Sunday 9th November, 2008

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (26 minutes)
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78 STEPS TO INNER PEACE

• Read the parable in Matthew 18:21-35 once again. This is Jesus’ master class on forgiveness! Is there anything new that has started to stand out to you since we’ve been going through this series?

• Put yourself into the story as the servant forgiven by the King. What point in the story are you at when you think about your relationships with certain other people?

• Think about your relationships like a web spun out from you. Are there any broken strands? How did they get broken? What responsibility do you have? What have you done about repairing them?

• Do your relationships with other people feel relevant to your relationship with God? Read Matthew 5:23-24. When you come before God to worship, how easy do you find it to think that you are bringing your whole life – not just your ‘religious’ life before him? Read Romans 12:1-2 (the meaning especially jumps out in The Message, so try to read it from there)

• Forgiveness and reconciliation, even for small everyday things, is too difficult for us to do in our own strength. It requires supernatural effort, so we need God’s help. Read Romans 12:9-21 out loud. Try writing it out in your own words, as if you were conveying the ideas to a friend who doesn’t understand all the Christian terms. Look especially at verses 17 to 19. What did Paul bear in mind when he had to forgive people? Do you do the same?

• God wants us to be his children (many Bibles use the word sons of God, but it is for men and women!) Read Luke 6:27-36 and Matthew 5:9. How would you explain the difference between keeping and making peace?

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Sunday 2nd November, 2008

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (32 minutes)
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HOW DO I FORGIVE AND FORGET?

• Read 1 John 1:9 and Psalm 103:12. If we have acted on the first and understood the second, where is our guilty past?

• Read Acts 8:1-3 and 1 Corinthians 15:9-10. What effects might these events have had on Paul and his ministry?
  

• Read Matthew 26: 31-35 & 69-75. From the evidence of Acts and their letters, what do you think Paul and Peter did with their past? When they remembered their past mistakes what emotions do you think Paul and Peter felt? Do you feel the same way? Why?

• Read 1 Peter 5:8-9 and Ephesians 6:10-18. What are our responsibilities in terms of warding off attacks from the enemy? In what ways does the enemy activate the past?

• How can the examples of Jesus (Luke 23:24) and Stephen (Acts 7:60) help us in forgiving others?

• Romans 12:2 speaks about being ‘transformed by the renewing of your mind.’ Read 2 Corinthians 10:5 and Philippians 4:6-8. In what ways is Paul's advice helpful to us? Think of some examples of things Paul might be thinking about in Philippians 4:8?

• In his presentation of the nature of love in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says, ‘Love… keeps no record of wrongs.’ How easy is it to put this into practice? Is it possible to make this part of our lifestyle?

• What prevents us from living in our new identity?

• How would you go about helping someone who was troubled by painful memories? What would you say to them?

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Sunday 26th October, 2008

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (24 minutes)
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FORGIVENESS: DEALING WITH GUILT

• A church in London once put a poster outside their church building that read, “Jesus died for Hitler too.” They received a massive amount of complaints from the public. Why do you think we find God’s forgiveness so shocking? Do you struggle to believe he could forgive anyone anything?

• Do you struggle to believe that God forgives all your sins? Why do you find it easier to believe he forgives some sins and not others? Read the parable on forgiveness in Matthew 18:21-35. The servant who was forgiven by the King owed him more money than would have been in circulation throughout the whole kingdom (the equivalent of 200,000 years’ wages!) Why did Jesus make such an exaggerated point? Does this have anything to say about your situation?

• Sometimes people say that in heaven we will be shown a movie showing our whole life, including everything we’ve done wrong, in front of an audience of everyone we know! You’ll be relieved to hear this isn’t mentioned in the Bible, but how does the thought of this make you feel? Are there big things in your life, past or present, that no one else knows? Why is this?

• Although you may know otherwise with you head, in your heart are you putting on masks in your relationship with God? What are you afraid of? Read the parable in Luke 15:11-24 and put yourself in the younger son’s shoes, returning to your Father covered in muck and having totally messed up. How does the Father react? Is it like in the parable? If not, read it again and reflect on the Father’s unconditional and absolute acceptance.

• Read Luke 3:1-14. If forgiveness is a free gift from God, how do you understand John’s demand that people produce fruit in keeping with repentance? How would you explain these two dynamics (God’s free gift and our deeds) to someone else?

