perspective, there is nothing more important in this life than knowing God and pursuing a friendship with Him. One of the key ways to know God and His character is by reading, meditating on, studying and applying SCRIPTURE to our life. Jesus quoted the Scriptures often and used them to resist the tempter.

Cultivate your friendship with God through the practice of PRAYER. Jesus received His Father's assignments and direction for the day by spending time in prayer early in the morning. Invite the Lord into every situation and decision by praying to Him early and throughout the day.

Make prayer the priority in your life, in your family, and in your community or ministry group.

Before you start your day, PRAY. When burdens weigh you down, and you don't know which way to turn, PRAY! When you meet as a family, PRAY. When you meet as a small group, PRAY. When you reach out to your neighbor, PRAY that God would use you in some way. Prayer changes things!!

3. PURSUING disciple-making RELATIONSHIPS.

Jesus highly valued relationships. He prayerfully and intentionally selected 12 disciples from a much larger group of His disciples, and three of them became His close friends.

We are not designed to manage a large number of close friendships. You can't cultivate close friendships in a hurry. You can't listen in a hurry. You can't play and have fun in a hurry. You can't rejoice with those who rejoice in a hurry. Nor can you mourn with those who mourn in a hurry. Genuine close friendships require a significant investment of time. Invite your friends to join you on mission.

4. PURSUING the MISSION He has called us to.

God wants to use us to love, to influence, and to introduce people to the Jesus we know and love.

How do we practically join God in this? Pick someone in your sphere of influence at work, school, or in your neighborhood who is far from God. Begin by sincerely PRAYING for him. Then sincerely CARE for him. As you do so, Holy Spirit will open a door of opportunity to SHARE your story and what Jesus means to you. Then you will have the opportunity to INVITE him into your relational world, including with your family, your community group and your church outreach events.

5. PURSUING GENEROSITY. Generosity puts the interests of others ahead of oneself. When we truly understand God's amazing love and grace and the unbelievably high price Jesus paid to make a way for us to be forgiven and redeemed, we can no longer live for ourselves.

May we be found so DOING when Jesus returns!

Study Questions

IN - PURSUE RELATIONSHIP

1. How easily can you be distracted from a task? Explain.

2. To live simply is to live focused and purposeful. Have you lived simply? What did it look like?

UP - PURSUE GOD

1. Read Matt 11:28-30, Joshua 24:14-15 and Phil 1:21. What were Joshua’s and Paul’s ‘one thing’? How can coming to Jesus help us in our pursuit of simplicity? How did Paul live this out?

2. Read Matt 22:34-40, Luke 19:10, John 15:13 and 1 Tim 2:4. How does the pursuit of relationship with God and others help us in pursuing mission and generosity? In what ways did Jesus model these pursuits?

3. Read Matt 4:4 and 7:22-23, Mark 1:35, 2 Chron 7:14, and Col 4:2. What does it mean to pursue God? Why is it important to go to God first? How can you respond to God in His pursuit of you and others?

OUT - PURSUE MISSION

1. If simplicity is a laser focus on what is most important, what are you pursuing? What would your peers say it is? How does your focus align with the other four pursuits? Where do you need to realign your focus?

2. Pick one of the five pursuits to discuss. How are you walking this out in your life? as a group? Pray as a group about where God is leading you to be on mission together. Share your insights and discuss.

Personal Reflection

Pastor Henry posed this question: “If you knew for certain that Jesus was coming back in five years, what would your focus in life be?” What is your answer? In which of the 5 Pursuits do you need help? If you don’t know a person who is able to mentor you in that Pursuit, ask your community pastor about someone.

The Word (NIV)

Matthew 11:28–30 ²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Joshua 24:14–15 ¹⁴ “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Matthew 22:34–40 ³⁴ Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

1 Timothy 2:4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Matthew 7:22–23 ²²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Mark 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

This Week's Writers: Elsa Henderson, Mark Eckstein, Jorel Quemuel, Bruce McKay, Gene & Karen Gibbs