Study Questions

Group Discussion: This is my recommended outline and questions. Please feel free to add questions that best fit your group.

Start with this short video from the Bible Project.

Matthew 6:1-21

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

10 your kingdom come,

your will be done,

  on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

  as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

  but deliver us from the evil one.’

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Questions:

• What key themes stood out to you?

• In Jesus’ day, what did it mean to be a hypocrite? How is this the same or different from what a hypocrite is today?

• Why does Jesus encourage private generosity?

• Whether we pray alone or with other people, what is the wisdom principle that Jesus is advocating for in his teaching about prayer?

• What is the ultimate treasure for a human? And when humans receive this treasure, what is their response?

• Why does Jesus tell his followers to address God as “our Father”?

• Why would someone pray for God’s name to be recognized as holy?

• When Jesus prays, "Your Kingdom come, and your will be done," what is he asking for?

• What does praying “give us today our daily bread” remind us about in the Old Testament, and what might it instill within us?

• Why does Jesus so closely connect God’s forgiveness of us to our forgiveness of others?

• Jesus prays about temptation, or “testing,” and then prays about deliverance from the evil one. How do these concepts or ideas relate?
  

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