"You make me sick."
.....Unless you're speaking to a virus, you're probably not telling the truth. Even if it feels true.
As a group, talk about how we decide something is wrong, whether that metric for it being wrong is consistent across other issues that are also condemned or excused, and then how we go about treating the one we are accusing of wrong. In talking about sin, you should recognize this is a sensitive subject for some. Both as people carrying the guilt and shame of sin, and for those who out of fidelity to God and God's standard, feel like it must be named and confronted.
If the spirit of the conversation strays from love, humility, good listening and gentleness, change the subject. The idea is to move forward in our understanding of how Christ deals in grace, not to move forward in how religion has divided over it!
Additionally, you may benefit as a group from taking this quick survey to examine how you prioritize the five moral foundations discussed in the Sunday message. (CARE/HARM, FAIRNESS/CHEATING, LOYALTY/BETRAYAL, AUTHORITY/SUBVERSION/SANCTITY/DEGRADATION....with the possibility of other moral foundational candidates such as LIBERTY/OPPRESSION and HONESTY/DECEPTION) Use discernment with your group, and use it not correctively but to better understand why think what we think about something being right or wrong.
Thaw
- Survey and results?
- What's an odd thing that triggers your disgust.
- What stands out for you about Sunday?
Read
- John 10:10
- Thoughts?
- How does this passage shape your understanding of what's considered sin?
- Keeping in mind the often conflicting values of Care and Sanctity, read Matthew 9 and see what patterns of boundary breaching, inclusion, and otherwise religion-threatening behavior you can find in Christ.
Apply
- What application does this awareness of how Christ treats the barriers we erect between "us" and "them" bring to your relationships?
- How does this awareness affect how you understand God seeing you?
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