In 1948 an American hobbyist built a famous machine out of more than 700 parts: the wheels turn, the lights blink, and the whole thing serves absolutely no purpose. This amusing invention opens an uncomfortable question: could our busy lives be a similar do-nothing machine? The sermon takes us to a hillside in Galilee, where the risen Jesus entrusts a handful of doubting disciples with the Great Commission (Matthew 28), one task that gives life meaning in the perspective of eternity. Listen before more years pass by on things that do not matter.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In Matthew 28:16-20 the disciples worship Jesus, though some doubt. What does it tell you about Jesus that He entrusts His mission to these very doubters?
- Jesus begins the Great Commission with all authority and ends it with the promise: I am with you always. Why are both of these needed to carry out this task?
- The sermon opens with a machine that does nothing: lots of motion, lights and noise, but no purpose. In which areas of your life, including your spiritual life, do you recognize that kind of machine?
- The speaker says being a disciple of Jesus means teaching others to be His disciples, not just living morally and attending services. What in that statement moves you, and what makes you resist it?
- The atheist Penn Jillette asked: how much do you have to hate someone to believe in eternal life and not tell them? What keeps you silent about your faith with family or coworkers?
- Who among the people God has placed in your path needs a companion on the journey toward God right now, and what one concrete step toward them can you take this week?
