Discussion Questions:
- Who are the people in your life that you feel the most weight of their expectations of you?
- What are some examples of expectations on you that are helpful?
- What are you some examples of expectations on you that are stressful?
- Any Examples of when you did not meet others’ expectations & you believe you did the right thing in God’s eyes?
- How do you handle when you feel that the expectations of others do not line up with what you believe God’s expectations are?
Related Scriptures (NIV):
- Matthew 16:21-23 (Others’ expectations of Christ)
- “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’
Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.'”
- “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
- Acts 9 (Ananias defies the expectations of conventional safety, approaching Saul out of obedience)
- 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 (Exceeding Expectations)
- “And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But since you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you — see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
Citations/Sources: https://www.biblegateway.com/