Sermon Summary: In Luke 4, Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where Jesus fasts for forty days, is attacked by Satan, and finally faces three major temptations. Although Satan tempts Jesus to doubt his Father’s love and care for Him, Jesus resists temptation by clinging closely to the scriptures (especially from Deuteronomy 6-8). After this testing, Jesus emerges clearly as the true and obedient Son of God. We learn that Jesus is God’s true Son Israel who succeeds in the Wilderness testing when Israel could not. Jesus fulfills God’s covenant for all who believe. Secondarily, Jesus shows us God’s true image for humanity giving us an example for resisting temptation.
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Memory Verse: “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 8:3 (ESV)
Discussion Questions:
- Read through Luke 4:1-13. We recommend using the questions from the DNA Meeting Guide to help guide your study of this text. The guide also gives your DNA group a simple structure to work through the passage and discuss together.
- Getting to the Heart - What does it mean for us that Jesus remains fully obedient and faithful in the wilderness temptations/testing (while Israel and all of us failed)? How is this good news specifically for you today?
- Living the Way of Jesus - Think about an area of your life that you regularly find yourself tempted in. What can you learn from Jesus' example in how he fights temptation? How might the Spirit be leading you to apply this in your life?
Kids Worship Questions:
- What is the longest you have ever gone without food? How do you typically respond when you are extremely hungry?
- Read Luke 4:1-13. What sticks out to you in this passage? What questions do you have?
- Does God love and relate to us on the basis of how well we do? Why is Jesus obedience in the wilderness good news for us?
- What is an area of temptation in your life (anger at a sibling, disobeying, mean to others, lying, etc.)? What can we learn from Jesus about how we can resist the temptation to sin?