Retreat Discussion Questions – “Blessed Are the Upside-Down”
These questions are here to stimulate dialogue about today’s topic – feel free to skip around or discuss items not listed below.
- Do any aspects of Jesus’ teaching in this sermon resonate with your personal values or life experience?
- The Greek term for “poor” means deep poverty. How does that change your understanding of Jesus’ blessing for the “poor in spirit”
- What challenges or tensions arise when we try to live out these “upside-down” values in our everyday lives?
- Jesus describes himself and Moses as meek. What does meekness look like in modern life? Have you ever encountered someone who embodied this?
- What role does mercy play in your interactions with others? Can you share a time when showing or receiving mercy changed a relationship?
- Have you ever felt a deep longing for justice or restoration, like being “hungry and thirsty” for things to be made right? What situations in the world or your own life bring up that feeling for you?
- The sermon mentioned that peacemakers are those who help bring others into harmony with God. In a world filled with conflict, how do you see the role of a “peacemaker”? Can anyone embody this role, regardless of faith?
- The sermon highlighted how Jesus showed value to people who were often overlooked or marginalised. How does that message challenge societal norms today, especially in terms of who is considered important or valuable?
- After hearing this message, is there anything about the “upside-down kingdom” that stands out to you as particularly relevant to your own life?
Thank you for coming today and contributing to our discussion.
by: Jinha Kim
"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14