2 Peter 3:1-18

 
Series Setup

Ice Breakers

  • What do you use (if anything!) to help organize your life, keep you on track, and help you remember things?

    • Does it actually work?!

    • What kinds of things slip through the cracks most easily?

    • Are there some things that you never forget / always remember to take care of?

      • What are they?

      • Why do you think it’s easy to remember those?

Food for Thought

  • In our focal passage, Peter says this is the second time he’s tried to “stir up sincere understanding” by way of reminder. Big picture: what is he wanting the readers of his letter to remember?

    • What are other people trying to tell them is true instead?

    • What’s the difference between what Peter’s reminding his readers of and what scoffers are trying to tell them?

      • How are the facts different?

  • While Peter offers a very different take from the scoffers, they’re all speaking to the same situation: people who have been kicked out, scattered, and persecuted. How are the scoffers offering a false version of care to those living in fear or worry of the future?

    • What might that kind of scoffing sound like today?

    • What makes that scoffing so believable or appealing?

    • What might that stir up that’s different from what Peter’s reminders stir up?

  • It’s one thing to forget a task, something on your calendar, or an item at the grocery store; it’s another thing to forget truths about the Lord, the world, and the people in it! What’s something you can easily forget that you “know” is true about God, his people, the world he made, and where he’s taking everything… including you?!

    • How does that forgetfulness show up tangibly in your life, mind, relationships, etc.? What should we look for?

    • Why are those sorts of things easy to forget for you sometimes? Are there certain situations, seasons, relationships, etc. that make it hard to remember what’s true?

    • What brings you back? How can we best remind you of what’s good and true?

  • Is anyone suffering from fear, worry, anxiety, etc. around the way the world is, their world is, or anything else? Do you feel your own heart scoffing or susceptible to the scoffing of others?

    • How do Christ’s return, God’s future judgment, and his present patience offer care to your heart—in the form of promise and/or warning?

    • Which of those are hard to believe? Why?

    • How can we be a hopeful, patient, and steadfast community for you?

 
Who Cares?Scott O'Donohoe