Friday, July 18th

Opening Question: Have you ever been locked out of your house or apartment? What did you do?

Luke 13:22-30
22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching the people. He was on his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them, 24 "Try very hard to enter through the narrow door. I tell you, many will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 "The owner of the house will get up and close the door. Then you will stand outside knocking and begging. You will say, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you. And I don't know where you come from.' 26 "Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you. You taught in our streets.' 27 "But he will reply, 'I don't know you. And I don't know where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil!' 28 "You will sob and grind your teeth when you see those who are in God's kingdom. You will see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets there. But you yourselves will be thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south. They will take their places at the feast in God's kingdom. 30 Then the last will be first. And the first will be last. "

Definitions:
saved -- rescued from God’s judgment and made right with Him.
sob -- to cry
grind – to press together tightly.
God’s kingdom -- heaven, where God rules, and which will come down to earth when Jesus returns.
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- the founding fathers of Judaism, the religion of the Jews.
prophets -- men who spoke God’s word to the Jews, the people of Israel.
east, west, north, south -- people from all the different nations of the world.
feast -- a big dinner party, like after a wedding.
the last / the first -- the non-Jews and the Jews (the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob).

Questions:
1. What’s happening in the story Jesus tells about the narrow door?
2. Who does the owner represent? And the door? And the people knocking?
3. What does it means to “know” Jesus, and why do we have to “know” him to enter heaven?
4. Are you saved? If so, how does that affect your daily life?
5. How can we be saved?