Governor Gavin the Great? Luke 20:19-26

1. Religious hypocrisy is a dangerous sin because we’re all prone to fall into it. 2 Timothy 3:5 describes it as “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” What is an area of your life in which religious hypocrisy can creep in easily? Ie. Looking good in front of people but not being truthful or genuine.

2. Hebrews 4:13 says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things aare open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Why is it sometimes easy to forget that God sees everything? How do we daily overcome the thought and expression that the things we do are hidden from God?

3. When Jesus said, “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,” He acknow-ledged that God has ordained civil government and given it a proper place of authority. Being honest with your group, how does this make you feel? How do you respond? How can you do better in submitting yourself to the governing authorities?

44. In Dan. 4:27 Daniel appealed to Nebuchadnezzar to turn from his sins and to do rightly. He firmly confronted Belshazzar for his spiritual and moral carelessness. In our day, we often see people engage government leaders the wrong way. Sometimes they are shouted and screamed at. Other times people throw stuff on them or at them. Harassment and assault are never acceptable (or Biblical) confrontation tactics. What are some ways we can respectfully confront government leaders with whom we disagree?

55. One area of great importance in our Christian walk is prayer. While it is easy to pray for those we love and pray that God would fulfill our wants and needs, it is much harder to pray for those we don’t like, our enemies, and those in government that we disagree with many levels. Do you pray for those with whom you disagree? Do you pray for your enemies? Do you pray for your leaders with whom you disagree? Take some time to pray for specific government leaders with whom you disagree.