• Read Paul’s instructions in Ephesians 4:17-32. Try writing it out in your own words. In verse 28 Paul talks about working instead of stealing. Is this a one-off act or an ongoing process? What might this mean for us, as we consider reparation for things we’ve done wrong.

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Sunday 19th October, 2008

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (32 minutes)
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FORGIVENESS: WHAT’S GOING ON?!?

• Re-read the story of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11:1 to 2 Samuel 12:23. What questions does it raise? How do you feel about David? Can you see the progression of his sin as it snowballs larger?

• How do you feel about thinking of sin as anything that stops you from being the person God created to be (someone perfectly reflecting the image of God)? Do you find it easier to think of sin as an action you do? Can you see the state of your heart is crucial to this?

• Read the story Jesus tells in Luke 18:9-14. Unlike the Tax Collector, the Pharisee lives his life doing nothing wrong. However, what is it that God is looking for? Do you have it?

• Can you think of stuff in your life that holds you back from being the person that God created you to be? How did it start? Is there stuff you do now that 1-, 2- or 5-years ago would have horrified you?

• Is the reverse true? Is there stuff that 1-, 2- or 5-years ago you really struggled with that now you are free from? How did that happen?

• Do you think there are no victimless sins? If you believe it with your head, does your heart agree? Are there things you do which you think God wouldn’t approve of, but you don’t think is hurting anyone? Why do you think God wouldn’t approve? Stuff like this is really good to talk through with someone to get another perspective.

• Do you think the consequence of sin is the same as the punishment? Read Luke 23:32-43 for a story that illustrates how forgiveness is key to our life with God, but doesn’t change the consequence. What is the punishment when we think of it from God’s perspective?

• Read Romans 6:11-23 out loud. Work your way through it again, this time writing it out in your own words as if you were going to convey all of Paul’s ideas in the passage to one of your friends. Don’t be afraid to read between the lines or to take as many words as you need to get the point and emphasis across.

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Sunday 12th October, 2008

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (23 minutes)
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Myths About Forgiveness

• Do we forgive merely because it’s our Christian duty? How do you feel when you forgive someone? What does it show about us if we are able to forgive?

• Is it harder to forgive when the other person doesn’t realise they’ve done anything wrong? How do we know when we should tell someone they’ve hurt us and when we should just deal with it in our heart? What do you naturally do, confront or avoid confrontation? What should you do?

• Does saying we’re sorry mean we won’t reap the consequences of our sin? Read from 2 Samuel 11:1 to 2 Samuel 12:23. Apart from adultery and murder (as if that wasn’t enough) what other sins do you think David committed? How do you feel about the consequences of David’s sin?

• Read Acts 5:1-11. What can we learn from this ourselves? Are there any instances in your own life where you have seen the consequences of your sin? How do you feel about it now? What can we do today if we still feel the pain of what we did wrong back then?

• Read Galatians 5. What does Paul tell us are the consequences of sin? Read verses 19-21 again, using the translation in The Message (you can do this online at www.biblegateway.com if you don’t have a copy of The Message).

• Write a list of all the sins mentioned, listing them in descending order of degree, with the worst at the top and the least bad at the bottom. Now draw a line at the point where you would NEVER commit what’s above the line. Look at the items below the line. Do you consider them sin? If not, why not? If so, what do you need to do about them? Where do you think God draw the line?

• The Process of Forgiving – a useful recap from last week:

1. Label what has happened as sin.
2. Blame the person who is responsible.
3. Release it to God.
4. Ask God to forgive and bless them.

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Sunday 5th October, 2008

Sorry it's late!

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (24 minutes)
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FORGIVENESS: PASSING IT ON

• Re-read the parable in Matthew 18:21-35. Try reading it slowly and out loud. Can you empathise with Peter’s view that there must be a point when enough is enough?

• Understand How Much You’ve Been Forgiven: Do you feel forgiven? What have you been forgiven of? Think again of the parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15:11-24. Can you picture the father running to you, beside himself with joy? And can you picture yourself as the filthy son, starving and in desperate need?

• Does this picture help you be soft hearted towards others? Think back over the last few months and years. Is becoming softer or harder? Use Galatians 5:22-23 to help you think what a soft heart looks like.

• Decide To Forgive: Why might we choose not to forgive? Are there good reasons not to? Are there people you need to decide to forgive? Are you making excuses to justify not forgiving them? In what ways does not forgiving people hold you down?

