Consider these 3 statements:

• Do it because I say so.
• Do it or else.
• Do it to please me and to show how mature you are.

Share occasions when one of them has been used in your home life. How did you feel about it?

The aim is to look briefly at three passages of Scripture and compare how God/Jesus/Paul influence or command people in them. Try to cover all three rather than become hung up on one.

A. Jeremiah 18:1-10

1. How would you summarize the message this passage had for Israel?
2. Verse 6 says "You are like clay in my hand". How does this make you feel?
3. How far do we really have freedom and how far is God ultimately controlling what happens to us?

B. Luke 14:25-35

1. "If anyone does not carry his cross he cannot be my disciple". How would you explain this to somebody asking what it means.
2. Verses 28-33 say you must count the cost before you start. If you had known in advance what becoming a Christian would involve, would you have still done it? Why? And what has been the cost?

C. Philemon

1. Make a list of the reasons Paul gives (or implies) for why Philemon should take back his runaway slave.
2. Can you think of times when people have sought to persuade you to do something you weren't sure about? What methods did they use? How did you feel?