Small Group Guide

“What Jesus Finds vs. What Jesus Seeks”

Mark 11:12-25

Message Summary

This passage marks a turning point in the book of Mark. The first two-thirds of the book focus on three years of Jesus’ ministry. But Mark 11 begins to slow down, and he spends the rest of his Gospel covering one week of Jesus’ life. This week includes Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection, and Mark tells us why Jesus came to do these things.

Mark 11 opens with the Triumphal Entry—a celebration of Jesus entering Jerusalem. The last time He was in that area, He raised Lazarus from the dead, and while not all of the people truly understood Who He is, they celebrated His entrance into the city.

The events that took place on the Monday after Palm Sunday are what angered the religious leaders enough to have Jesus killed later that week. Jesus, in holy anger and outrage, cleared the Temple. What was seen on the outside of the Temple did not reflect what was going on in people’s hearts. The vendors and money changers at the Temple and even in the religious leaders were doing religious things with hearts that were far away from God and were taking advantage of people in the process.

After Jesus cleared the Temple, Mark inserts an active prophetic parable about the fig tree that had no fruit. Jesus went to the tree for food but found only leaves, which is similar to what He found in the Temple—right acts without right hearts. What Jesus is seeking is not religious rituals but the life-giving fruits of faith, prayer, and mercy. Jesus is the true Temple, and when He died, He perfectly replaced the Temple. His desire is for people who serve God whole-heartedly, who look to God for everything, and who reach out in faith to help their brothers and sisters.

In applying this truth to our lives, we are challenged to approach the outward act of corporate worship as a way to express our hearts. We are also called to be on mission as we ourselves taste the mercy of God and relate to others in mercy and forgiveness.

Discussion & Application Questions

After briefly reviewing the message summary, use these questions to further examine the sermon and to discuss how these truths apply to daily life so we can “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (Jas. 1:22). Based on your knowledge of the people in your small group, select the questions that will best help you frame the group’s discussion of this sermon and sermon text.

WHAT JESUS FINDS: LEAVES BUT NO FRUIT

1.What was wrong with the fig tree? What was the fig tree’s purpose? How was it failing to fulfill its purpose?

2.How did Jesus connect what He found in the Temple with what He found on the fig tree?

3.Both the Temple and the fig tree looked good from far away, but what was the reality about them both?

4.What areas in your life might look good to others but are in reality fruitless, hypocritical, or self-serving?

5.How do you show yourself to others (consider social media as well as face-to-face relationships)? Who in your life sees “the real you”? Why do we need to confess our sins and struggles to other people? How does this confession help us produce fruit?

6.Application:As you think about areas in your life that aren’t producing fruit or that are hypocritical, what steps do you need to take to repent of that sin? What hinders your repentance? How can you rid yourself of the hindrances?

WHAT JESUS SEES: FORMAL RITUALS UNDERMINING GENUINE WORSHIP

7.What is true worship? Do you think the people in the Temple thought they were worshiping God? Why or why not?

8.How were the Temple rituals undermining genuine worship? What were the people doing in the Temple that dishonored God?

9.The outline says, “The Temple had become an end in itself.” What “Christian” things other than Jesus Himself can become an end in themselves?

10.What kinds of things, thoughts, or attitudes undermine genuine worship in the Church today?

11.Have you ever experienced a time when formal rituals undermined genuine worship? During this time, how did your heart feel toward God?

12.Can the Christian marketplace undermine genuine worship? Why or why not? How can you keep yourself focused on Jesus Himself? What does that practically look like?

13.How can we prevent religious rituals (things we do “for God”) from undermining our worship of God?

14.Application: Spend time in prayer asking God to show you how your heart might be focused on formal rituals instead of genuine worship. Read Micah 7:1 and 6:8. How are you doing justice, loving mercy, and walking with God in humility?

WHAT JESUS SEEKS: THE FRUIT OF FAITH, PRAYERS, AND MERCY

15.How were the people in the Temple not showing the fruit that Jesus sought? How do we face similar dangers in the Church today?

16.What does it mean to show the fruit of faith, prayer, and mercy?

17.Application: How can you cultivate such fruit in your life this week?

18.Can the things that Jesus seeks be accomplished apart from Him? Why is that significant?

19.Application: What is God calling you to do to bear more fruit of faith, prayer, and mercy? Are there circumstances in your life right now that are requiring your faith in Jesus to grow? Has your response been one of faith? Consider the areas of your life that cause unrest or anxiety. How might God, through those areas, be calling you to press in to God in prayer? If you are harboring any lack of forgiveness, with whom do you need to be made right? What steps will you take this week to confess and ask forgiveness from that person?

Things to Consider

If you have people in your group who did not hear the sermon, read the sermon text (Mark 11:12-25) together and briefly summarize the main points of the sermon. Recapping the sermon text and sermon outline can also be a helpful way to start the group, even if everyone did hear the sermon.

As a group, discuss how the opposites of the “What Jesus Seeks” section—unbelief, prayerlessness, and unforgiveness—produce a fruitless life. Encourage your group to identify areas of unbelief related to the specific trials or circumstances they are currently facing. Remind them that the fruit of prayer is receiving a heart that is aligned with the Father’s will (see 1 John 3:21-22). Encourage your group to ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate any sin in your lives and to ask for forgiveness quickly. Divide into smaller groups, possibly prayer partners (men with men and women with women), to talk about anything specific the Lord is showing you and to spend time praying that the fruits of faith, prayer, and mercy will be evident in your lives.

Weekly Prayer Focus

Pray for Our Church:

  • Pray for God to grow our faith and trust in Him.
  • Ask the Spirit to continue to produce spiritual fruit in our individual lives and our life as a faith family.

Pray for Our City:

  • Pray for Serve Week, a united initiative among local churches and ministry partners to love and serve the East Lake community in Jesus’ name.

Pray for Our World:

  • Pray for our church planting team in Kuala Lumpur and our Short-Term teams in East Asia.
  • Pray that God will use our church planting teams to make Christ known and bring Muslim men and women to Himself.

The Church at Brook Hills “What Jesus Finds vs. What Jesus Seeks,” June 11, 2017| Page 1