Stretch Out Your Hand

Take a few minutes to catch up, tell stories, and laugh together. Trust and friendship take time to build. If you’re launching a new DNA, one person should tell their story — what do we need to know about you? Next week, have another person in your DNA share their story.

Jesus has the ability to restore and heal all dimensions of life. What we'll
see throughout Matthew 12, is Jesus inviting the most hard-hearted to
experience the transformation he offers, but they won’t see it.
 Some will stretch out their hand towards Jesus, like the man we encounter in this passage, while others will keep him at arms length, even plotting to kill him. We see how Jesus desires for all people to know him and trust him, however it’s ultimately on each of us to stretch out our hands in response and trust him. 

How are you postured toward Jesus?
 Are you like the man with the shriveled hand, reaching out to Jesus in trust?
 Or are you like the religious legalists, resisting Jesus because He did things the "wrong way"?

1. One of the biggest obstacles to following Jesus is taking hold of a system rather than The Savior.
   What areas of your life is legalism slipping in and seperating you from Jesus?

2. Instead of "rule following", our goal should be knowing and walking with Jesus(the One who set the rules in place to begin with). Just because we may know things about God does not mean we truly know Him.
Examine your heart; where do you feel like your relationship with God? Do you know a lot about Him yet don't really know Him?
Do you have a close relationship with Him?

3. In this passage, Jesus declares He is Lord over the Sabbath. He demonstrates that He is the highest authority over both morality and creation. Some of us struggle to accept the idea that Jesus gets to dictate our views on morality.
What ideas/views do you not allow Jesus to have final authority in?

Take time to pray with and for each other.

Enduring Word Commentary:  Matthew 12