I started with a 1973 study from Princeton. Seminary students, some of them on their way to give a talk on the Good Samaritan, walked past a man slumped in a doorway. Whether they stopped had almost nothing to do with the talk and almost everything to do with whether they were running late. A few of them literally stepped over him. As a pastor, I'm offended.

That turns out to be the whole passage. Neither the sheep nor the goats knew what they were doing. Also this week: Abraham at ninety-nine running out to meet three strangers, why visiting someone in a Roman prison cost you something, and the one word Matthew adds in 26:1.

Three things you'll hear in group: "Do I get into heaven by helping people?", "the least of these" turning political, and the person who leaves sure they're a goat.

This one's shorter. I'm trying a highlights version instead of walking through the whole guide. Tell me what you think about the length, the format, the music, anything. Nothing's off the table.

In this episode

• 0:00 Cold open: the 1973 Princeton study, and who stops for the man in the doorway
• 1:05 Welcome to week six, and the big idea
• 1:40 Where to slow down in the guide: the noticing warm-up, both groups surprised (Know It 1), small counts (Share It 1), the kitchen-table midterm (Live It 1), and this week's Kinship Question
• 3:25 The rabbit hole: why hurry shrinks what we see, Hebrews 13 and Abraham's three strangers, hospitality as survival, Roman prisons, and the word "all" in Matthew 26:1
• 6:20 Three things you'll hear in group: "Do I get into heaven by helping people?", "the least of these" and politics, and "What if I'm a goat?"
• 8:30 One tiny practical thing: leave for group ten minutes early. For science.
• 8:40 For you in particular: the sheep didn't know either
• 9:25 Help shape this podcast: length, format, music

Scripture in this episode

• Matthew 25:31–46 (the passage)
• Matthew 25:37–39 and 44 (both groups ask "when did we see you?")
• Matthew 25:34 (the kingdom "prepared for you since the creation of the world")
• Hebrews 13:2–3 (hospitality to strangers; remember those in prison)
• Genesis 18:1–8 (Abraham and the three visitors)
• 2 Timothy 1:16 (Onesiphorus, not ashamed of Paul's chains)
• Matthew 26:1 ("when Jesus had finished saying all these things")
• Ephesians 2:8–10 (saved by grace, for good works)

Mentioned

• John Darley and Daniel Batson, "From Jerusalem to Jericho" (1973), the Good Samaritan experiment at Princeton Theological Seminary
• Hospitality in the ancient world: for a traveler, a stranger's tent was how you made it
• Roman prisons: prisoners depended on family and friends for food
• Passing the final exam is easier as a group project: who's one person your group or your family could start with this week?

Links

• This week's leader guide: ⚑ [Week 6 guide URL]
• Kinship Question feedback (tried it? 30 seconds): https://form.jotform.com/262746046113049
• Leader Mailbag (questions, wins, weird group stories, tell on your people): https://form.jotform.com/262745325562056
• Email James: jbrowning@northcoastchurch.com
• Subscribe to the podcast: https://northcoastleaders.transistor.fm/
• Leader newsletter sign-up: https://my.northcoastchurch.com/FormEntry/cefd293a-068a-44e7-aae4-34358c537ce6

Also this week: why your group reads Luke 12 before it reads Matthew 25, the one servant who tells us how he pictures the master and what that picture did to him, the two "well done" verses that are identical word for word, and a phrase in verse 19 that Matthew uses in only one other place.

Three moments to be ready for: the person who's sure they're the one-talent servant, the person who hears "work harder," and the question about your picture of God that can land on someone's actual father.

And one thing for you in particular: your group isn't yours either.

In this episode

• 0:00 Cold open: a talent was a weight, not a skill, and how much money the "one-talent" guy was actually holding
• 3:10 Welcome to week five
• 3:30 Tour of the guide: Warm Up (snorkeling in La Jolla), two readings in Know It, Share It, Live It, and this week's Kinship Question
• 7:30 From the Kinship form: Luis and Marsha in Fallbrook, three years in, and a question that brought tears
• 8:00 The rabbit hole: why "one" is the wrong word to get stuck on, burying as first-century conservative investing, "I knew that you are a hard man" (v24), why Luke 12:32 comes first, the identical "well done" in verses 21 and 23, and "settled accounts" in chapter 18
• 13:00 Three moments to be ready for: the one-talent person, "work harder," and when Share It 2 lands on someone's father
• 15:30 Thank you for the messages, and what's coming: leaders and groups pastors in the studio
• 17:15 For you in particular: your group isn't yours either, and small things for eternal beings

Scripture in this episode

• Matthew 25:14–30 (the parable; your group's second reading)
• Luke 12:27–34 (your group's first reading; verse 32, "your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom")
• Matthew 25:24 ("I knew that you are a hard man")
• Matthew 25:21 and 23 (the identical "well done")
• Matthew 25:19 and Matthew 18:23–24 ("settled accounts," used only in these two places)
• Ephesians 2:8–10 (saved by grace, for good works)

Mentioned

• Where the word "talent" comes from: a unit of weight in the ancient Mediterranean, adopted as "ability" across most Western languages because of this parable
• Reading Scripture aloud together as a body, and good practice for Bible in a Year
• The North Coast leadership conference this week, and interviews with leaders and groups pastors coming to the podcast
• "Momentum, not a moment": faithfulness is a life, not an act
• Next baptisms: November 7–8. If someone in your group is getting baptized, tell me. I'd love to come celebrate.

