Sermon Questions 12-7-14
Do you enjoy Dr. Seuss? What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book? Why? Do you read him in a boat? Do you read him with a goat? Do you read him in the air? Do you read him anywhere?
Have you ever met anyone who was a Grinch at Christmas time? Or a Scrooge? Presents aren’t the main thing. Why do we give presents at Christmas? When is giving presents wrong?
2 Peter 3:8-15
In 2 Peter chapter 3, Peter is writing about the last days. In verses 1-7 he describes how there will be a time when people called “Scoffers” will mock Christians for believing that Christ will come again. They will ask, “When will the coming happen? Life is going on pretty much as it has since the beginning of time.” But they will conveniently forget that there had to be a beginning of time when the earth was created. We might add that time, space, matter and everything had to come from somewhere.
Then Peter makes an interesting observation about God. God is timeless – or outside of time. Humans are inside of time. You can’t compare the two.
Read 2 Peter 3:8. What do you think this verse means? Since dogs live about 15 years, many say that one year in dog time is like seven years in human time. Can we do the same thing with God? Is one thousand years of human time equal to one year in God time? Or is Peter simply pointing out that God time and human time are different?
Read Psalm 90:1-4. What does this verse say about God time and human time?
What is your view of human time versus God time? How does that explain or cause confusion with other doctrines?
2 Peter 3:8 is often used as a way to reconcile evolutional theory and Genesis 1-2. In other words, the argument goes “when God said the earth was created in one day we could substitute a thousand or a million or a billion years.” There seems to be disagreement among Christians as to whether the 6 days of creation should be taken literally. However, most Christians agree that God was the force behind creation. I have noticed a wide variety of beliefs about creation/evolution from Bible believing Christians. If you feel comfortable, share your view of creation. But please respect other’s views.
Read 2 Peter 3:9. Why has God not yet returned? What is He waiting for?
Read Mark 13:32-37. Did the human Jesus know the date and hour of the second coming?
How should Christians conduct themselves while waiting for Christ’s return? Cf. verse 14 and verses 17-18.