Small Group Bible Study: Jude. 3- What 3 ways does Jude describe people of Jesus Christ? (verse 1) a. What do each of those words mean to you?

Transcription

1 Small Group Bible Study: Jude Introduction to Jude : Jude wrote in the same era as Peter. In fact, much of the information in Jude is found also in 2 Peter 2. Jude was the brother of James and the half-brother of Jesus. Both Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 speak of James and Jude (along with Joseph and Simon) as brothers of Jesus. Though, according to John 7:5, Christ's brothers were not believers in him during his lifetime, these two at least became converts after his death. James became a leader in the early church. We see him in action in 1 Corinthians 15:7, Acts 12:17 and 15:13, Galatians 1:19 and 2:9, 12, and Acts 21:18. We hear from Jude only in this book, except perhaps in 1 Corinthians 9:5. It is interesting to note that while Jude claims James as brother, both he and James refer to themselves as servants of Jesus. The book of Jude was written to oppose false teachers who were sexually immoral and were teaching arrogantly. This letter would have been used as a sermon in the writer's absence (Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993], pp ). Week 1 Opening Thought: When was the last time you had to fight for something? Read Jude Who does Jude say he is the brother of? Who does he say he is a servant of? 2- Knowing that Jude is also a half brother of Jesus is a significant when it comes to the validity of Jesus & scripture. Why? a. Why does it matter that he refers to himself as a servant of Jesus rather then his brother? 3- What 3 ways does Jude describe people of Jesus Christ? (verse 1) a. What do each of those words mean to you? 4- In verse 2, what 3 things does he pray over the people? a. Are these things that you pray over other Christians? Other ministries? b. Why should this be a regular practice for us? 5- What did Jude initially want to write to them about? What did he end up writing for? 6- How do you describe faith? Can you get more faith? How? a. Read Romans 5:1-4, Hebrews 11 (will need to split up this chapter between a few people in the group), 1 Corinthians 12:9, Ephesians 2:1-10 and describe what the Bible says about faith b. Have you ever had any moments of a faith crisis or things in your life that dramatically shaped your faith? c. Who are some people that you look up to that have really strong faith? Why do you look up to them? 7- What are the false teachers doing?

2 a. Jude says that he is trying to build up their faith and sticking to the message of the gospel. Why is it important to constantly remind ourselves about the message of the Gospel? 8- When it comes to our opinions on cultural matters what should be the foundation? a. What happens if we don t like what the Bible says? Does is make it irrelevant of false? Why? Prayer Focus: Building up of faith, more compassionate prayer life for other believers

3 Week 2 Opening Thought: What have you learned from some mistakes that you ve made? Why is it important to learn from our history and from others as well? This next section of Jude refers back to some historical examples of people that ignored the calling of God and chose to live a life of sin. Though there are many examples that could have been made, Jude chooses 3 in verses 5-7. He references a story from Numbers 14 where the Israelites did not trust that God would protect them. God s response was basically, Fine, then you will receive your judgment here. In this first example we see that disbelief shows itself in disobedience. The 2 nd example was from Genesis 6 where the angels came and had illicit sex with humans (yes, this is definitely an odd part of scripture). But the main point is that they were not interested in their own responsibilities and fell to pride and lust. The 3 rd examples is from Sodom and Gomorrah from Genesis 19. In this story the people in these cities were sinful in their lack of hospitality & sexual immorality. In the end Jude warns against pride, unbelief, sexual immorality, lust, greed and rebellion. Read Jude As Jude lays out what happened in each of these scenarios, was the penalty against individuals or a group of people? Why is this significant? a. How does this shape our response to cultural pressures? b. Have you ever experienced how your decisions effect other people? Give examples. 2- Where do you see pride most evident in your life? What has happened to you when you give in to it? 3- Hospitality seems like an odd thing for Jude to mention but why is hospitality incredibly important? 4- Sexual immorality is mentioned quite frequently in scripture and is always in a description of a fall of an empire, King or leader. Why is this always the case? a. What do you do to create the necessary boundaries in your own life? b. Do you feel pressure when it comes to this area of your life? Why or why not? 5- How does Jude describe the false teachers? 6- In verse 12, Jude mentions love feasts which were dinners that were centered around fellowship of believers and always ended with taking communion together. Why is it important to eat together? a. What other ways does Jude describe the false teachers at the love feasts? 7- How does Jude describe the ungodly in v 16? Are there parts of you that kind be described in the same way? a. Why is it important to always stay objective and have people who you can stay accountable too? 8- What are the ways that you can fight against false teaching or give into cultural pressures?

4 Prayer Focus: Conviction in areas of weakness, strength in temptation, clarity in finding the way out Week 3 Opening Thought: If someone were to ask you to define Christianity in the U.S. today, what would you say? (both good and bad) Jude finishes this letter by talking about the need for perseverance and to protect ourselves against those who mock religion with their words or actions. He also ends by referencing the fact that there will be an eternal judgment on all of us. Read Jude How do you see scoffers in our world today? Do you have any friends that would fit into that description a. How do we treat those who fall into that category? b. Is being silent ok? 2- In verse 19, how does Jude describe scoffers? 3- What does it mean that the Spirit isn t in someone? 4- In verses 20,21 Jude gives 4 ways to go against false teachers. What are they? 5- In verses 22,23 Jude says that we should respond to those who follow false teachers in a certain way. How should we act? 6- The reference of eternal judgment is clearly a serious one. There are several different views on Hell: (there are variations on all of these but this list are the main categories) a. Universalist Everyone gets in to Heaven so no one goes b. Traditional Eternal torment c. Annihilation All evil and those who didn t believe in God would just vanish and become non existent d. Exclusive Jesus is the only way, those who do not profess will go to Hell and there is no getting out. e. Inclusive Jesus is still the only way but maybe there is more there. For instance, maybe he does save others who never heard the gospel. Maybe he does save the muslim, hindu, Buddhist person that was never exposed to the message of Jesus in the way that western Christianity has. f. What are your thoughts on Hell? 7- Why do you think everyone is ok with judgment here on earth but isn t when it comes to God? Do you see a problem with that at all? 8- Does it take away from God s love if there is a Hell?

5 9- Read Matthew 5:21-22, Matthew 7:21-23, Matthew 8:10-12, Matthew 25:41-43, Revelation 3:16. What does the Bible say about hell? (these are just a small portion of scriptures that talk about it) a. How does this make you feel? Prayer Focus: Being built up in our faith, opportunities to share the gospel, boldness, courage