In Luke 10:25-29, before Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan, an expert in the law tests Him with a question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by pointing back to the commandments to love God and love your neighbor. But when the man presses further - “Who is my neighbor?” - Jesus tells the story.

This “story before the story” show us three truths:

1. Every story has tough tests: Following Jesus means our faith will be tested, not to make us fail but to strengthen us (James 1:2-4).

2. Every story has unanswered questions: Life brings pain, grief, and mystery, but God is present with us even when we don’t have all the answers (Psalm 56:8).

3. Every story is deeply personal: Jesus meets people differently depending on their need, and His call to “be the neighbor” challenges us to show compassion and love beyond our comfort zones.

Ultimately, the Gospel reminds us that we were once outsiders, but Jesus calls us His neighbors and welcomes us into God’s family (Ephesians 2:13). The call is not just to “love our neighbor,” but to “be the neighbor” - reflecting Christ’s mercy to everyone around us.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. When have you experienced a “test” in your faith? How did it shape or strengthen your relationship with God?
2. Why do you think God sometimes leaves our questions unanswered? How do you personally deal with uncertainty or doubt?
3. Jesus’ response to people was always personal. How has He uniquely met you in your story?
4. Who in your life right now might God be asking you to “be the neighbor” to? What makes that difficult or challenging?
5. How does remembering “we were once outsiders” change the way we treat others who are different from us?

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📍 English Worship Jogja | A place to encounter God, grow in community, and walk in purpose.

🔗 Website: ewjogja.com
📸 Instagram: @ewjogja

There’s some people that just make us feel uncomfortable and trigger our insecurities. Why is that? It’s because we’re insecure. That’s why we compare and compete. We’re insecure in our identity, our value, and our calling, and so we look around to see what everyone else is doing. And we feel secure as long as we feel like we’re better/richer/smarter/prettier than the rest. When someone who has more shows up, we feel small and separate ourselves from them. It’s a fake kind of security that is easily lost.

But we don’t have to live that way! We are given security in our identity and relationship with God. We are valuable because He says we are, and nothing can change that. Our security is found in Him. Being secure then changes the way we live and the way we interact with others.

If we look at the parable found in Matthew 25:14-30, we see the difference that being secure makes. The man with 1 talent was insecure in his identity and relationship with the master so he failed to fulfill his purpose and missed out on the joy of the master. The men with 2 and 5 talents knew who they were and how good the master was, so they were able to faithfully fulfill their call and rejoice with the master.

Finding our security in God helps us not live in fear. Being secure in our identity in Christ comes from knowing that our failures don’t take away from our value or position. We won’t be afraid of disappointing people when we don’t need validation from them. We won’t be afraid of failing when we’re secure in our identity because we know that God catches us.

Finding our security in God stops our criticism of others. When we realize that our value and identity are ultimately found in who God says we are, we don’t need to put other people down to make ourselves feel better. And we don’t focus on other people’s success to make ourselves feel worse.

Finding our security in God opens the door for God to do greater things through us. When we’re secure, it opens the door for God to do greater things through us because we’re not putting a limit on what’s possible. We’re not playing life on defense or running scared from challenges. We’re not wasting our time comparing ourselves to others, instead we hold on to who God is and to who He says we are and we can do and be more than we ever expected.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is something you’re insecure about?
2. What does God say in His Word about the thing you’re insecure about?
3. Do you struggle with comparison or competition? What does it look like for you?
4. How can growing more secure help you stop judging others?

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📍 English Worship Jogja | A place to encounter God, grow in community, and walk in purpose.

🔗 Website: ewjogja.com
📸 Instagram: @ewjogja

No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, everyone is welcome!

Our faith is more of a journey than a trip. While a trip is a planned event with a specific destination, a journey is an adventure focused on experience and transformation.

1. Everyone is called to the journey. Everyone is on a path of twists and turns, ups and downs. Social media often shows a “highlight reel”, making it seem like others have it all together, but the truth is everyone has their own struggles. Just as Jesus called a simple fisherman like Peter to follow him, He calls us all to journey with Him, providing purpose and meaning.

2. Everyone has challenges on the journey. Let’s face it… we all have struggles, issues, and moments of doubt, fear, and insecurity. We often feel pressure to hide our flaws, but Jesus came for the imperfect, welcoming sinners and outcasts. Everyone brings their past hurts and experiences into community. One of the biggest is relational challenges, like the misconception of finding “the one”that has confused so many young people. You are free to date and marry whomever you like, as long as you submit yourself to God’s Word and choose someone within Biblical boundaries.

3. Everyone can change on the journey. Change and transformation are possible and not just a myth, but a promise. The story of the Apostle Peter, who went from a fisherman to an Apostle shows that no one is beyond redemption and your past doesn’t define your future. This transformation is often a slow and steady process, not a dramatic, one-time event. The key is to ask, “Can you do it for a day?”

At English Worship Jogja, you are welcome with your messy, struggling, imperfect life, because this is a place where you can be changed.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. LIfe is described as a “journey” rather than a “trip.” What are the key differences between those two concepts for you spiritually?
2. Social media often shows a “highlight reel” of people’s lives. How does this “highlight reel” affect your view of your own spiritual journey and the spiritual journey of others?
3. Before the Apostle Peter became a leader in the early church, we see his failures, like his denial of Jesus. Can you share a time when you experienced a significant challenge or “failure” in your own faith journey? What did you learn from it?
4. The idea of “waiting for the one” can be confusing and hurtful, and a potentially harmful theological concept. How have popular ideas about dating and marriage influenced your own expectations, and what kind of biblical perspective should we have?
5. Transformation is described as a “daily” process, not a dramatic one-time event. What is one small, daily change you can commit to making this week to move forward on your spiritual journey?

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📍 English Worship Jogja | A place to encounter God, grow in community, and walk in purpose.

🔗 Website: ewjogja.com
📸 Instagram: @ewjogja