Discussion Questions

Jesus ends His teaching on prayer in Luke 11 by saying the Father will “give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him”; what does that reveal about what God most wants to give, and how does that challenge the way you typically approach prayer requests? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jesus says the Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask. What does that show God most wants to give, and how does it challenge what you usually ask for in prayer?

Chuck says early Christians took the Lord’s Prayer literally—praying it regularly with “feeling and meaning, understanding each clause”; what specific lines of the Lord’s Prayer would most reshape your spiritual priorities if you prayed them that way, and what keeps that from happening? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If you prayed the Lord’s Prayer often and really meant each line, which lines would change what you care about most? What keeps you from praying it that way?

Chuck wrestles with the tension between receiving the Spirit at baptism (Acts 2:38; John 3:3–5) and still needing to “ask” and be “filled”; how do you put those Scriptures together without flattening either one, and what would it look like to seek “more of the Holy Spirit” in a non-emotional, promise-trusting way? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How can you believe you receive the Spirit at baptism and still need to ask and be filled, without ignoring either teaching? What would it look like to ask for more of the Holy Spirit by trusting God’s promise, not chasing strong emotions?

Chuck uses a marriage-covenant analogy to explain assurance without relying on feelings; how does that way of thinking confront common evangelical instincts about “knowing you’re saved,” and what might it require you to change about how you evaluate your spiritual state day to day? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does the marriage-covenant example challenge the way many evangelicals try to “know they’re saved”? What would you need to change about how you judge your spiritual condition day by day?

In Luke 11, Jesus commends “persistence/importunity” that is almost “obnoxious and embarrassing”; what would “importunate” prayer for the Holy Spirit sound like in your real life, and what fears (pride, disappointment, loss of control, looking foolish) make you reluctant to pray that way? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jesus praises prayer that keeps asking even when it feels pushy. What would that kind of bold, persistent prayer for the Holy Spirit sound like in your life, and what fears make you hold back?

Chuck describes being raised with cessationism, not being convinced, and also never personally witnessing what he’d call genuine miracles; how should a church obey Matthew 7:22–23 (“many wonders… I never knew you”) while still obeying Ephesians 5:17–19 (“be filled with the Spirit”)—and what tests would you use to discern maturity when signs are claimed? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How should a church take Jesus’ warning about “many wonders” seriously while still obeying “be filled with the Spirit”? When people claim signs or miracles, how would you test whether they are spiritually mature?

Chuck connects the Exodus tabernacle filled with glory (cloud/fire) to the Christian body as “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 6); how does that picture change what “holiness” means—from merely avoiding bad behavior to protecting sacred space—and what parts of your life feel like you’re treating the temple casually? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If your body is God’s temple, how does that change holiness from “don’t do bad things” to “protect something sacred”? Where do you act like the temple doesn’t matter much?

He warns that God destroyed the Jewish temple “more than once” for unrighteousness and says, “If we desecrate the temple… He’ll destroy us as well,” tying in Hebrews 10:26–31; how do you respond to that severity, and what does it suggest about God’s character that modern Christianity often tries to soften? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How do you react to the strong warning that God judges people who treat His temple as unholy? What does that say about God that many Christians today try to make sound less severe?

Chuck challenges listeners to take inventory—bitterness, wrath, anger (Eph 4), and especially internet pornography—and then urges confession to a trusted brother/sister (James 5:16); what concrete “temple-cleansing” steps would actually change your habits this month, and what excuses do you tend to hide behind when the issue is private sin? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What specific steps could you take this month to clean out sins like anger, bitterness, or porn, and change your habits? What excuses do you use when the sin is private, and how could confession to a trusted believer help?

Chuck calls unity “the last frontier,” critiques multiple “worldly” unity strategies (Rome’s centralized authority, ecumenical watering-down, rule-based uniformity, sectarian checklists, cultic “only us” thinking), and then points to “unity of the Spirit” (Eph 4:1–6); which of his critiques hits closest to home for your tradition, and what would it cost you personally to “build bridges” with true brothers in Christ without “adding” or “taking away” from the apostolic faith? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Which wrong way of pursuing unity that Chuck listed sounds most like your church tradition? What would it cost you to build real unity with other true Christians without changing the apostles’ teaching?