Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Matthew 8:18-27), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• [18-20] Crowds are always following Jesus, and Jesus is always inviting people to follow him. But his invitation is a challenge, because he’s going places sinners don’t want to go. He wants us to count the cost of being in a relationship with him. What exactly does it cost to follow Jesus? What has it cost you? Has Jesus led you into places you didn’t want to go? What sustains you while you’re in such places? What would happen if someone started following Jesus but didn’t count the cost? What kinds of responses might we expect from someone who started following Jesus but quickly discovered that the cost was too high? What would the cost be of not following Jesus? What is the benefit of following Jesus? Is it worth the cost?

• [21-22] “Lord, let me first go and bury my father…” This probably means he wants to take care of his aging father before committing to following Jesus. It is a way of saying that he considers his family to be a higher priority than Jesus in his life. Such a person is spiritually dead, according to Jesus. See Luke 14:25-33. Following Jesus means he is truly the Lord of your whole life, a relationship that reorders all your priorities. (E.g., you don’t take care of other priorities like family before your commitment to Jesus, but because your relationship with Jesus is the highest priority.) Following Jesus changes everything that made you “you” apart from him. Are you willing to renounce all that you have to follow Jesus? What do you do if you recognize you haven’t been willing? Is being with Jesus the most important thing in your life? How has being with him changed fundamental aspects of who you are and what you love?

• [23-27] Jesus is not at the mercy of the storms of life that would overwhelm us—he is the Master of the storms. His mere presence with us is our salvation, whether or not he stops the storms that so terrify us. His disciples are afraid of going where he leads. They are more impressed by the circumstances of their lives than by the Lord who is with them. But his disciples grow as they marvel at who Jesus is. “What sort of man is this?” Do you have that question figured out, or does it generate awe in your heart? Do you believe that the fact that Jesus is with you is truly salvation, and more important than the fact that you find yourself in difficult circumstances in life? Why do you think Jesus would call us to follow him and to be with him in such difficult places?

• FOR THE CHILDREN: Life is hard. Jesus has the power to make it easier. Sometimes he does, and sometimes he doesn’t. But the Good News is that he is always with us, and he will never abandon us. Are you thankful for this? What does this mean to you? Do you want to follow him, to be with him wherever he leads you, even if that means going places you didn’t want to go?