Category: Campobello Community Church

Feeding the 5000

Discuss It – Matthew 14:13-21

1. What is your favorite restaurant in all the world? Why?
2. What food do you never seem to tire of?
3. After a busy day, how do you unwind?
4. Where do you go when you want to be alone?
5. Why is it important for us to spend regular time alone with God?
6. Why is it important to find a lonely place to meet with God?
7. What thoughts typically run through your mind when you see a big crowd of people?
8. Why is it harder to be kind at certain times than at others?
9. When it comes to spiritual food, how confident are you when Jesus tells us to “give them something to eat”?
10. Why should we pray before meals?
11. What is it about food that breaks down barriers between people and gives us opportunities to talk with them?
12. How would you have felt in the disciples’ shoes?
13. What does this passage tell you about God?
14. What do you think the disciples did with the twelve baskets of left-overs?

Apply It

1. What insight about Jesus will you remember from this story?
2. How have you seen Jesus stretch your resources beyond what you could imagine?
3. What gift, ability, or resource (no matter how insignificant) will you give to God today so that he can bless it and multiply it?
4. What do you bring to the table when it comes to spiritual food?
5. How might you use your home as an agent for impact into your neighborhood?
6. To what quiet place will you go this week for a couple of hours to get away from your busyness, review your priorities, and let God renew your spirit?
7. How can you minister to someone in need today?

Discuss It – Matthew 13:31-33

1. What small or seemingly insignificant possession is worth a great deal to you? Why?
2. What ingredients make for great storytelling?
3. In what small or seemingly insignificant ways has God worked in your life?
4. How can a Christian be a positive presence among his or her non-Christian friends and relatives?
5. What are some ways God might use a person to spread the gospel in a place where there is little Christian influence?
6. What are some little things we can do to make a big impact for Christ?
7. In what ways has your Christian life grown to bless others (like the mustard seed becoming a big tree)?

Discuss It – Matthew 13:44-46

1. What is the difference between value and price?
2. How is the value of something determined?
3. If the gospel is true and heaven is our destiny, why are we often “ho-hum” about Christ and the Christian life?
4. How can we recover the joy and excitement that we had when we first met Christ?
5. What sacrifices are you willing to make in order to fully embrace Christ and his kingdom?
6. When, if ever, has your faith cost you something?
7. What would you say to a someone who says that you can be a good Christian without completely “selling all” to follow Christ?

Discuss It – Matthew 13:47-52

1. What is your favorite “fish story”?
2. What one question would you like to ask God about heaven?
3. Since Jesus is in the fishing business, what can you do to help him catch men and women?
4. Why are we often reluctant to talk about hell?
5. What could you say to a friend who expressed doubts about even or hell?
6. How would it alter the way we live if we kept in mind the fact that God will judge us?
7. How can we live more often with the wonder of heaven in mind?

Apply It

1. What is one way you could quietly help the gospel permeate your family, workplace, or circle of friends?
2. What illustrations, examples, or stories can you share with someone today to help him or her understand your faith in Christ?
3. What items do you need to “sell off” this week in order to follow Christ and seek His kingdom?
4. With what person will you try to share the wealth you have in Christ today or tomorrow?
5. What first step will you take today to recover the joy and wonder of knowing Christ?
6. In what way can you remind yourself of heaven this week?
7. How can you show your gratitude to God today for making you a “good fish”?

Discuss It – Matthew 13:24-30

1. Why do people dislike weeds?
2. How would you respond if you tried to get a Bible study going and a group of non-Christians showed up to give you a hard time?
3. What are some ways Christians blend in with non-Christians?
4. What do you think about Christians who try to isolate themselves completely from non-Christians?
5. What opportunities do you have by living among all different kinds of people?
6. In what ways does Satan try to mess up God’s plan and your part in that plan?
7. What dangers lie in trying to label people as either “weeds” or “wheat” (non-Christians or Christians)?
8. Whose responsibility is it to label the weeds and deal with them?
9. Under what circumstances are you to live for Christ?

