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Sunday, January 15, 2012

questions to ponder and discuss

[ love ]
1. How do you define love? Please share any life experiences that have influenced your views.
2. How is love defined and described in God’s Word?* If you painted a picture to help someone understand
it, what might you paint? Here are some verses to consider: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and 13, John 3:16-17, John
15:12-13, Romans 5:8, John 14:21, Galatians 5:14, Luke 10:25-37, and 1 John 4:7-21.
3. How willing are you to live by God’s definition of love and the importance He places on it?
Are any changes necessary in your life?
4. Is loving people easy or hard for you? Does it sometimes depend on their behavior?
5. Do you ever believe people can’t love you because of choices you’ve made? How does that make you feel
about yourself? Them?
6. How do you respond to people you love who don’t love you back? How would you like to respond? What
might it take?

[ faith ]
7. How do you define faith? How is it different from hope? Please share any life experiences that have influenced
your views.

8. How is faith defined and described in God’s Word?* How important is this kind of faith to you? Here are
some verses to consider: 2 Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews 11:6, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 10:17, James 2:26, Galatians
3:21-27, and Matthew 9:2.
9. What does genuine faith produce?*
10. What things positively or negatively affect your faith in God?
11. Is faith that a pilot will fly you safely to your destination easier or harder for you than having faith in God
and His Word? Why?


[ sin ]
12. How do you define sin? Please share any life experiences that have influenced your views.
13. How is sin defined and described in God’s Word?* If you painted a picture to help someone understand
it, what might you paint? Here are some verses to consider: Romans 8:5-8, Romans 5:20-6:2, Romans
6:20-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Colossians 2:13, Proverbs 28:13, James 4:17, 1 John 1:8, Romans 7:17-20, and
Romans 3:19-24.
14. How willing are you to live by God’s definition of sin and the importance He places on it? Any changes
necessary?
15. Why can God not be in the presence of sin? What are some other consequences of sin? Do these motivate
you to not sin? Is there anything else that would motivate you? Please explain.

[ forgiveness ]
16. How do you define forgiveness? Please share any life experiences that have influenced your views.
17. How is forgiveness defined and described in God’s Word?* What pictures come to mind? Here are
some verses to consider: Colossians 3:13, 1 John 1:8-10, Matthew 18:21-22, Luke 17:3-4, Ephesians 1:7-8,
and Matthew 6:9-13.
18. How willing are you to live by God’s definition of forgiveness and the importance He places on it? Any
changes necessary?
19. Do you believe that some things are unforgiveable? And that some things are so minor you don’t need to
ask for forgiveness? How has this affected you? Any changes you want to make?
20. How can we forgive others? Ourselves? How does prayer help?

[ reconciliation ]
21. How do you define reconciliation? Please share any life experiences that have influenced your views.
22. How is reconciliation defined and described in God’s Word?* Here are some verses to consider: 2 Corinthians
5:18-20, Romans 5:11, Romans 12:18-19, Colossians 1:19-22, 1 Corinthians 1:10, and Proverbs 28:14.
23. How willing are you to live by God’s definition of reconciliation and the importance He places on it? Any
changes necessary?

24. What about your relationship with God? Any reconciliation necessary? What has God done to reconcile us
to Him? Considering this, what should be our response to Him?
25. Are you aware if you need to reconcile differences with anyone? What has stopped you? Would you be
surprised if God opened the door to reconcile a relationship you once thought to be irreconcilable? How
might you respond?
26. How can we respond when we want to reconcile with someone and that person isn’t interested? Any
advice for others?

Questions from: Reconciliation Movie Discussion Guide - http://www.reconciliationmovie.com/Reconciliation_Study_Guide.pdf

How would I answer these questions?

All About Your Spiritual Life and Beliefs
Please respond to the following questions on a separate piece of paper:
1. Describe your relationships with God and Jesus, and how those relationships are growing.
2. What do you think people believe about Jesus as a result of knowing you? Why?
3. How would you explain salvation to a camper?
4. Tell us about your relationship with Christian community – do you have accountability, discipleship or mentoring
relationships? Are you involved in ministry?
5. What is the Bible? We'll agree that it's important ... but why?
6. What is (are) your spiritual gift(s)? What leads you to that conclusion?

Responses to the video Jesus>Religion

 

1.  Olivia responded on her blog “Why I Love Religion BECAUSE I Love Jesus” - http://www.hernoblecharacter.com/2012/01/why-i-love-religion-because-i-love.html

 

2.  Kevin wrote “Does Jesus Hate Religion? Kinda, Sorta, Not Really” - http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2012/01/13/does-jesus-hate-religion-kinda-sorta-not-really/

and

Following Up on the Jesus/Religion Video  - http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2012/01/14/following-up-on-the-jesusreligion-video/

 

3.  article from Voddie Baucham Ministries on whether or not Christianity is a "religion." http://www.gracefamilybaptist.net/voddie-baucham-ministries/blog/christianity-religion-2012-01/

"I understand what people are trying to say when they eschew the term religion. The goal is to assure skeptics that we are not offering dead ritual and empty tradition. The goal is to paint a picture of a vibrant life with our Lord, Jesus Christ. I get that. However, I do not believe that it is wise, or necessary to commit logical fallacies, and make trite, nonsensical arguments in order to do so. Arguing that Christianity is not a religion is like arguing that America is not a country. I believe honest, thinking people laugh when they hear some Christian trying to be hip and relevant by saying something as asinine and illogical as, “I’m not talking about religion... I’m talking about a relationship.” Enough already with the play on words. It’s not our job to make Christianity cool. We just need to make it clear. Unfortunately, since this “Christianity is not a religion” business is out of step with the English language, the history of the Church, and common sense, it compromises the clarity and the integrity of our message. I praise God for the fact that we have a religion and a relationship." ~Voddie Baucham