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We are currently going through a sermon series in the Gospel of Matthew. Today, we’re talking about a passage where some people have a question for Jesus, regarding His disciples.
A Question About Fasting
14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast,[a] but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made.17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
Faith Throughout Our Entire Lifetime
Today, we’re continuing on in the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus is in the midst of His incarnational ministry. Today, we read about how He had some people who were confused about how He and His disciples acted, because it was far different than they had seen before.
Jesus answers their question by using 3 different analogies:
1. A wedding
2. A patch
3. Wine
What Jesus’ answer teaches us: There are obviously core tenets to our faith, however, within these Scriptural boundaries, our relationship with the Lord looks differently throughout various seasons of our life. In light of that, to cultivate a good relationship with God, we should:
1. Establish prayerful, intentional, and meaning faith routines
John 15:4-5, Eph. 5:15-16, Col. 3:23-24, Rom. 12:1-2, Eph. 2:10
2. Regularly evaluate those routines, avoiding comparison
2 Cor. 10:12, 13:5, Gal. 6:4-5, 1:10, 2 Tim. 2:15
3. Resolve to have a life-long mindset about your faith
2 Tim. 4:6-8, 1 Cor. 9:24-27, 16:13, Heb. 12:1-2, Phil. 3:13-14, Rev. 3:10
Reflecting on God’s Word
Getting Started
- Take some time to read over Matthew 9:14-17 and pray.
- Have you ever read or heard about this before? What stood out to you as we were talking about it?
- What surprised you as we talked about it?
- What season of your life was most significant for your faith?
- Have you ever struggled with seasons of your life looking differently in regards to your faith? How so?
Diving In
- When Jesus is asked about why His disciples aren’t fasting, He answers the questions through 3 analogies: a wedding, a patch, and wine. All 3 of these analogies paint a picture that helps us to understand that, just like any other relationship, our relationship with the Lord will look differently throughout different seasons of our life (within Scriptural boundaries, of course). Have you ever considered that before?
- Many times, people become susceptible to stop following Jesus when the feeling wears off. Have you ever gone through that struggle before?
- How do you think that realizing that your faith will look different throughout different seasons of your life help you to keep the faith throughout your entire lifetime?
- How can you help others to grasp this concept that Jesus is teaching?
- Once we understand the concept behind what Jesus is teaching behind his 3 analogy answer, we can then go onto establish prayerful, intentional, and meaningful faith routines in our life, and regularly evaluate these routines. What do your faith routines look like, and how effective are they at cultivating a good relationship with the Lord?
- What would make your faith routines more effective at cultivating a good relationship with the Lord?
- What would make you more consistent at your faith routines?
- Who else do you need to involve in your faith routines?
Applying the Scripture
What are your biggest takeaways from this passage of God’s Word?
- What practical step(s) do you need to implement in your life to apply what God has taught you in this passage of Scripture?
- How would applying this affect your life and your relationship with the Lord?
- Who can you ask to keep you accountable to applying this to your life?
Small Group Guide:
Open with prayer.
Go around and give everyone a chance to share about how the past week has been. What’s one highlight? What’s one lowlight?
If your small group has talked about it before, feel free to use this time to hold people accountable to what they’ve asked to be held accountable for previously, and go through the “missional” part of this discussion guide.
Prayer Time:
Pray for each other in your small group to be faithful take the step(s) that you shared above. Pray for each other and the interactions that they have with those who don’t know Jesus. Pray that God would soften the people’s hearts to what He has for them. Pray that God would give everyone opportunities to share the Gospel.
Staying Missional:
Share spiritual/missional conversations you’ve had where you live, work, and play:
Who did you have a conversation with that took a spiritual/missional turn this week?
What questions did you ask to discover where God is at work in their life, even if they are not aware?
How were you able to share your story of life change or how you have experienced Jesus?
How can you be intentional this week with people where you live, work, and play to have spiritual/missional conversations if the opportunity arises?
Who in your life do you think could be discipleable or open to spiritual/missional conversations?
What’s next?
Discuss the next step for your small group. When will we gather again and what purpose will it fulfill?