When you hear the word, prophet, what do you think about?

A fortuneteller?  Nostradamus?

Have you ever heard someone claim to be a prophet?  How did you react?

Just before I started in my first church, a man was arrested nearby after shooting a police officer, claiming he was acting on God’s instructions as the reincarnated prophet Moses.  Clearly claims of being a prophet aren’t something to take lightly, in this case it was a sign of serious mental illness, but in other cases it can be a sign of deception.

Jesus even warned about such people, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. “ can be found in Matthew 7:15

And indeed there have been false prophets throughout history. Think of Jim Jones, David Koresh, or others who’ve claimed to speak for God, or to be the Messiah themselves.

Generally when we hear prophet, we think of someone who can see the future, or a mentally ill person claiming to be otherwise, but this isn’t how the Bible would describe a prophet.

This week we’ll explore how Jesus would use the term, and whether he’d consider himself a prophet.

Question: What do you think a prophet is?  What does it mean?

Meeting with a Group?  Your discussion questions are in this week’s Group Study Guide

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