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A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!\xa0 The text is Matthew 21:33-46 from the New International Version of the Bible.\xa0 Dive In discussion questions for further reflection can be found below!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it\xa0here on YouTube.\xa0 Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:\xa0immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN QUESTIONS:

1. Apple trees grow apples, and vines make grapes.\xa0 What kind of fruit (good, healthy, life-giving things) do you think the Kingdom of God produces in the world?

\xa02. Take a skim or a read through the beginning of Matthew 21 if you have a Bible or Bible app handy.\xa0 Where are we in the story?\xa0 What major events and conversations transpire?\xa0 See if you can find these three spots that echo elements of our text: the other place where Psalm 118 is quoted, the other place where fruit is spoken about, and the other place where a possible prophet is discussed.\xa0 How are those three spots connected and building up to what happens here?\xa0 Are there other elements of this Matthew 21 context you notice?

3. What was humanity\u2019s first sin?\xa0 (it was one action, but there\u2019s more than one right answer!)

4. The Christian tradition\u2019s argument on sin is that it slowly, incrementally, but ultimately brings death and destruction upon ourselves, our neighbours, and the creation itself.\xa0 Jesus\u2019 parable creates a caricature to highlight the murderous result of sin, a caricature that would play out in his own death just days later.\xa0 Apparently Christians and Christian leaders are just as susceptible to this as anyone.\xa0 Where have you seen sin curve someone in on themselves in the kind of selfishness, blindness, hardness of heart, and silence of conscience that brings death?\xa0 Perhaps for your own reflection: where is sin doing that in your own heart and life?

5. When we know we\u2019re in the wrong, and even when we\u2019re unsure about it, we often get defensive and ready ourselves for a fight.\xa0 How does God come to us though, and what does He offer?\xa0 What impact or effect does that have?\xa0 Does God\u2019s methods of meeting injustice and wrongdoing jive with anything else in your experience?\xa0\xa0\xa0

6.\xa0 How might God\u2019s loving invitation in Jesus Christ change your relationship with God and the others in your life this week (parents, children, spouse, friends)?\xa0 How might you offer the fruit of the Kingdom back to the King and those others this week?

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