Matthew 7:7-11 Growth Group Application Questions

Here is my sermon to listen to if you were not able to be there on Sunday. 

Here are the growth group application questions:

1. Before you get started with your group take some time to think about the gospel.  Don't just spend five minutes but let each of you respond with thanksgiving to the Father for the salvation he has graciously bestowed upon you.  Confess your need for Jesus.  Then move into a time of intercession for your loved ones and neighbors who do not know and trust in Jesus.   Think about the fact that they are on a trajectory towards Hell, cry out to God to save them.  Pray for boldness to share with them.  

2. What are some obstacles that keep you from persistently praying to the Father through Jesus by the Spirit?  (i.e. feeling God is distant, having no needs, impatience, forgetting the character of God, duty vs. love)  What can you do to overcome some of these obstacles?  What is the Father calling you to do?  What changes is He telling you to make?

3. When you do pray what goes through your mind?  Do you try to say the right things or just say what is on your mind?  Be honest.   What steps are you going to take to be more persistent in your prayer life to the Father. 

4. Look up Scriptures referring to the Father and share with one another the beauty of the doctrine of adoption.  The Father only has our "good" in mind. v. 11 How can knowing and believing this fact make a difference in your communicating to the Father in prayer?  

Serving Him, 

Pastor Mark

Matthew 7:7-11 Ask, Seek, Knock

Ask, Seek, Knock

Matthew 7:7-11

Crossroads Community Church

Pastor Mark Petras

Sunday February 19, 2012

Introduction:  My son Micah loves Spiderman so much so that it has become his favorite thing to talk about.  His heart is set on wanting a flying Spiderman toy.  In fact he has been

Psalm 23 Growth Group Application Questions

Here is my sermon to listen to if you were not able to make it on Sunday.

Here are the questions:

1. Share with one another the riches you have in Christ Jesus.  How rich are we?  Find Scriptures describing the abundance we have from our Good Shepherd Jesus, and share them with one another and rejoice in how the Lord has given us all things in Christ Jesus. (v.1 "I shall not want.")

2. We all get discontent pretty quickly.  What are some things in your life that blind you from your true contentment in the Lord? Confess to one another your sin and pray for endurance to remain satisfied and content in the Lord. v.1

3.  The Lord protects.  Share with one another how the Lord has protected you.

4. Talk about how the Lord pursues us non-stop and why this is so comforting to hear.   What lies do you tend to believe in that convinces you otherwise?  Pray for one another to grow in your understanding of grace.


I pray and hope you are blessed by Spirit-directed discussion.

Serving our Chief Shepherd,

Pastor Mark

Psalm 23 Wonderful Shepherd-Lord

Wonderful Shepherd-Lord

Psalm 23

Crossroads Community Church

(Presbyterian home sermon)

Pastor Mark Petras

January 29, 2012

Introduction:  The Lord deeply cares for His people.

(Crossroads): This is a very familiar Psalm but very rich. Why? 

Habakkuk 3:1-19 Growth Group Application Questions

Here is my sermon if you did not get a chance to listen to it.

Here are the application questions for Growth Group:

1.  Discuss the phrase: "In wrath remember mercy" from Habakkuk 3:2.  How does this relate to the gospel?  And how does knowing this attribute about God affect our every day lives, in times of adversity both large and small?  How are you humbly submitting to the Lord's divine judgment?

2. Share a time of intense trial and hardship and how the Lord met you in that suffering.  Praise God for His faithfulness in prayer for one another. What did you learn during that time?

3.  What would you say to someone who is in a time of adversity but is not a believer? What Scriptures would use to support your statements?  Why?

4. Read Habakkuk 3:17-19 and discuss the wonder of it.  Discuss how apart from the Lord there is no hope.  How are you trusting in the Lord right now in the big as well as the small things of life?  How are you rejoicing in His divine salvation?

Serving Him,

Pastor Mark

Habakkuk 3:1-19 A God-Centered Faith

A God-Centered Faith

Habakkuk 3:1-19

Short series: “The Righteous Shall Live by Faith”

Crossroads Community Church

Pastor Mark Petras

January 22, 2012

Introduction:  Our God is absolutely and completely trustworthy no matter what happens in our lives.

This is where Habakkuk concludes.  It does not end in more questions

Habakkuk 1:12 - 2:20 Living by Faith

Living by Faith

Habakkuk 1:12 – 2:20

Short series: “The Righteous Shall Live by Faith”

Crossroads Community Church

Pastor Mark Petras

January 15, 2012

Introduction:  God has created us and called us to live dependently on Him.  Our sin convinces us otherwise and deceives us into thinking that that we can live independently from God.  

We need to remember that Habakkuk is a true prophet of God who deeply loves the Lord.   He is not some