Matthew – Chapter 7:1-6
Read Matthew 7:1-6 and your notes from Sunday morning’s sermon.
Intro:
Today we start in Matthew Chapter 7, a continuation of the sermon on the mount. Jesus moves from correcting our thoughts about ourselves (do not worry) to correcting our thoughts about others. The kind of judgment Jesus talks about here is the adverse kind, the condemning of others. We should not be ready to find fault in others. In verses 3-5 we find an illustration that is often misunderstood or used in defense of ourselves when being held accountable by others. Leon Morris in his bible commentary says this: “The meaning is not that in every case the person passing judgment is a worse sinner than the one he criticizes. It is rather that what he finds wrong in his brother is a very small matter compared with the sin God sees in him.” – Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary
We should be much more concerned with the judgment of God and how God views us than pointing out other’s faults. We must also clear the obstruction in our own vision in order to even be qualified to come to the aid of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Questions:
- How do you typically respond when someone calls you out or corrects you?
- When if ever should we criticize or judge someone else?
- What do you think causes us to become critical or judgmental people?
- How can you get in the habit of examining your own life before you start criticizing others?
Feel free to discuss or ask additional questions as they arise
Spiritual Practice:
We are beginning the spiritual practice of prayer this week. There are four main types of prayer. Over the next several weeks we will talk about each of these types of prayer and try to put each of them into practice in our own lives. At the end of our study of prayer, you may realize that you have never ventured past the first one or two types of prayer and that is okay. Our goal is to grow in our prayer practice, as each type of prayer is important as we develop our relationship with God over time.
The four types of prayer as defined in John Mark Comer’s book, Practicing the Way are:
- Talking to God – praying premade prayers like the psalms or liturgy, or singing prayers at church, and so on
- Talking with God – conversing with God about your life. Lifting up the details of your life before God with gratitude (talking to him about what is good in your life and world), lament (talking to him about what is evil in your life and world), and petition and intercession (call-ing on God to fulfill his promises to overcome evil with good)
- Listening to God – hearing God’s voice through quiet listening, Lectio Divina, the prophetic, and more
- Being with God – just looking at God, looking at you, in love (also called “contemplative prayer”)
Next week we will talk more about the first kind of prayer – Talking to God.
Closing Verse: 1 John 5:14 – This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
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