Discussion Questions

Chuck Pike says the message Jesus and the apostles preached “was not a personal salvation with a personal Savior…the message…was the kingdom of God”; what specific parts of your gospel “pitch” would have to change if the kingdom (and Jesus as King) became the center again? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the “kingdom of God” and Jesus as King became the main point again, what would you change about how you usually explain the gospel to people?

In the “throw down the gauntlet” challenge—“If I could prove to you from the Old Testament prophecies that Jesus was the Son of God, would you follow him?”—what do you learn about heart-level honesty from the friend who replied “Yes…now you’re going to have to prove it to me,” and how would your evangelism change if you only invited people to commitments they could rationally test? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does your friend’s answer (“Yes—now prove it”) teach you about being honest at the heart level, and how would you share your faith differently if you only asked people to commit to things they could actually check for themselves?

The friend’s objections were (1) “nobody monkeyed with the Scriptures over time” and (2) “problems with some of the things that Paul taught”; why does Chuck insist on starting earlier (“First, let’s figure out if Jesus was the Son of God and He rose from the dead”), and what does that priority reveal about how early Christians might have handled doubts and secondary controversies? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Why does Chuck start with proving Jesus is the Son of God and rose from the dead before talking about Scripture changes or Paul’s teachings, and what does that suggest about how early Christians handled doubts and side issues?

In Genesis 49, Chuck leans hard into the lion imagery—“he sleeps…who shall rouse him?”—arguing that “sleep” often means death and resurrection; what convinces you (or not) that this is a legitimate prophetic reading rather than creative symbolism, and what does it imply about how God hides meaning in Scripture? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Do you think the “lion” and “sleep” language in Genesis 49 really points to death and resurrection, or is it just symbolism, and what would that mean about how God hides meaning in Scripture?

In 2 Samuel 7 / 1 Chronicles 17, God refuses David’s “great idea” to build the temple and replaces it with His own plan for an eternal throne; where do you see the same collision today between sincere religious ambition and God’s actual agenda, and how do you discern the difference without just calling everything “God’s will”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you see people today chasing big religious plans that may not match what God wants, and how can you tell the difference without just labeling everything “God’s will”?

Chuck emphasizes that God’s reply to Solomon was conditional—“Your throne will be established forever if you and your descendants follow my commands”—and then uses Solomon’s fall (wives, wealth, idolatry) as a warning; what does this do to modern assumptions that God’s promises are detached from obedience, and where do you feel resistance to that idea in your own theology? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If God’s promise to Solomon depended on obedience, how does that challenge the idea that God’s promises don’t connect to how we live, and where do you personally push back against that?

Lactantius gives four reasons the 2 Samuel 7 promise cannot ultimately be Solomon (timing after David’s death, “forever” kingdom, “forever” temple, and being called “Son of God”); which of these arguments is strongest to you, which feels weakest, and how would you respond to someone who says Christians are “reading Jesus back into” the Old Testament? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Which of Lactantius’s four reasons best shows the 2 Samuel 7 promise can’t ultimately be about Solomon, which reason seems weakest, and how would you answer someone who says Christians are forcing Jesus into the Old Testament?

Chuck’s explanation of “Son of God” rejects both Muslim objections (“God can’t have a Son”) and mythological misunderstandings (“God and Mary got together”), saying the Son is eternal and “has His origin in the Father”; how does this definition challenge casual or sloppy ways Christians use the phrase “Son of God,” and what practical difference should it make in worship and proclamation? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does Chuck’s meaning of “Son of God” correct common misunderstandings, and what difference should it make in how Christians worship and talk about Jesus?

In Psalm 2, the commands “Serve the Lord with fear…Kiss the Son lest he be angry and you perish” present the Messiah’s reign as confrontational and dangerous to resist; how does that tone compare with modern Christianity’s comfort-first messaging, and what would repentance and “submission to the King” look like in specific areas of your life? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Psalm 2 warns people not to resist the Messiah; how does that compare with today’s comfort-focused Christianity, and what would real repentance and submitting to Jesus as King look like in your life?

Chuck argues Daniel 9 locks the Messiah’s death into history—Jerusalem rebuilt, Messiah “cut off,” then the city destroyed in AD 70—and concludes, “If anybody’s still waiting for the Messiah to come, they miss the boat”; how should this kind of time-bound prophecy shape your confidence, your humility in argument, and the way you talk to Jewish friends or skeptical “truth seekers” who demand evidence? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Daniel 9 ties the Messiah’s death to real dates in history, how should that affect your confidence, your humility in arguments, and how you talk with Jewish friends or skeptics who want evidence?