Sermon Questions September 28, 2014
The gospel text is from Matthew 18:15-20
If Your Brother Sins Against You
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[a] in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Can you think of a time when you followed Jesus' pattern here?
Why is it important to first go alone when confronting someone with sin?
Does this apply towards sins against others? In other words, if your brother is sinning against another brother - should you get involved?
Can you (or should you) simply ignore an offense, forgive, and move on? If so, what are the implications?
Conflict is necessary, but often difficult for many people. On a scale from 1 (I hate conflict) to 10 (I love conflict), where are you on that scale?
Another option for conflict is to simply get out of the circumstance. Can you think of a time where simply leaving was the best option? What were the implications?
Have any of you known of someone who left their family because of conflict? What was the result?
I once worked with a person, Jane, who married an older man. Her parents were furious with her and told her that she was no longer welcome in their house. Jane was devastated and angry and decided to cut her parents out of her own life. She never called, wrote, or contacted her parents. However, I could tell that she was angry and bitter that she had to choose between her husband and her parents. Obviously her parents were wrong, but if you were in Jane's shoes, what would/could you do?