Grateful for an Unshakeable Kingdom

Sermon Application Questions

1. Verses 18-21 and 22-24 depict two different ways to encounter God. What does each emphasize about what God is like? What effect do you think God wants vv. 22-24 to have on us after first reading vv. 18-21?

2. There is a tension in this passage; on the one hand, God wants his people to have assurance of his acceptance; v. 22 says that his people have already come to all the realities he lists in vv. 22-24. On the other hand, he warns that if they refuse God’s voice, there will be no escape for them (v. 25). How should we hold these truths together? How does 3:12-14 help us understand this?

3. V. 25 warns us not to refuse God’s voice. Is there any area of your life in which you are falling short of believing what God has promised or doing what he has commanded? How can your Gospel Community pray for you in this area?

4. V. 28 says that ‘acceptable worship’ is both 'grateful' and marked by ‘reverence and awe.’ Do you find that either gratitude or awe come more naturally to you in your relationship with God? How can you cultivate the one that seems less characteristic of you?