Community Group Questions
Rest and Not Be Weary
Week of February 12, 2017
I. GETTING TO KNOW YOU
• Share with the group how God revealed Himself to you at
church this past week.
• Share with the group what you normally do when you find
yourself emotionally weary.
- How does emotional weariness affect your spiritual life?
Your relationships? Your physical life?
- How can you tell when you are being emotionally
renewed?
II. DIGGING DEEPER
Hebrews chapter 4 can be summarized “Let us fear lest anyone fails to
reach the promised rest. The word of God judges the heart. So we boldly
approach the throne of grace.” (@biblesummary). The chapter continues
with the warning passage regarding unbelief of Jesus.
The Israelites failed to enter God’s rest because they disbelieved, tested
and disobeyed God. As you look into this chapter, ask God to show you
any implication for your own life and allow Him to renew your faith as you
learn to rest in Him.
Discuss the following: Read Hebrews 4:1-16
1. What four exhortations does the author give his readers in this chapter
(see verses 1, 11, 14 & 16)?
• Which of these exhortations do you find the most difficult to do?
•How does the lack of following these exhortations show itself in
your life?
2. Good news was proclaimed in the Old Testament times, not just in the
New. What good news were the Israelites given?
• Why wasn’t this good news enough to bring the Israelites to rest?
• How well do you do finding rest in the Good News of Christ?
3. When the author speaks of “his rest” and “my rest” he means God’s rest.
What would you say is the primary characteristic of God’s rest?
• Read Psalm 62:1-2 and meditate on the idea of resting in God
alone.
• What does this mean to you and how can you put this into
practice?
4. The statement that “for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested
from his works as God did from his” (v. 10) has been interpreted as having
a present application, a future application or both. What do the following
cross-references reveal about the rest that is available both now and in the
future?
• Present – Matthew 11:28-30; Romans 5:1-2
• Future – Revelation 14:13, 21:1-4
• Which of these (present or future) do you spend the most time
looking towards?
5. In what five ways does the author describe the Word of God in verse 12?
• How does the emphasis on the Word of God and His penetrating
knowledge in verses 12-13 relate to the discussion of unbelief of
the heart?
• How do verses 12-13 make you want to respond?
6. Everything in your life will be “naked and exposed to the eyes of him
to whom we must give account” (v. 13). Compare this statement to I
Corinthians 3:11-15 & II Corinthians 5:10
• How does the expectation of future judgment directly affect
your daily life today?
• Discuss the following verses in relation to God’s complete
knowledge of people: Psalm 139:7-8; Proverbs 5:21; Jeremiah
16:17, 23:24
7. How can experiencing the “rest of God” give you confidence as you
think about future judgment?
• How does living in the “rest of God” require an active and
effective faith towards God?
III. TAKING IT HOME
• What would you say is the overall purpose of this chapter…
that is…what is the main “take away” that the author wants to
communicate?
- How well are you doing with living out that purpose/take
away?
- Ask God to help you live that purpose out, and ask others
to help you.
• Set aside a specific time this week to “rest in God”
• If rest is the benefit of faith in the mist of conflict, is rest a reality in
your life?
- If not, is it blocked by unbelief or disobedience of any
kind?
- What have you learned from this chapter that might help
you enter more fully into God’s rest?
• What has the Word of God (and specifically what we have
studied so far in Hebrews) revealed about your own thoughts and
attitudes of the heart?
- What are some practical things you need to do about
what you’ve learned?
Notes: __________________________________________________________
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