DEFINING MOMENTS

Lifegroup Guide –Week One

“It Begins With God” – Matthew 22:34-40

INTRO

1. Share one thing you are truly passionate about – i.e., you’d hate to live without it. (Please be
honest … no “spiritual” responses allowed like “God”, the “Bible”, etc.)

2. As a group, what would you say is the “life mission statement” of most of your friends and the
people you work with?

SCRIPTURE – Read Matthew 22:34-40

DISCUSSION

1. In what respect do you think this “expert in religious law” was trying to “trap” Jesus?

2. How do you think he would have responded to Jesus’ reply?

3. Examine v. 39 in various translations. Is the second commandment on equal footing with the first?
Why or why not? Can either of the commandments (love God/love neighbor) be observed to the
exclusion of the other?

4. Verse 40 is quite a weighty statement. What do you think Jesus is saying here?

5. If we just focus on loving God and loving others, is it really then necessary to spend time in the
Bible and even attending something such as this lifegroup? Explain.

6. Give one example of how to put into practice the following:

• Loving God with all our heart

• Loving God with all our soul

• Loving God with all our mind

 1

7. What do you feel is the greatest obstacle to loving God exhaustively (heart, soul, and mind)?

8. What might be one step you would be willing to take this week to overcome that obstacle and
grow in this area?

FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION

9. What would your closest friends conclude about your “life mission statement”? (Not what you
want it to be or say it is, but what they perceive it to be through observation)

10. How well does it mirror Jesus’ life mission statement?

IF TIME REMAINS

11. The mission statement of Second Wind reads as follows:

We exist to engage our world with the reckless grace of God.

What are your initial thoughts? Kick it around …

12. The first core value of Second Wind reads as follows:

GOD – Life is all about God. He created us for the express purpose of knowing Him.

Can a person be a Christian by simply loving others, doing good, going to church, etc. without
regard to knowing God personally?
2