Discuss It – Matthew 13:36-43

1. How do you study the Bible in order to understand better what Christ has said?
2. If we seldom pick up the Bible or spend time praying, what do our actions say about us?
3. If you had to guess, what would you estimate to be the ratio of “wheat” to “weeds” in your office, town, neighborhood, or school?
4. How do these kinds of passages (threats of judgment for unbelievers) make you feel?
5. In which category (wheat or weed) would your associates place you? Why?
6. What does this passage say to you about the prospect of the world getting better and better?

Apply It

1. In what ways do you need to alter your life-style (either attitude or action) today in order to be more like wheat and less like a weed?
2. Whom do you need to judge and label less today?
3. For what non-Christian coworkers, neighbors, and friends will you pray this week?
4. In what ways can you “shine like the sun” in your contacts with unbelievers?
5. What passage of Scripture do you need to ask God about and study this week?
6. How could you minister to someone today with a quote or insight from the Bible?

Discuss It – Matthew 13:1-9

1. Regarding house plants: Do you
   • Talk and sing to them?
   • Forget about them until the leaves fall?
   • Hope no one gives you one?
2. When was the last time you “tuned out” a speaker?
3. What are some spiritual cliches or religious catch-phrases that people often use?
4. What misconceptions do non-Christians have about Christianity?
5. Into what various places did the seed fall? (13:4–5)
6. What is the meaning of each?
7. Dan talked about these points in the parable…
   • Universality: the seed went onto every place, for everyone.
   • Mystery: Jesus was not what we expected, the seed disappears to do its thing.
   • Actuality: the sower just lets the seed go all over the place, the seed was never the problem.
   • Hostility/Response: birds, sun, thorns, and the cross. The Word matters, not the response to it.
8. Which soil are you these days?
9. Which seed ended up sprouting and bearing fruit? Why? (13:8)
10. To whom did Jesus direct His story about the four soils? (13:9)

Discuss It – Matthew 13:18-23

1. Whom did Jesus liken to seed along the path? Why? (13:19)
2. According to Christ, who is like the seed sown on rocky soil? Why? (13:20–21)
3. What kind of people were compared to seed sown among the thorns? Why? (13:22)
4. Of whom is the fruitful seed a picture? How? (13:23)
5. Why do so many people today misunderstand the gospel?
6. What deep roots help a believer to not fall away?
7. What thorns, rocks, and worries of the day tend to choke your faith?
8. What circumstances of life tend to scorch your faith?

Apply It

1. What one action could you do this week to improve the way you listen to God’s Word?
2. How could you become a more effective sower of God’s Word over the next month?
3. How can you show gratitude to God today for opening your eyes to the truth of the gospel?
4. Our response is fruit. What are you bearing these days?
5. What or who nurtures your spiritual growth?
6. The kingdom is not to earn, but to welcome. How do you see and hear Jesus working in the world today?

1. Human hearts often resist God’s message through unreasonable expectations and selective criticism

Jesus compares “this generation” to petulant children in the marketplace who refuse to engage with either joyful or sorrowful invitations. They want to dictate the terms—demanding the messenger conform to their preferred style or mood—rather than responding to the truth being offered.

1. Where do you find the elevation of personal preferences in church?
2. Why do we generally feel that our preferred worship style (of music, preaching, or instrumentation) is the the right or proper way to worship?
3. How do you tend to respond to the service when there is something that was not on your preferred list?
4. When have you criticized God’s servants with your personal preferences (John and Jesus were totally different in style, personality, and purpose)?
5. Are you prepared to examine your heart on hidden prejudices or stubbornness?

2. Rejection of God’s messengers often stems from excuses rather than genuine discernment

The critics found fault with both John (too strict, demon-possessed) and Jesus (too loose, a glutton, and friend of sinners). No matter the approach—ascetic or incarnational—the response was rejection. This highlights how unbelief or spiritual resistance can be irrational and self-justifying; people latch onto superficial traits to avoid the convicting message.

