Prepare your heart for the Sermon by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together hearing God's Word.

You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.

Carefully Think

• Where did the Spirit lead Jesus? How long was he there?
• What was the devil’s first temptation of Jesus? Why would this have been tempting to Jesus? (v. 3-4)
• What was the second temptation of Jesus? How does Jesus respond? (v. 6-8)
• How does the devil try to trap Jesus in the third temptation? What is different about this temptation?
• According to verse 13, when does the devil like to strike us with temptation?

Prayerfully Meditate

• How was Jesus both led by the Spirit and tempted by the devil?
• What was Jesus’ pattern for responding to temptation? How can we learn from the way Jesus resisted temptation?
• What was the problem with the way in which the devil cited Scripture?
• Why would the devil cite Scripture when seeking to justify his temptation of Jesus? How does he do the same to us today?
• Read James 4:7. How can we practically resist the devil? Why do we need to be commanded to resist the devil?
• How were Jesus’s temptations similar to ours today? How is this an encouragement to you that he was tempted in every way as we are?