Kernan Community Groups
Sermon Discussion Guide
June 14, 2026
Matthew: The Law of Christ
Matthew 22:34-40
How many federal statutes do you think the USA has?
Can you identify which document these legal words come from?
Which of those are most important for our country: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights? Why?
Matthew 22:34-40
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Mark also records this story in Mark 12:28-34. How do these two accounts harmonize? Why did the lawyer ask Jesus the question?
Mark 12:28-34
28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
:
What are some ways we try to outwit God today?
What advice would you give to someone who says they don’t feel they need religion?
Pastor Jarrod explained the background of Matthew 22:37 (“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”) as Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (Shema). The learned scribe had missed what children learned to recite twice daily! Read Deuteronomy 6:4-5 below and then come up with modern day examples of loving God.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
What does it look like to love God with all my heart?
What does it look like to love God with all my mind?
What does it look like to love God with all my soul?
Do you think Jesus intentionally listed this command first? Why?
Matthew 22:39-40
39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
In your own words, what is Jesus’ second command?
Jesus claimed to summarize the whole Old Testament law. Was He correct? Why?
How do Jesus’s words imply that true Christians will commit to a local church?
1. On a scale of 1 (None) to 10 (Entirely), how much do you love God with all your heart, mind, and soul?2. On a scale of 1 (None) to 10 (Entirely), how much do you love your fellow Christians at Kernan?
What would it take for you to increase your number on loving God? Loving others?
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another,” (1 John 4:9-11).
