Discussion Questions
March 29, 2026 — 1 Peter 5:12-14
1. What particularly stood out to you from this sermon? Was anything significantly reassuring or challenging? What is your favorite verse from this passage? Why?
2. What inspires you to give your best effort?
3. Read 1 Peter 5:12. What is the first tool the Lord has given us that Peter identifies in this verse? Who is Silvanus? What tasks did Peter give him?
4. Did the Apostles understand the importance of the material they wrote? How do we know the answer to this question? Why is it important?
5. What do the Scriptures proclaim? What is grace? How do we stand firm in God’s grace?
6. Read 1 Peter 5:13. What is the God-given tool that Peter identifies in this verse? To whom does the pronoun she refer here?
7. Where was this body located? How do we know? What does Peter tell his reading audience about these individuals?
8. Who was Mark? What role did he play in Peter’s life? How can we ensure that fellowship remains one of our core priorities at Bethel?
9. Read 1 Peter 5:14. What two means of running the race set before us does Peter identify in this verse? What is biblical love (read 1 John 4:7-11 for help)? How can we make our affection for the people of God known?
10. What is one of the benefits we enjoy because we are now in Christ? What is peace? Where can we find real tranquility? Who can we share this message with?
11. Spend some time praying for the needs of our family, friends, group members, and unsaved neighbors.
March 22, 2026 — Romans 12:1-2
1) What particularly stood out to you from this sermon? Was anything significantly reassuring or challenging? What is your favorite verse from this passage? Why?
2) The sermon opened with the word "therefore" as the hinge of the entire letter. How does knowing that Romans 12 is the application of Romans 1–11 change the way you read Paul's commands? Does obedience feel different when it flows from grace rather than obligation?
3) Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 1 says that because you belong to Christ, he makes you "wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him." How honestly does that describe your life right now? Where is there a gap between what you confess and how you actually live?
4) The sermon described worship as something bodily — hands, mouth, eyes, feet. Which of those is hardest for you to surrender? What would it look like practically for that specific area to become an act of worship this week?
5) What is the "Zeitgeist" — the spirit of the age — pressing on you most right now? Where do you feel the most pressure to conform? Have you ever noticed conformity happening in yourself before you recognized it?
6) Psalm 115 says we become like what we worship. What are the things you give the most time and attention to? Honestly, what are they forming you into?
7) The sermon described transformation as passive — something done to us, like Aslan and Eustace — while also calling us to actively renew our minds. How do you hold those two things together in your own walk with God?
8) What does it mean practically to "set your mind on things above"? What habits or rhythms in your life right now make that easier or harder?
9) The sermon distinguished between testing God's will like a science experiment and being tested by God like suffering. Have you experienced God using hardship to clarify his will or reshape your desires? What did that look like?
10) Spend a moment in honest self-examination. Paul says the result of a transformed, renewed mind is discernment — the ability to know what is good, acceptable, and perfect. Where in your life do you most need that discernment right now? Bring that to God in prayer together as a group.
11) Spend some time praying for the needs of our family, friends, group members, and unsaved neighbors.