Bible Study - MATTHEW KING AND KINGDOM - War and Wilderness
Sermon-Based Bible Study – January 9, 2022
- What is something God has done for you that you are thankful for, or are celebrating? How have you experienced God’s love and faithfulness this week?
- Where are you experiencing stress, anxiety or discouragement? How would you like to see God move in your life or in the life of someone close to you?
- What did you hear in this week’s sermon that was new or particularly interesting? Did anything stand out to you as puzzling or troubling?
- Matthew 3:16-4:1 reads as follows: “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. What strategic purposes might Satan have had for tempting Jesus right after his baptism? In the wilderness? While Jesus was alone? How does it help you to resist temptation if you have some idea of how Satan might be at work?
- Read Matthew 4:2-10. Which of the three temptations do you think was the most difficult for Jesus to resist? Which has been the hardest temptation for you to resist - satisfying a legitimate God given desire in an ungodly way; to be seen or known by other people as powerful or special; or gaining power at the expense of your commitment to God?
- Read Hebrews 2:14-18; 4:15-16. What do these passages say that Jesus has in common with us? How is Jesus different than us? How does it encourage you to know that Jesus was tempted in every way like we are and that he suffered when he was tempted?
- What was Jesus’s strategy for dealing with temptation? Do you have a strategy for resisting temptation? What is it? In what way might fasting help a person resist temptation? Have you tried fasting as a way to strengthen your resistance to temptation? What role does scripture play in your strategy for resisting temptation? What does it say about Jesus’s character and priorities that he quotes scripture as the basis for his refusal to do the things Satan tempts him to do?
- Read Galatians 3:27. In what sense should we be encouraged by the fact that Jesus did not sin even though he was tempted?
- What is a simple, next step you could take in obedience to what the Spirit is saying to you through this time in the Word? Who would benefit, or be interested in hearing about what you’ve learned in this study?