1. We all have known people who have rejected the gospel. How might you explain their resistance?
2. Does the cost of discipleship ever play a role in people’s unbelief?
3. When have you experienced a varying presentation of the gospel (from a prophetic warning to a gracious invitation)? How did each go?
4. How do you respond to criticism of the gospel or involvement in a local congregation?
5. How can we stay faithful to the truth in the midst of such criticism, or even persecution?

3. God’s wisdom is ultimately vindicated by its fruits, not popular opinion

The passage closes with the assurance: “Wisdom is proved right by her deeds” (or “vindicated by her children” in some translations). Despite the complaints, John’s ministry prepared hearts for repentance, and Jesus’ ministry brought salvation, healing, and inclusion of the outcasts. Time and transformed lives reveal the truth.

1. How important are the deeds of Christians, rather than just having sound theology?
2. What are some of the works you have done to help prepare the way for someone to one day find Christ (planting seeds)?
3. How does character and integrity help us advance the gospel of Jesus?
4. In what ways do you need a bigger picture of God (his ways and his works)?
5. How can the church help people to prioritize obedience and faithfulness in everyday life?

Continued: Matthew 11:25-30

1. God Reveals Himself to the Humble, Not the Self-Sufficient (Matthew 11:25)

1. In what way does truth come to us through openness, wonder, and openness (children) rather than through intellectual pride, worldly wisdom, or self-reliance (religious leaders)?
2. When we know too much, how does that limit our spiritual growth?

2. Intimate Knowledge of God Comes Only Through Jesus (Matthew 11:27)

1. How is your understanding of the trinity, the relationship between Jesus (the Son) and God (the Father)?
2. In what ways has Jesus revealed the Father to us?
3. Is your foundation in a relationship with Jesus or in the religious system the church has created?

3. True Rest Is Found in Surrendering to Christ’s Gentle Yoke (Matthew 11:28-30)

1. The rest Jesus provides in not by removing our responsibility but inviting us into partnership. In what ways does your life walk in step with Jesus? At what times do you resist his leadership and guidance?
2. Jesus says his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Has that been your experience? For me, it’s hard to follow Christ (perfection is a lofty expectation, and failure is all too common). What does Jesus mean by this statement?

Labor for the Kingdom Does Not Go Unnoticed by the Father

Discuss It – Matthew 10:40-42

This concludes Jesus’ instructions as He sends out the Twelve on mission. It shifts from warnings about rejection and persecution to encouragement about reception and reward.

1. Welcoming Jesus’ messengers equals welcoming Jesus and the Father…

1. In what way do followers of Jesus carry the same authority as Jesus himself?
2. How is hospitality an important part of the Christian church and community?
3. In what way are followers of Jesus bringing the presence of Christ into a relationship?

2. Reception of Jesus’ messengers is tied to recognizing the “name” or authority of the person…

1. In what way does your recognition as a “prophet,” “righteous person,” or “disciple” emphasize welcoming people because of their God-given role or identity, not just general kindness?
2. How does this act of recognition align the host with the mission and message of the kingdom?

3. Even the smallest acts of kindness are noticed and rewarded by God…

1. How might you literally or figuratively give a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name?
2. How comforting is it to know that God sees and remembers even our minor sacrifices?
3. Is it possible to serve God faithfully without thinking about this principle of corresponding rewards?
4. How generous are you when it comes to kingdom work and support?

4. Disciples are identified with Christ in both mission and vulnerability…

1. How does this passage affirm the dignity and importance of the disciple of Christ?
2. When was a time where you felt insignificant during the hardships you have faced?
3. In what way is this true? “How people treat you reveals their response to God.”

Overall, these verses offer great encouragement to those in ministry or mission work: your labor is not invisible to God, and those who support you are partnering with God Himself.

Apply It

1. In what specific situations do you need to rely more on the Holy Spirit to give you the right words to say?
2. What promises from this chapter can you meditate on this week to make you a more effective minister for Christ?
3. What are three or four concrete ways you can be more bold in standing up for Jesus this week?