Links

• This week's leader guide
• Kinship Question feedback (tried it? 30 seconds)
• Leader Mailbag (questions, wins, weird group stories, tell on your people)
• Email James: jbrowning@northcoastchurch.com
• Subscribe to the podcast
• Leader newsletter sign-up

Music

• Opening: "Not Another" by Hoi Lithoi, from Count It
• Closing: "Go Out" by Hoi Lithoi, from Count It

This weekend Chris stepped out of Matthew for a week to ask whether we actually get surrender. The passage is Romans 12, and the thing I couldn’t stop looking at is one word of grammar in verse 1: bodies, plural; sacrifice, singular. Your group isn’t where you go to work out your own surrender. It’s where you go to work out ours.

Also this week: a quick tour of the guide, why the “six steps” question is the easiest place in the guide for someone to feel graded, what to do when someone’s honest answer is “I’m still waiting for the freedom part,” and the first real mailbag, including a leader who caught a wording change in last week’s question (he was right).

Four weeks in, leading a group can start to feel like a job. Verse 11 has something to say about that.

In this episode

• 0:00 Cold open: Paul’s big “therefore,” and whose sacrifice this is
• 2:00 Welcome, and what’s coming in future episodes
• 3:00 Tour of this week’s guide, plus the optional Kinship Question
• 8:00 Going further: what the “therefore” is there for, Augustine on the corporate sacrifice, the sacrifice that keeps crawling off the altar, metamorphoō, and the same verb in verses 13 and 14
• 12:00 Three moments to be ready for: the six steps and the app, “not yet” as a complete answer, and the veteran with every step lit
• 15:00 Mailbag: the three-year group that tried the Kinship Question, and the “if Jesus said it, it must be true” problem
• 18:00 How to send things in, and one tiny practical thing: bring a note card
• 19:20 For you in particular: keep your spirit boiling (Romans 12:11)

Scripture: Romans 12:1–21 · Romans 9–11 · Exodus 20:2 · Matthew 17:2 · Philippians 3:12

Mentioned: Augustine, City of God · Joe Versus the Volcano · Henri Nouwen on discipleship · Next baptisms: November 7–8

Links

• Question feedback: https://form.jotform.com/262746046113049
• Leader Mailbag: https://form.jotform.com/262745325562056
• Email James: jbrowning@northcoastchurch.com
• Subscribe: https://northcoastleaders.transistor.fm/
• Leader newsletter sign-up: https://my.northcoastchurch.com/FormEntry/cefd293a-068a-44e7-aae4-34358c537ce6

Music

• Opening: “Every Time I Think of You” by Hoi Lithoi: https://open.spotify.com/track/1AQqGwHL9FogCMnrNsM2sJ?si=dca1057488454a15
• Closing: “Go Out” by Hoi Lithoi: https://open.spotify.com/track/7AQKaSvJbcXEpRA5DeahWQ?si=465f07cabffe41d7

Leader Mailbag - Tell Us!: for questions, stories and "telling on your people." It asks permission to share, and shows a "check with them first" box when the story is about someone else.
Kinship Question Feedback: takes about 30 seconds. It asks whether everyone in the group answered, which matters more than whether people liked the question..

And don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter

James Browning, North Coast’s new global adult ministries pastor, introduces week three updates to the podcast, leader guide, and website, invites feedback via jbrowning@northcoastchurch.com, and walks leaders through Chris’s sermon on Matthew 25:1–13 (“If Heaven Is Real, Am I In or Out?”). He highlights key leader guide prompts (what you check/count down to, living ready vs knowing Jesus is coming back, assurance passages, “own oil vs borrowed oil,” grace not transferable, Galatians 6) and the new optional Kinship Question (“Who are you becoming more like?”) with a request for feedback. In “The Rabbit Hole,” he explains the “lamps” as oil-soaked torches, outlines ancient wedding customs, and connects the shut door to Noah and Jesus’ warnings (“I never knew you”). He coaches leaders for three sensitive moments: salvation assurance, making faith personal, and grief over loved ones far from Jesus, and ends by urging leaders to check their own “torch,” prepare tissues, and share questions/wins/stories.

Songs used:
1. I Was Glad by Hoi Lithoi (Spotify)
2. Go Out by Hoi Lithoi (Spotify)

00:00 Wedding Shock Opener
00:51 Welcome and Updates
02:04 Group Guide Warmup
02:30 Know Share Live Questions
03:21 Kinship Bonus Question
04:15 Rabbit Hole Lamps
05:23 Ancient Wedding Timeline
06:38 Midnight Twist Meaning
08:18 Three Leader Moments
08:28 Helping Doubters Assurance
10:42 Borrowed Faith Check
11:00 Grief and Loved Ones
12:08 Send Stories and Wins
13:01 Leader Heart Check
13:33 Final Thanks and Outro