Have you checked out the Small Group Leader online modules recently? These modules are great resources that help equip you as a leader. Jump back in at learning.adabible.org/small-groups.

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DISCUSSION GUIDE

Welcome to the first week of our June series, RE:THINK. This week we hear how Jesus challenges people’s perceptions of what it means to be a good person concerning murder and anger.

What is something that you have rethought and wish you could go back and tell your younger self to think differently about?

Have someone read Matthew 5:21-26 aloud. What is surprising or something you hadn’t noticed before?

 

MATTER OF THE HEART

Have someone read Exodus 20:13 aloud. Jesus’s hearers would have known the command about murder very well. Try to imagine hearing Jesus say these words for the first time. How does Jesus challenge them to rethink?

Jesus is talking to his followers. What kinds of thoughts or feelings might people have had hearing Jesus’s words?

Pastor Jeff Manion says the word “anger” that Jesus uses here is like a simmering, stewing rage that wishes the other person didn’t even exist. How is this type of anger so dangerous?

Jesus links murder and anger. How is anger related to murder?

 

MATTER OF PRIORITY

Jesus tells his followers that moving past their anger to reconcile is just as important as—or even more important than—worship. Why do you think Jesus uses and puts such an emphasis on this example?

Jesus says that when you remember a strained relationship, make it a priority to do something about it. What do you think is the role of the Holy Spirit in helping you remember things like that?

Read Romans 12:17-18 aloud. How do these verses help us when we think about reconciliation?

 

URGENCY

Jesus’s second example is about urgency. The situation escalates because it wasn’t settled quickly. What are some of the types of relational issues that escalate if they aren’t resolved with urgency?

It can be easy to put off resolving a simmering, smoldering, contemptuous type of anger. Sometimes we think it feels better to hold onto it but it gets harder to resolve the longer we wait. How do you think our life would be better if we followed Jesus’s advice and learned to deal with and make right that type of anger right away?

Unresolved anger affects both our relationship with God and with others. What’s a relationship where you are struggling with unresolved anger?

How can our group help encourage and support you to take a step toward letting the anger go or seeking reconciliation with someone?

 

WRAP UP

This week we talked about how anger is a cousin to murder and something we need to carefully prevent in our lives. What’s your big takeaway for the week, and what’s one specific action to do about it?