Click here for the sermon discussion questions or see them listed below. We highly encourage you to listen, think, and talk about the sermon. These are questions you can reflect on by yourself, with your family, or with your small group.

Discussion Questions 

1. What do you think gave Jesus’ preaching such authority?  What gives preaching authority today?  What kind of preaching do you prefer? Declarative/Authoritative/Timeless/Matter-of-Fact?  Or Conversational/Casual/Novel/Speculative?  Do you think your preference differs from the unbelieving worlds?  If so, how and why?
2. What kind of preaching style do you think John the Baptist and Jesus used?  Why do you think the Nazarethites wanted to kill Jesus for His preaching and why did King Herod have John the Baptist beheaded for his preaching?  How do you respond to God’s Word today?  Do we recognize the authority of God’s word and repent/obey?, Or do we treat it as mere opinion and dismiss it?  What does your response say about who is the real authority in your life? 
3. In today’s passage, the only person who really recognized Jesus’ authority was the demon possessed man.  Why do you think this was the case?  If the demons recognize Jesus’ authority and they obey Jesus’ commands (they believe and obey Jesus), does this mean the demons are saved?  What does this tell you about what it means to be truly saved? 
4. Although we may never hear a demoniac scream out during a Sunday service, how do you see demonic spiritual forces at work in our churches today?  Why is the devil’s strategy to cause division with the church, while causing God’s people to take our eyes off of Jesus so effective?  What should we as Christians do to thwart Satan’s plans?
5. How does true faith in Jesus Christ and a recognition of His loving authority over our lives, cause Christians to sacrifice their own comfort and rights for the sake of a weaker brother or sister?