NOTES:
1] For all his vitriolic language, JB goes on when questioned to spell out his 'gospel' in very Jesus-like language.

WARMING UP: In a preacher, orator, interviewee, do we prefer fire & brimstone, or reason?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Afterthoughts from, follow-up to last week's Group, or since?

EXPLORING GOSPEL:

7-9        How seriously do we take JB's proclaiming of 'wrath to come'? Does wrath (whose?) play any real role in the way we understand faith & put it into practice? Does the view put forward by someone (un-remembered) that 'God's wrath is God's love seen from the wrong side' make any sense to us? Given JB's stand, do we understand Jesus to be as strong on wrath as many of his 'preachers' portray him?
              Are the 'fruits' we produce readily identifiable as stemming from God, or not? Or do we, still, like those here, need a change of heart in the direction of God (= repentance)?
              Where JB accuses his hearers of 'trading on' Abraham, upon whom, if anyone, do we trade? What distinguishes a person as a true child of Abraham? Or is Abraham irrelevant to us?

10-14     Do we ever find oursleves asking, or wanting to ask (scream at?) our pastors / preachers asking "What do you want me to DO about what you're talking about? How big is the gap between what we know we should do & whether we actually do it or not?
              How high on our 'agenda' is sharing what we have with others who don't? How come we can so often find an 'escape clause'? Do either JB or Jesus know anything about 'escape clauses'?
              How important to us is honesty in those who have dealings with us? Does honesty apply just as much, or even more so, to our end of the same equation? What about the various kinds of force we apply against others - subtle, moral, physical, psychological, etc...? Are they an absolute no no, or is there an escape clause (for us, that is) here too?
              How content are we with 'our wages', what we have, our lifestyle, etc.?

15-18    Do we sense any 'expectation' in church or community today that God is about to act in some decisive manner?How welcome do we believe such intervention would be should it occur? Is there any more likely way that God would intervene in any situation today except through us as his people, Jesus' body? Does JB's pointing to 'one who is coming' validate his authenticity as a Prophet (as the fact that Jesus constantly points beyond himself to the Father validates him)? How come we put up with, in church, community, politics, etc., so many who point only to themselves?
             If the humility we see in JB & Jesus is a mark of God's own nature, how come the very opposite & contradictory trait of self-centredness has our society so firmly in its grasp? Has God failed us? Are we failing ourselves? Is there too much chaff around to even see the 'threshing floor'?
             Given that preaching is not very popular, to say the least, with today's generations, are we as active as we might be in proclaiming the Gospel in other ways less 'in-house'? What positive alternat- ives can we see for proclaiming / demonstrating that Jesus is whom we believe he is?