Why do you think that Jesus refers in Luke 6:20-26 to poverty, and hunger, and sadness, and rejection as blessings? Why do you think that he refers to wealth, and comfort, and affirmation as curses? How are we to reconcile this teaching with how we naturally define and think of blessings and curses?

Why do you think that the human heart is so prone to believing that fulfillment and satisfaction can be found in worldly things? Why do you think that it is so prone to forgetting that God is the only one who can and will satisfy us?

What can we be doing to press back against this tendency in our hearts (of searching for meaning in things other than God)? How can we be actively pursuing satisfaction in God instead?

In Luke 6:27-36, Jesus gives us an elevated command - not just to love our neighbors and friends, but to love our enemies. To love those who hate us and seek to do us harm. How can we, as Christians, have any hope for success in obeying this command?

How does Christ’s sacrificial love for us mobilize us to extend sacrificial love toward others - including our enemies?

What is the difference between behavioral modification (obedience for obedience’s sake) and the gospel-centered Christian life (obedience as a response to the grace of God)? How can we work to exhibit the latter, and not the former?

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