NOTES:
1] Jesus psychs up the disciples for a ministry patterned on his own & facing the same opposition. 2] Rome, the Herods, & their ilk all used fear to keep people under. What's new? 3] In  28, 'soul' means the real me, as against my physical side only.

WARMING UP: Do we remember knowing, or thinking we knew, more than our teachers. Did we learn better?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify God at work in anything this week?

EXPLORING GOSPEL:

24-25    Are we ever sure we know better than other Christians about some issue? What makes us so sure? How do we feel towards Christians - or others - who think differently from us? Do we ever re-evaluate our position(s)? Have we ever copped any serious flack for being a follower of Jesus?

26-27    Does fear play any role in any aspect of our life? What about in our discipleship? Does it worry us that we have unanswered questions about faith, life, etc.? Does what we don't know, or don't understand about some aspects of faith ever deter us from passing on God's Good News?

28-33    Is it part of our faith that though bad things may happen to us or others, God's Rule & power extend beyond death? How does that work? If God's acknowledment of us depends on the way we acknowledge him, where are we at this very moment on the acknowledgment / denial scale? If it worries us that we may not be at the 'right' end, what do we do about it?

34-36    Have we become too comfortable with Jesus as 'King of Peace'? With all the church's emphasis on Jesus as peace- maker, how are we to relate to the Jesus who here declares himself to be the opposite? If Jesus "comes to bring a sword", what is that sword? Is it anything other than his peace seen from the wrong side? If we're seeing his peace from the 'off-side', how do we get back 'on-side'? How do we cope with division in home, family, community, church, etc., or isn't it an issue? Might it be an issue we're too hurt by to do what God wants us to do about it, or too blind to want to see it as an issue at all?

37-39    Does Jesus have the right to demand such over-riding loyalty? If there is a tug of war between our love for Jesus & our love for someone else, how are we to resolve it? Who is to resolve it? Is there any point in praying about it to Someone who already knows what outcome we need, or is that exactly what we need to do, & hang the consequences? Have we ever had to give up, or modify love for someone because it came between us & Jesus? Have we ever experienced either 'losing our life', or 'finding it' in the way Jesus means here? What does it mean to us that we have 'found our life' - if we have?