Matthew 17:1-9
August 6, 2023
Lead in #1: What happened on the mountain that day is about more than Jesus being transfigured. As Peter, James, and John came to recognize the glory of the transfigured Christ, so can we come to recognize the more subtle hidden glory of every person we encounter.
Prompt #1: Reflect on a time when you came to recognize the more subtle hidden glory in someone that you had not previously recognized.
Lead in #2: On a beach, I once saw a dad leading his three-year old son down to the edge of the water. The love the dad had for his son was obvious. On the mountain that day, the disciples came to see the love that God Father had for his Son. Seeing this new love for Jesus begins to burn in the disciple’s hearts.
Prompt #2: For whom does your heart burn with love?
Prompt #3: Reflect on a time that you felt your heart burning with love for Jesus. If that’s not your experience, what would it take for that to happen?
Lead in #3: If Jesus kept a diary after his experience with the disciples on the mountain, his entry might have begun., “Once again, Peter came up with another bad idea. Building three monuments, one for me, one for Moses, and one for Elijiah.” Instead, Jesus made it clear to the disciples that they had more important things to do. So, it was back to work and down the mountain they went. The church exists primarily not to build monuments, but to be on a mission.
Prompt #4: What do you feel called to do to join a church on a mission?
Lead in #4: Like Peter, we want to cling to the God of glory. Instead, Jesus pulls us up from the dust and says, “Get up. Listen to my voice. And then go out and be my voice. Walk with me and be transfigured and then go out and transfigure the world with the love I’ve shown you.”
Prompt #5: Where is it in your life right now that Jesus is pulling you up from the dust and telling you to get going?
Lead in #5: While Peter was going on babbling about making three monuments, from the cloud that surrounded Jesus came a voice. It said the same thing the day Jesus came out of the river after his baptism, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Prompt #6: When have you caught yourself babbling on about something not that important, when you needed to be listening to the thing that was really important? When have you done that with God?
