Announcements
- We are so excited to welcome Rachel and Micah Patten’s new little baby Fletcher into the world! You can show them some love and sign up for their mealtrain through this link: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/rnreod
- Women’s retreat: Ladies we are having a women’s retreat April 12-13th in Eastland, Tx, all women are invited! It is going to be an awesome time that’s focused on friendship and discipleship. You can sign up on the app or through this form: https://thewellabilene.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/60/responses/new
- Holy Week Art Exhibit: Artists, Creatives, and even Non-Creatives, would you like to create something beautiful to enter in The Well’s first Holy Week Art Exhibition? This Exhibit will be a wonderful way to reflect on the beauty of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, by displaying a piece of artwork for both our church family and our Abilene community at large! If you are interested in signing up, fill out the form on the App or this form by March 29th:https://thewellabilene.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/55/responses/new All ages are welcome to submit a piece!
Objectives
- Creating a space to share/confess each other’s most typical motivations for outward expressions of faith
- Examine the Biblical heart motivation for giving, prayer, and fasting.
Key Passages
Matthew 6:1-8 & 6:16-18
Summary
The introduction of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” explained who the subjects of Jesus’ kingdom were and why they needed true righteousness.
In chapter 5, Jesus looked at passages from the Old Testament Law to provide specific examples of what life in his Kingdom looks like.
Now in chapter 6, Jesus is more specifically addressing prominent misconceptions of righteous behavior.
In 6:1-4, Jesus is addressing the way in which people should give to the needy. As one of 3 chief acts of Jewish Piety, along with fasting and prayer, giving alms to the needy was regularly practiced by Jews. However, in these verses, Jesus is calling out hypocrisy, as portrayed by the Scribes and Pharisees, in which the primary motivation of giving is to be praised by others. Jesus warns that this is the only reward they will receive with this motivation, as opposed to a reward from the Father.
Sample Questions
- Where does the need to be seen by others come from?
- What is the heart posture Jesus is calling us to?
- In what ways do you find yourself doing things for the approval of others?
- What are we seeking to find by being approved by others that can only be found in Jesus?
Sample Responses
Either in groups or as one group:
- Talk about ways we can live our lives out of love for Jesus instead of fear of man.
- Take time to confess ways you have sought the approval of others over genuine righteousness. Pray that God would help to redirect your hearts towards love for Jesus.