Reflection Questions: ***SCRIPTURE TEXT***

For the message, Prayer & the Coming Revolution of God given by Pastor John Ferguson
at New City Church of Calgary on Nov 6, 2016
These discussion questions are designed primarily to help you apply the message from the Scriptures
by helping you think through application to your personal life, your church life, and your citys life.
You can use these by yourself for reflection, or with your family or small group for discussion.
To review the sermon, go to NewCityChurch.ca/sermons
INTRODUCTION
Pray. Take a moment to pray asking God to guide you in reflecting upon the Scripture text.
Read the Scripture text: Luke 18:1-8
A summary of the sermon:
Jesus tells us his early disciples a parable to the effect that we should always pray and not lose heart.
Why should you pray and not lose heart? Why should you cry out to your heavenly Father for justice and for the coming
kingdom when all wrongs will be righted? Because he cares deeply for you, and he will answer your prayers!
Key Points:
This parable is told in the wake of a question about when the kingdom of God would come (17:20. The coming
kingdom of God was the major theme of Jesus teaching, cf. Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9;1-2; 9:10-11). Jesus answered that the
kingdom would appear suddenly, 17:20-27 (cf. Luke 12:40).
And then he tells them the parable that is sometimes called The Parable of the Persistent Widow or The Parable of
the Unjust Judge.
Be careful: Jesus is NOT saying that God is like the unjust judge who begrudgingly answers our requests if we pester
him enough. No, instead hes saying that if even corrupt judges who care nothing about justice will sometimes grant
justice just to get rid of casework, HOW MUCH MORE will our God who loves justice grant justice to his people who
cry out to him for it.
The connection of the parable to the original question about the kingdom is that when the kingdom comes, God will
set this world to right including giving justice to his people who have cried out for it. Our prayers will finally have been
answered.
The God who loves justice and righteousness himself will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and
righteousness like a mighty stream. So Jesus says, You ought always to pray, and do not lose heart.
Bottom Line:
Keep on praying not because God does not listen, but because he does.
Keep on praying for the coming revolution of God, not because God does not listen, but because he does.
And he will answer our prayers.

QUESTIONS
Starter Questions:
When you see news reports about injustice, evil, and oppression in our world, or experience it in your own life, what is
your visceral response, and why?
What does this tell you about yourself, and what it means to be human?
What is your typical strategy for dealing with the shock of news

1. How does this text speak to your life?

How are you challenged, convicted, encouraged, or surprised by this text?

In light of this parable, how would you answer the question, What kind of me is God calling me to be?

2. How does this text speak to us as a church community?

What would it look like for us a church community if we are to live out this text in our city?

What would we need to change? What would we need to repent of?

3. How does this text speak to our city?

What kind of new life / future in Christ is this text calling our city to experience?

How would Calgary look radically different if everybody did what Jesus describes in this passage?

How does this passage, along with Luke 12:40, inform our our message to the city?

FINAL QUESTION
What is the one thing you want to take away from this study to remember or to make a change in your life?

PRAYER
What are some ways you can turn what you are learning into prayer? List them as bullet points.
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