• The Process Of Forgiving:

1. Label what has happened as sin. How easy do you find it using the word ‘sin’? Does this seem like an appropriate word or not? Do you need to change the way you think about sin?
2. Blame the person who is responsible. Do you find it easy to blame other people? Do you find it too easy?
3. Release it to God. Is it easy to trust God with your hurt? Why do people not want to trust God in this area? What might God do?
4. Ask God to forgive and bless them. What does ‘bless them’ mean in everyday language? Does it seem impossible to want someone who hurt you to be blessed? What would have to happen to your heart for you to be able to honestly want this? Read 1 Timothy 4:14-18. Does Paul sound like he’s forgiven these people? Assuming Paul’s a mature Christian and he has forgiven them as he should, how can we interpret what he is saying?

• Forgiving Is A Journey: Where are you on this journey? Do you ever feel down because you find it hard to forgive? What would God say to you? Are you moving the right way on your journey?

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Sunday 28th September, 2008

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (26 minutes)
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THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON

• Read the passage in Luke 15:11-24. Put yourself in the position of the youngest son. Do you relate to any of his story – perhaps for your whole life or just an area of your life?

• Imagine you have a friend who says, “I don’t need God, I’m happy to be my own person.” How would you answer them in a way that would make sense to them?

• When we detach ourselves from God we attach ourselves to something else. Can you think of an example of this process in your own life? In the book ‘The Great Divorce’ by C.S. Lewis a woman is unable to enter heaven because she loves her child too much. Do you think this is possible? How do you feel about something that is normally good, actually becoming harmful?

• Read the two preceding parables in Luke 15. What other elements of forgiveness and God’s love do these illustrate?

• Do you ever come up with a scheme to earn forgiveness from God? Have you ever made any deals with God? Are these healthy promises to live in a better way, or are they because you don’t quite believe in God’s forgiveness, or is it a mix of both? Do you need to rethink this?

• How do God’s forgiveness and our repentance fit in together? Can you think of an analogy to help explain it? If possible, share it online by clicking on the comments link below.

RECEIVING GOD’S FORGIVENESS

• People often lean towards one of two extremes when it comes to God’s forgiveness. Either they find it really easy to believe God forgives them or they find it really hard to believe God forgives them.

• How do you lean? What are the dangers of that position? How does this affect your behaviour? What needs to change to get a more balanced and healthy view of forgiveness?

• With God being so radically forgiving do you think it is possible to take this for granted? How? Do you ever feel God shouldn’t be so forgiving? Does it feel too unfair sometimes? Read Luke 15:25-32.

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Sunday 21st September, 2008

To listen to the notices and testamony from this Sunday, click here. (12 mins)
To listen to the message from this Sunday, click here. (14 mins)
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Below is the film clip shown in the service.



SIN: OUR PROBLEM

• How do you feel about calling yourself a ‘sinner’? Do you feel like a sinner? Do you think your answer to that question is a healthy way to consider yourself or not?

• Are there things that you do or behaviours you fall into that you feel hold you back from having a character like Jesus? Why do you do these things and where did you learn them? What do you think would need to happen to move beyond them?

• Why do we sin? If we know it’s bad, why don’t we just stop? Do you ever justify your sin and let yourself off the hook? Is this a good or a bad thing?

BIBLE PASSAGES TO HELP US THINK ABOUT SIN

• Read Hebrews 12:1. Does this seem ridiculously unrealistic?

• Think of a sin-behaviour that you fall into. Have you drawn an imaginary line that once you cross you’re sinning? Is the line in the right place? Can you recognise any patterns or triggers? How could you do something positive before you get to that point?

• Read Hebrews 11:1 through to 12:13 out loud.
  

• Pay special attention to the passage of Hebrews 12:7-11. What do you think God’s discipline is? Do you think it’s connected to sin?

• Read 1 Timothy 1:15-16. Why did Paul think he was the worst sinner? What can we learn from this? (It’s often suggested that Paul is thinking about things in his past like the events in Acts 7:57-8:3, but surely the people who actually stoned Stephen would be worse.)
  

• Read 1 John 1:5-10 out loud. Try rewriting it in your own words, as if you were going to convey all of the ideas in the passage to one of your friends. Don’t be afraid to read between the lines. Take as many words as you need to get the point and emphasis across.

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