CrossWay Community Church | Bristol, WI

Sermon Application Questions: 1. When you read a book like Nehemiah do you ever think something like, “What does this have to do with me?” How did this sermon help you with that question? 2. Are you convinced that God actually does listen to you when you pray? What effect would really believing that--or not believing that—have on your praying? When was the last time you prayed truly believing God...

Sermon Application Questions: (None for September 4) _____________________________ Music and Lyrics Used by Permission CCLI# 1595532

Sermon Application Questions: 1. Surveying the entire Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, in what ways do you see God's desire to dwell with His people appear? What do these reveal about the character of God? 2. Do you find it easier to see God as a God of grace or as a God of righteousness? Why is it dangerous when one side nullifies the other? How would daily meditation on the cross of Chris...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. As you reflect on how God brought you to faith in Christ, did your observation of relationships among Christians play any part in you perceiving the reality of Christianity? 2. As you think about your relationships with other Christians, especially at CrossWay, do they bear the marks modeled by the unity among God the Father, Son, and Spirit (shared truth, mutual l...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. How would you define a disciple of Jesus Christ? Do the ideas of distinct and deployed appear in your definition? How should these realities of what it means to be a disciple show up in your prayers, in your priorities, and in your weekly rhythms? 2. How do you typically pray when you are in a difficult circumstance? In what ways could God use a challenging circums...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. If you are a Christian, what effect does it have on you to reflect on the reality that God chose you for eternal life and gave you to Jesus (v. 2)? 2. In what ways are you tempted to make eternal life a result of your own works, rather than a free gift? What are you tempted to feel like you must do in order to be confident you have eternal life? How are you helped...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. Reread Matthew 7:13-29. Which of these illustrations that Jesus uses at the end of the Sermon on the Mount is most sobering to you? Why is that? 2. If you are already a committed follower of Christ, what effect do you think Jesus intends these illustrations to have on you? 3. What has been the overall effect of the Sermon on the Mount on you? Has it made you feel m...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. How might you go about assessing whether you’ve got the “log” of self-righteous judgment in your “eye”? If you detect it, what steps might you take to remove it? 2. Should you ever be concerned about the “speck” in your brother’s eye? What does v. 5 suggest? Have you ever experienced the good of someone helping you with some “speck” in your life? 3. How strong woul...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. What things in this world tend to draw your heart away from full devotion to God? This is a simple and straightforward question but honesty and clarity here is a critical first step in helping you respond to and benefit from Christ’s words in Matthew 6. 2. What things do you tend to be anxious about? Again, be honest and specific here. Bringing the small “t” truth...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. Are there any ways that you are tempted to "heap up empty phrases" in your prayer? 2. What are some ways that you pray for God's name, kingdom, and will? 3. Are you more comfortable praying about God's name, kingdom, and will...or your own needs? Why? 4. If God knows your needs, and can give you what you need, how should that affect the nature and frequency of your...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. Think of various “acts of righteousness” you engage in. Where do you most persistently or strongly experience the temptation to “be seen”? What does that look like? Is there a particular person or group you want to “be seen” by? 2. Describe what goes on in your heart when you do receive the praise of men? How rewarding is that? 3. Are there some adjustments, along...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. Is there a past hurt in your life regarding which you are finding it difficult to forgive and desire good for the person responsible? Do you find help in considering how Jesus endured difficulty by entrusting judgment to God (1 Peter 3:23)? 2. When Jesus calls us to love our enemies (v. 44), is there someone who comes to mind for you? Is there someone who has sough...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. What is on your list of “sacred things”, things that you would want to guard and protect at virtually any cost? Is your own trustworthiness on that list? 2. If you are married, think back to the time you spoke your vows. Do you still feel the weight and “sacredness” of those vows? Do you experience joy in honoring and protecting them? 3. Has there been a recent tim...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. Are you ever tempted to think, “Well, as long as I don’t commit such and such an act I’m all right”? In other words, do you see things going on in your heart and mind as real sin that needs to be stopped? 2. What temptations to sin are most painful to you, things that you wrestle with and wish you could be done with? 3. Where does God want you to go in your struggl...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. What is your first instinctive reaction when you read Matthew 5:20? How does understanding v. 17 help you rightly understand v. 20? 2. Why do you think Jesus stresses the truth found in these verses before we get to the things he’s about to talk about in the remainder of chapter 5? 3. Are you ever tempted to revert back to a “scribes and pharisees” kind of righteou...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. If Jesus says Christians are salt of the earth and light of the world, he's indirectly saying the world is decaying, bland, and dark. Does this capture the world as you experience it? Why or why not? 2. For salt to be effective, it must not be compromised. What are ways you are tempted to compromise Christian beliefs? Or, another way to put it, are there claims/goa...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. How recently have you experienced some persecution/opposition specifically because of your Christian faith? 2. Where do you feel like you most regularly experience opposition to your Christian faith? 3. Where does the threat of opposition most tempt you to hide your Christianity? Bonus Question (requires extra humility) – Have you ever been tempted to call persecut...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. What does it mean in Matt 5:9 to be a son of God? 2. What are some components of peacemaking? 3. Why might peacemaking be complicated or challenging? 4. Why are some reasons peacemaking important for Christians? 5. What makes peacemaking rewarding for Christians? What reason does the text give? _____________________________ Music and Lyrics Used by Permission CCLI#...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. Read Ezekiel 36:25-27 and James 4:8. There is a paradox (not contradiction!) in the Bible’s teaching about the heart. On the one hand, only God can give a new heart. On the other hand, we are called to purify our hearts. How do these truths work together in the Christian life? 2. Is there an area of your life where you are tolerating sin or allowing something to co...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. When you read through the character traits listed in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-10) do you find them attractive or off-putting? Take a moment to consider what might be underneath your reaction. 2. Along the lines of which of the character traits in these verses do you see the greatest change when you became a Christian? Along the lines of which do you most desire mo...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. What comes to your mind when you think of the Sermon on the Mount? What is your general impression of this extended teaching of Jesus? 2. Read Matthew 5:3, 5:10, 5:19-20, 6:10, 6:33, and 7:21. What theme do you see regularly occurring through these verses? How might knowing that these chapters set forth the way of life in the kingdom of God help you in doing what J...

Sermon Application Questions: There are no application questions this Sunday. _____________________________ Music and Lyrics Used by Permission CCLI# 1595532

Sermon Application Questions: 1. Jesus wants us to see that he is the humble king. Which part of that do you find it harder to live in light of—that he’s the king who deserves our total submission, or that he’s humble and gentle and tender with us in our weakness? 2. Jesus died to clear the barriers between us and God so that we can be reconciled to him through faith. Do you think you’re growing i...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. In which of the four stages that were laid out at the end of the sermon do you find yourself? What has been your experience of that stage? Do you believe you are experiencing the full benefits that God intends for you in the stage you’re in? 2. Do you feel that you are steadily progressing into greater commitment to and ownership of your local church family? Is the...

Sermon Application Questions: 1. Looking at the passage again, how would you put in your own words the mission Jesus gave the church? What facet of that mission do you find most intimidating? Why? 2. There are at least three common challenges to Christians being actively engaged in sharing the gospel with their non-Christian friends, neighbors, and co-workers: desire, equipping (being taught what...