8.2.20 Huddle

Zach Below   -   July 31, 2020

Intro Questions

  1. What was your first car? How did you pick it/end up with it?

 

  1. What was your perception of church as a kid? How has it changed over the years?

 

 

Scripture Engagement —Read Luke 5:33-39

Jesus Questioned About Fasting

33 They (The Pharisees) said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”

36 He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”

 

 

Scripture Engagement Questions

 

  1. What stands out to you from the text?

 

  1. How would you describe Jesus in this story?

 

  1. What questions/confusion does the text bring up?

 

  1. Have you ever tried to fast? What was the experience like?

 

 

Context

Here are some contextual considerations that may help in understanding the text.

  • The Pharisees (religious leaders of Jesus’ day) made it a priority to fast 1-2 days a week—often going without both food and water.
  • In Jesus’s day, there was no more festive and joyful celebration than a wedding. It was not out of the norm for wedding celebrations to last an entire week.
  • People were expected to celebrate at a wedding. In fact, some Jewish writings teach that a person should break a fast during a wedding celebration.
  • In the Old Testament, God calls himself the “groom” and Israel the “bride” many times.

 

  1. How do these contextual considerations add meaning to this story?

 

  1. In light of this, what claims does Jesus seem to be making?

 

  1. Why do you think Jesus choose the illustration of marriage to describe the relationship God is after? What is it about marriage that is different than other relationships?

 

 

Application

  1. This story suggests that God is seeking a relationship with us that is multi-dimensional, all-encompassing, and fully immersive. A healthy marriage is one in which every decision and every action is connected to another person . . . it is done with another person in mind.

 

Are there any areas of your life where it is difficult to include God? Is it hard to picture that type of relationship with God?

 

  1. How does this story expand your picture of Jesus?

 

  1. What is one action that this story can inspire in the upcoming week?

 

 

CLOSE IN PRAYER