City Group Guides: The Kingdom Week 3: “The Law”
1. Setting the Kingdom Vision (10 min)
When Jesus began to preach the Kingdom, He wasn’t creating a new religion—He was fulfilling everything God had ever intended for His people. In this passage, He says something startling:
“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
At first, that sounds impossible. The Pharisees were meticulous rule-keepers. But Jesus is pointing to something deeper. The Kingdom isn’t about external performance—it’s about internal transformation. He’s describing the kind of goodness that comes not from pressure, but from presence; not from law, but from love.
The life of the Kingdom is about letting the Spirit shape us into people whose inner lives match our outer words and actions.
Discussion:
What comes to mind when you hear the word righteousness?
How do you think Jesus’ kind of righteousness is different from “trying to be good”?
Where do you feel tension between appearance and authenticity in faith?
(Leader note: remind the group that this isn’t a guilt conversation—it’s about aligning with the life Jesus freely gives.)
2. Guide Overview: Inside-Out Kingdom Living (2 min)
This short section of Matthew 5 acts as a hinge in the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus moves from identity (you are salt and light) to integrity (live in a way that reflects your true Kingdom nature).
To “keep and teach” His commands, as verse 19 says, means to live out His teachings with sincerity and pass them on through our example. The “greater righteousness” He speaks of is not moral superiority but wholehearted love—living from a heart transformed by God’s grace.
Tonight, we’ll reflect on what this deeper righteousness looks like and how prayer helps align our inner life with the life of the Kingdom.
3. Kingdom Practice: The Prayer of Alignment (30 min)
Step 1: Read the Passage (5 min)
Read Matthew 5:17–20 aloud to provide context (Jesus fulfilling the Law).
Pause and ask: “What word or phrase stands out to you?”
Step 2: Reflect (5 min)
In quiet prayer, ask:
“Where am I tempted to settle for appearances instead of inner transformation?”
“How might God be inviting me to live with a righteousness that flows from love, not obligation?”
Take a few minutes in silence to listen and notice what rises in your heart.
Step 3: Share and Pray (15 min)
Invite each person to share one area where they sense God calling them to live more authentically from the heart.
After each share, the group can pray a short, simple prayer like:
“Father, align [name]’s heart with Yours. Let Your righteousness flow through them in love.”
(Leader tip: model vulnerability—share your own area of growth first.)
Step 4: Group Reflection (5 min)
Discuss together:
How does living from the heart change the way we treat people, pray, or make decisions?
What might “greater righteousness” look like in our community’s daily life?
4. Reflection: The Visibility of True Righteousness (5 min)
Read verse 19 again:
“Whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Jesus measures greatness not by reputation, but by obedience. The Kingdom is not impressed by performance—it delights in integrity.
Invite a final reflection:
“How might our obedience—our quiet faithfulness—make God’s Kingdom more visible where we live?”
5. Exercise for the Week Ahead (3 min)
Practice: The Prayer of Integrity.
Each day this week, take a few minutes to pray:
“Father, make my inside and outside the same. Let my words and my actions reflect Your heart.”
As you go through your week, notice moments where your inner motives and outer choices align—or don’t. Let those moments become gentle invitations from God, not shame but shaping.
Closing Prayer:
“Lord Jesus, You have called us into a Kingdom of truth and love. Teach us to live from the heart. Make us people of integrity—our yes a yes, our love sincere, our righteousness real. Let Your Kingdom come in us, and through us. Amen.”