Coping with change

Study Guide

The following may help you reflect further on the message
(the points could also be used as a discussion guide at fellowship groups)

  1. How should we respond to people who talk about the good old days?
    How does this relate to Luke 5:33-39 and the Jewish people who were critical of Jesus? How does this apply to Isaiah 61:1-3 and John 10:10?
  2. Discuss the following: Jesus did not come to patch up the old way; he came to bring a new way. Jesus did not come to mend, but to end. In the context of a changing world, should we patch up the old or pour in the new? What does this mean in practical terms?
  3. According to a prophecy in Isaiah 61:3, Jesus came to bring glad­ness not sad­ness. If this is true, what should it mean for us today? See 1 Peter 1:8 and 1 John 1:1-4.
  4. How do you understand and apply the idea of old and new wineskins in Luke 5:37-38?
  5. Discuss the following: if the gospel to maintain its relevance and be effec­tive today, we need fresh expressions of when, where, and how to do church. How can we apply this at Crabtree?
  6. Discuss the seven last words of a dying church: We never did it this way before. How does this relate to what Jesus said in Luke 5:39?
  7. Why do some people (and some churches) struggle to move out of their comfort zone? How can we do this without upsetting too many people along the way?
  8. Discuss the following: tradition is the living faith of dead people; traditionalism is the dead faith of living people.