1. What stuck out in today’s message? What did you find challenging and encouraging? Did you learn anything new?
2. How do you typically view prayer as part of your regular daily life? What emotions or thoughts first come with the idea of prayer?
3. Read 1 Timothy 2:1–6. Why does Paul start his letter to his student, Timothy, this way?
4. Pastor Anthony compares prayer to maintaining friendships. How might viewing prayer as relationship-building with God change your approach to it?
5. What does Paul connect praying for authorities to in this passage? Why do you think he does this?
6. What one of the four categories of prayer mentioned do you practice most often? Which one(s) do you find most challenging?
7. What challenges do you face when praying for leaders you might disagree with?
8. Why do you think God wants us to share details in prayer even though He already knows everything?
9. Take time this week to practice each one of these prayer categories. Note which one(s) you find joy and encouragement, and which one(s) you feel frustrated or challenged.
   Supplication: to humbly and earnestly plead on behalf of someone or something.
   Intercession: Praying on behalf of others
   Thanksgiving: Expressing gratitude to God for things in your life or others
   Prayers for all people

If you are looking for additional prayer resources, you can look through the Practicing the Way’s The Prayer Practice videos and The Prayer Course videos on Right Now Media.

1. What stuck out in today’s message? What did you find challenging and encouraging? Did you learn anything new?
2. In what ways have you experienced a “clash of kingdoms” in your daily life, similar to Pastor Mark’s Best Buy interview story?
3. Peter gives four commands at the end of this passage (v.17). Rewrite each in your own words.
4. From Peter’s words in this passage, what does it mean to live as people who are free? How is this different from the world’s definition of freedom?
5. Peter tells the church to be subject to authorities and to live as free people in this passage. How does this seeming contradiction actually make sense in our dual citizenship as believers?
6. According to Peter, how does being a citizen of God’s Kingdom change the way you should interact with earthly authorities, neighbors, and other church members?
7. Read 1 Peter 1:3–9. From what you observe in these verses, what is Peter praying that this church would focus on?
8. If our co-workers, our friends, or our family were to do an audit of our lives—not of what we say but how we act around them and truly live—what would they say our focus is?
9. What are some things (relationships, social media, habits, etc.) that might distract you from living differently?
10. What does it practically look like to show love to our brothers and sisters in Christ?
11. Think of a person (government leader, institutional leader, person in the body of Christ) and write out a list of the reasons they don’t deserve your respect, honor, or love. Pray to give that list to God and for that person daily this week, asking God to help you see them as He does and to show them honor, respect, and love as image-bearers of God.
    

1. What stuck out in today’s message? What did you find challenging and encouraging? Did you learn anything new?
2. What are your first reactions (thoughts and feelings) when you read this passage?
3. Read Romans 13:1–10. Put yourself in the place of the Roman Christians that Paul is writing to. What would you be thinking and feeling hearing these words?
4. What does it mean to be subject to the governing authorities (v.1)?
5. From the passage, what are the qualities of a governing authority and what are the qualities of a citizen?
6. What is Paul trying to communicate by connecting taxes, revenue, respect, and honor in verse 7?
7. Pastor Jacob defines a good citizen as someone who gives of their resources, respect, and honor due to their authority. Which of these is easier for you to do? Which of these is harder to do?
8. Why is it difficult to trust God’s sovereignty in governing authorities?
9. What does it look like to prioritize our heavenly kingdom over our earthly one while still being subject to the political leaders around us?
10. Take time this week to read a biography about a political leader you disagreed with recently with the lens of seeing them as created in the image of God (be alert to stories that are misleading or vilifying this person). After reading the biography, walk through the linked prayer guide to write out a prayer for them.

1. What stuck out in today’s message? What did you find challenging and encouraging? Did you learn anything new?
2. How would you define a citizen from what you have learned in this series so far?
3. Read John 18:28–19:16, then specifically 18:33-40. Put yourself in the place of each of the characters in this passage: Jesus, Pilate, and the Jewish leaders. For each character, answer the following: who do they see as authority? How can you see this in their words and/or actions?
4. How do you see the cross and citizenship intertwined in this passage?
5. How does the example of Jesus and the cross show me how to be a citizen?
6. In what relationships and areas of life is it the hardest to imitate Jesus? In what areas of life is it easier to imitate Jesus?

1. What stuck out in today’s message? What did you find challenging and encouraging? Did you learn anything new?
2. What are your first thoughts and feelings when you hear the words taxes and generosity? How do those thoughts and feelings affect how you read passages like this one?
3. Read Matthew 22:15–40. (This entire passage is a series of 3 questions (v. 15–22, 23–33, 34–40) that the religious leaders asked to try and trick Jesus.) What do you notice about the religious leaders? What do you notice about Jesus’s behavior/response? How does the crowd react?
4. These questions come toward the end of Jesus’s life. What does Jesus identify as important to share in his last days on earth?
5. What parts of your life are the hardest to trust God with? Why?
6. Look at your life from the last few weeks. Does your generosity match your gratitude? Explain your answer.

   If you are looking for more resources, there are some discussions around generosity in the Practicing the Way practice in Right Now Media or the Bible Project’s overview of generosity.

1. What stuck out from this message? What did you find challenging and encouraging? Did you learn anything new?
2. Watch the Bible Project’s summary of Ezra and Nehemiah. What additional insights or understanding did you gain from the video summary?
3. Read Nehemiah 1:1-11. What is Nehemiah’s reaction to hearing about the returned exiles in Jerusalem?
4. Write down the different names and descriptions of God Nehemiah’s uses in this prayer. What does this show us about how Nehemiah sees God?
5. In what areas of life/relationships/experiences can it feel easy to give an appearance of good without doing any internal change? Why is it easy to give the appearance of change?
6. What are your first thoughts and feelings when you hear the word repentance? What makes repentance difficult?

1. If you are familiar with the story of Esther, what have you found fascinating about this book of the Bible?
2. How does Mordecai’s encouragement to Esther (v.12–14) reflect his faith and trust in God’s plan and deliverance?
3. Have you ever been in a situation where you were afraid to do the right thing? How did you overcome that fear, or what held you back?
4. How can we recognize when God places us in our communities, careers, and relationships for “such a time as this” like Esther?

1. How did learning the historical context deepen your understanding of verse 11?
2. Create your own definition of being present with others from the sermon and the passage.
3. Pastor Mark mentioned “practicing faithful presence changes perspectives and priorities”. How have you seen this in your life and/or others’ lives?

1. What do you notice in these stories in Daniel’s life about his faithfulness to God? What do you notice about his relevance to the kingdom he was in also?
2. What areas of life can be difficult to remain faithful and not assimilate to the culture around us?
3. What areas of life can in be difficult to remain relevant in the culture and not isolate away out of fear or escapism?
4. What stories do you tell with your life? Who do they give glory to?

1. What labels do you feel like have chased you?
2. Why does it feel easier to label others than to learn to love and care for them?
3. Are there areas of life or specific places it’s easier to label people?
4. What does it look like this week to interact with the “Image of God” in others when we feel tempted to label them?

1. What were your previous experiences with this story? What is confusing or needs clarity?
2. Is there an area(s) of life that it’s easy to “build towers” that point to what you can do?
3. From this story, how do you know if you are building your own kingdom or God’s kingdom?

1. In what areas of life do you have opportunities to trust God? Why is it hard to trust God’s understanding and plans in these areas?
2. Read Matthew 18:23-35. How does Jesus deepen our understanding of forgiveness?
3. What areas of life is it difficult to forgive? How do we reflect Christ to our neighbors by being people of forgiveness and not anger or revenge?