Count The Cost

 

Goals for this Week’s Study:

  • Review Pastor Daniel’s sermon from Sunday morning.
  • Help group members (especially new members) get to know one another.
  • Share how God has been growing you through the next steps you have been taking!

 

Getting Started:

 

Open your group with prayer.

 

SHARE:  If you could go on a mission trip anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?

 

Scripture:

- “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20

- “And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” – Matthew 4:19

- “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:26-33

- “As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”  And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”  Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:57-62

- “A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” – John 10:10

- “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” – Matthew 6:33

 

Sermon Notes: Take time to let everyone share some of the notes they took or anything that stood out to them from the message. Use this time to get everyone in your group talking (a good tip for this situation would be to go around the room and have everyone share one thing that stuck out to them from Pastor Daniel’s sermon)! Keep in mind, not everyone may feel comfortable talking yet, so try your best to help assist them in any way you can!

 

Study Questions

  1. Read Matthew 4:19. What does it mean to be a Disciple?
  2. Pastor Daniel stated 4 traits of a Disciple. What were they? (Follows Jesus, Knows Jesus, Being changed by Jesus, Committed to the mission of Jesus)
  3. Has following Jesus ever cost you anything? (Friends, Relationships, Job Opportunities, etc.)
  4. Pastor Daniel stated 3 points about following Jesus. What were they? (Following Jesus isn't about my comfort but about His commission, Following Jesus isn't about my wants but His will, Following Jesus isn't about what's behind me but about what's ahead of me)
  5. Which one stood out to you the most? Why?
  6. Read Matthew 6:33. How can you seek the Kingdom of God first in your life this week?
  7. How can your Group help you with this?

 

Final Thoughts:

  • Eternity begins now!
  • The better life isn’t the absence of pain but the presence of Jesus.
  • To follow Jesus is to know Jesus!
  • Looking back to your past will keep you from following Jesus effectively.

 

Pray Over Your Group!

Pray over all prayer requests and the next steps that will be taken this week! 

Zach Hacker