Jesus Power over Earthly Limitations
November 12-13, 2016
SERIES: Power of Jesus
SPEAKER: John Williamson (Timberlake/Downtown), Stephen Rabon (Altavista)
STUDY GUIDE: Jason Kolar
CONNECT (5-10 min)
Leaders Note: The purpose of this time is to help the members of the group grow in relationships with
one another so all people in the group know they matter. Spend some time discovering what is
happening in the lives of your group members.
GROW – Review the Message Summary (30-45 min)
Leaders Note: The goal of this section is to apply the truth of the message (not teach) so each
participant is familiar with John’s message from Sunday morning. Good facilitators “share the
leadership”. If your group has been meeting at least 8-12 weeks you should have an “apprentice”. This
would be a good section for your apprentice to facilitate.
Read: Luke 9:1-17
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles
9 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2
and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your
journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.[a] 4 And whatever house you enter,
stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off
the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 And they departed and went through the villages,
preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Herod Is Perplexed by Jesus
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by
some that John had been raised from the dead, 8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the
prophets of old had risen. 9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he
sought to see him.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
10 On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town
called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of
the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. 12 Now the day began to wear away, and the
twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find
lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something
to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these
people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of
about fifty each.” 15 And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he
looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to
set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets
of broken pieces.
Notes…
Jesus Sends the Twelve (vs 1-6)
 Jesus CALLS and EMPOWERS the twelve (vs 1)
 Jesus SENDS the twelve (v 2)
 INSTRUCTIONS for the journey (vs 3-4)
 A FOCUS on OBEDIENCE (v 5)
 The GOSPEL spreads (v 6)
A Time-out in the Narrative (vs 7-9)
 People are ASKING who JESUS is (vs 7-8)
 Luke HINTS at the FUTURE (v 9)
The Disciples Return in Time for a Miracle (vs 10-17)
 The apostles REPORT their work and RETREAT with Jesus (v 10)
 The RETREAT turns into more MINISTRY (v 11)
 A PRACTICAL solution offered to a rising PROBLEM (v 12)
 Jesus CHALLENGES their solution (vs 13-14a)
 Jesus begins his SOLUTION (vs 14a-15)
 Jesus OVERCOMES earthly LIMITATIONS (vs 16-17)
Bottom Line: Jesus is the master disciple maker
For those not yet living a Jesus-centered Life:
 SEEK Jesus, and you will be WELCOMED
For those living a Jesus-centered Life:
 Prioritize OBEDIENCE over UNDERSTANDING
 Know that God cares enough to go to GREAT LENGTHS to REVEAL himself to you
 SHARE what you know
Discussion Questions
1. What stood out most to you from the passage or from the sermon this week?
2. What does it look like to seek Jesus?
3. What are some passages about Jesus welcoming in those who seek Him?
4. When was a time the Lord welcomed you and revealed himself to you?
5. How has God satisfied you when you came to Him hungry?
6. How far do you believe Jesus would go to reveal himself to you?
7. What holds you back from proclaiming this good news and all that Christ has done for you?
8. What truths do you need to be reminded of daily in order to have the right heart when sharing
the good news of Christ?
9. How did the disciples prioritize obedience over understanding? And how can this help us to obey
regardless of how we feel?
10. What has God revealed to you? What are you going to do about it? Do you need any
accountability from the group?
SERVE: intentionally caring for others in a tangible way (15-20 min)
Close the small group discussion with a time of praying. Who do the members of the group have
influence with that you could pray for specifically? Perhaps spend some time praying Paul’s prayer in
Ephesians 3:14-21. If anyone shared a need during your meeting, be sure you have made plans to
intentionally care for that person! Did you hear about or observe anything at Crosspoint this week that
offers you an opportunity to serve others?
Throughout The Week: (Optional)
MONDAY: Review the text
Read: Luke 9:1-17
What truth did God reveal to you from the sermon this past week?
TUESDAY: SEEK Jesus, and you will be WELCOMED
Read: Matthew 7:7-11
Context: This is the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is teaching about his kingdom. We jump in after
he had talked about righteousness and the disciple’s relationship to wealth, and to his brother. Now we
begin to talk about the disciple’s relationship to God.
Meaning: What is Jesus teaching? How does he back up his teaching with examples? Read James 4:24, how do these verses go together?
Significance: What are you seeking Jesus for right now? Have you asked? Why are you asking for it?
Why can you feel confident in asking Jesus for something? Take some time to pray to the Lord. Thank
Him for His welcoming character, and ask him for what you are searching for that is ultimately for His
glory.
WEDNESDAY: Prioritize OBEDIENCE over UNDERSTANDING
Read: Genesis 22:1-18
How did Abraham prioritize obedience over understanding? What sacrifices did Abraham have to
make in order to live in obedience? How does this story correspond with Jesus? If you could take an
honest look at yourself, which do you prioritize higher, Obedience or understanding? Why? What is it
going to take in order to obey before understanding? Why is hard to do this for you? What truth do you
need to be reminded of?
THURSDAY: Know that God cares enough to go to GREAT LENGTHS to REVEAL himself to you
Read: Romans 8:31-39
Context: A few weeks ago we read Romans 8:12-16. Picking back with Paul’s thought on Sanctification
and God plan of redemption. He is ending his thought with 7 questions…
Meaning: What are the 7 questions that Paul asked? Maybe take some paper and on half of the paper
write the 7 questions, and then on the other side of the paper right how He answered them. What is Paul
trying to get at? What do we learn about the character of God?
Significance: How far do you believe that God would go to you? Does your actions reflect your answer?
How would believing these truths change the way you seek God? How far has God gone in the past to
reveal himself to you? How can this be an encouragement for your future? How can you better rest in
these truths throughout this week?
FRIDAY: SHARE what you know
Read: Matthew 28:18-20
Context: Jesus is ascending into heaven after his resurrection and this is His final instructions to His
disciples
Meaning: What instruction did Jesus give to his disciples? What was the motivation to be able to carry
out His instruction?
Significance: When was the last time you shared good news of how Lord has been changing you to
someone who isn’t a believer? What is holding you back? How are you fulfilling the great commission
(this passage) currently? What is your motivation to be able to do this? Are you focusing more on trying
hard to fulfill what God has told us to, or on resting in His presence being with you? What is the Lord
telling you right now? How will you respond?
SATURDAY: Spend time today praying for the prayer requests of your small group members. Pray for the
leaders who will be leading us in musical worship and delivering God’s word. Are there certain people
that the Lord has laid on your heart to pray for their salvation? Are there people you can have a
conversation about God with this weekend?