Engaged?!

Posted by Dave Stone

Revelation 16:6-9

We’re back in Revelation! We hope and pray that your group is refreshed from the recent holidays and eager to pursue Jesus in this new year.

RELATE

1. Share a humorous wedding story.
Have fun with this one. You’ve probably already seen this wedding dance video.

REVIEW

2. Share any truth that particularly challenged or confused you.
Take this opportunity to review the sermon outline and major points of interest.

3. Who is the bride? Do you know of any Scriptures to support your answer?
The bride is the church. Supporting Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:2, Ephesians 5:19-23

4. Describe the bride and her destiny before she was chosen.
The bride is sinful (Romans 3:23), alienated, hostile in mind, doing evil deeds (Colossians 1). Her destiny before she was chosen was to receive the wrath of God (Romans 1:18ff) and end up in a place of torment (Luke 16:28).

APPLICATION

5. Think about the Johnny Lingo story. (Johnny Lingo story)

• How does the story picture how Jesus views the bride? of great worth, beautiful, valued
• How does the story picture how the bride views Jesus? scandalous that Jesus would pursue me, personal, loving, caring, sacrificial, worthy of being bragged about (honored)
• How does the story picture how the bride should view herself? the bride is transformed (as is her view of herself) when she accepts the love of Christ
• How do these views motivate you to “make yourself ready?” (see point 3) because of Christ’s great love, we’re compelled to live a life of purity marked by righteous acts

6. Think about the next few weeks. What attitude or behavior do you need to change to grow in purity?
This might be a good one for gender-specific sharing. These could be new things to start or old things to stop.

7. How can you, as a group, be a better “sewing circle?”
Consider ways you can spur each other toward love and good deeds.

DIG

This section is always optional, especially if it prevents you from addressing the application. However, if your group needs some basic biblical teaching on marriage, this section might be necessary.

8. Identify some keywords or phrases from the following passages that describe marriage?

• Hebrews 13:4 - undefiled
  
• 1 Peter 3:1-2,7 - submission, considerate
• Ephesians 5:21-33 - submit, love, give yourself up, united, respect

9a. Since our marriages are supposed to be a picture of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:32), what can you do in your marriage to reflect this purpose?

9b. If you’re single, how can you help your married friends honor this purpose?