This week is another way of reinforcing much the same idea: what we have from god came exactly from there- God. It's not something we were able to procure from ourselves or make God want to give us more than his own heart already did before it even occurred to us.
This week, we'll contrast how we "do relationships" with people and with God to help us call out in ourselves the false view of God and of the righteousness he provides we may have. This is significant because the peace that comes with a right view of God's salvation can only be experienced when you understand you're not manipulating him with your saintliness in order to stay saved.
Many in the Crosspointe congregation have a deep appreciation for Jesus, yet are also deeply convinced (to the extent that many don't even realize they believe this) that somehow what we are/do positions us within God's eternal favor. The side-effect of this is double-edged; always wondering when it's enough, and always comparing yourself to others less holy in some area. Grace becomes something we earn, as well as boast about among our less spiritual friends. Neither dynamic is true Christianity, and obviously flies in the face of what Paul insists. So, help your group do the hard work of exploring what and why they believe, and step more fully into the scandalous grace of Jesus Christ.
Thaw
- What's one thing you see God doing in your life?
- What's one thing you want to see God doing in your life?
- What most stuck with you from the message Sunday?
- Is there anyone in the group that is willing to admit that while someone was answering the question about what God is doing in our lives, you felt a sense of jealousy about their connection with God, and felt distance from God that you wished you knew how to remedy? Share.
- Do you believe this disconnected feeling is the absence of God's grace and love, or is it just a sense that your spiritual apathy has begun to cost you relationally with God?
Leader note: The last question is a huge distinction. The first part is about feeling as though I don't have something right in my journey, and so God has abandoned me. What do I do to woo him back?" The second is the very real sense that, "though God still loves me, I haven't lived by that love or disciplined my heart to live in relation to it, and I feel cold". The second didn't put God's unmerited favor in question, it's just the group member admitting that he/she hasn't lived in response to God lately and feels the pangs as a result.
Read
- Ephesians 2:1-10
- As you read and reread this over the weeks, are there any themes or layers that you are noticing that you haven't before? Share.
Read
- Genesis 3:6-13 and verse 21
Leader note: There are a ton of other directions the discussion can go with this passage. If you get the sense that this is where the group needs to go, dedicate some time to it and then move on. Perhaps scheduling a whole night in the future to all the questions and thoughts surrounding this text is a good idea. But don't let side-conversations about pain in child-birth, talking serpents and God over or under-reacting take away from the discussion at hand!
- Thoughts?
- Bonus question: Whose fig leaf apparel looked better, and why? (have fun).
- Deep question alert: What are some of the changes you can imagine would occur between people who had previously related to each other with their own fig leaves between them (their own presentation, based on their own identity and strengths), versus people who relate to each other with the sacrifice of God between them (their identity rooted in what God is and has done)?
Read (at same time)
- Isaiah 64:6
- Rom 3:21-24
- Gal 2:21
- Why is it important to continue to emphasize our ineptitude in achieving righteousness and holiness on our own?
Leader note: many hold to the thought that God is so self-absorbed that he needs us to feel badly about ourselves. Explore in your discussion here that all of these passages and more are in reaction to a certain mindset that puts God's love as contingent on our work. Some of us get really cocky the more we believe this, which deeply affects our ability to humbly love and serve each other, as well as have any peace before our Father.
- Why is it so important to Paul and others that our faith system be wholly and completely centered on Jesus and what he did, rather than anything we do? Doesn't this let us off the hook?
Read
- Luke 18:9-14
- Thoughts?
- Does God want us groveling, or is he after something else? Explain.
- How does this passage speak to how we see others that are, what we would say at least to ourselves, "worse sinners than me"?
- Respond as a group to this quote
Evangelism is just one beggar telling the other beggars where she found some bread.
Discuss
- If our faith is in Christ Himself, and not in anything we are or do or know, and not in any organized group of Jesus-followers, how is life affected?
- Be honest: would any of the groups' answers to the above question be the same if you exchanged Jesus for some other god or moral standard? Why is it different with Jesus?
- This coming Sunday, our community is going to be invited to take a step and say "yes" to Jesus in some way. How will your life be different by you saying "yes" to Jesus in some way this week?
Leader note: You may want to call out specific people and embrace the awkward here. Many people have gotten so used to telling Jesus "wait", that they no longer realize they are telling Him "no". Statistically, a gentle but specific question about all this can get people thinking intentionally about their actual response to Jesus and bear much fruit!
- How can this group help you say "Yes", not so much to religion or to theology or two anything but Jesus himself?
Prayer
Additional texts:
- Galatians 2:16
- James 3:2
- Romans 3:9-28
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