First, the Bad News
Study based on the sermon from March 19, 2017, The Message of the Cross from the sermon series …
RELATE
First, the Bad News As you look back on Sunday’s sermon, what stands out to you as particularly helpful, difficult, or insightful?
READ & REFLECT
Did you ever get lost or separated from your family or group of friends as a kid? What happened?
Colossians 1:19-23, 2:13-14
Romans 5:6-11, 18-19
On the back, write the words from the passages that describe our situation before we knew Christ in the left column, and in the right column words that describe us after we receive His mercy and grace. Which word in the “Before” column best describes what you experienced before Christ? Which word in the “after” column best describes your experience since coming to Him? How did you come to accept your need for help, to seek Christ and repent? Why is it important for us to see the cross as something done by us before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us? Did God have to reconcile with us? Why did He (Colossians. 1:19)? Many today struggle with the need for the cross, and don’t understand why Jesus had to die so cruelly. From these verses and the sermon, how would you explain the reason it was necessary? If the “message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18), how do people today come to recognize their dire situation and need for God? Think of someone you know who is not a Christian. Would you start with their need for God, or take another approach? How are both love and justice satisfied by Jesus’ death on the cross? Why are both necessary? What happens when we focus on all love and no justice? All justice and no love? Define “repentance” in your own words. Is it a one time thing, or an ongoing posture toward God? How is this posture viewed by our culture? What happens over time to a person who can’t admit they need to change direction? What good comes from maintaining a tender heart toward God?
RESPOND
How do we maintain a healthy repentant posture toward God? Is there anything about such a posture that is lovely, winsome, or attractive to those who don’t know Him? What is that?
Next Step Set aside time before Easter to ask God to show you areas of your life that need to be redirected toward greater faithfulness to Him. What needs to be repented and discarded? What needs to be received and adopted? Share with a faithful friend what the Lord leads you to do. Reflect When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Romans 5:6
Before Christ
After Christ
RELATE
First, the Bad News As you look back on Sunday’s sermon, what stands out to you as particularly helpful, difficult, or insightful?
READ & REFLECT
Did you ever get lost or separated from your family or group of friends as a kid? What happened?
Colossians 1:19-23, 2:13-14
Romans 5:6-11, 18-19
On the back, write the words from the passages that describe our situation before we knew Christ in the left column, and in the right column words that describe us after we receive His mercy and grace. Which word in the “Before” column best describes what you experienced before Christ? Which word in the “after” column best describes your experience since coming to Him? How did you come to accept your need for help, to seek Christ and repent? Why is it important for us to see the cross as something done by us before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us? Did God have to reconcile with us? Why did He (Colossians. 1:19)? Many today struggle with the need for the cross, and don’t understand why Jesus had to die so cruelly. From these verses and the sermon, how would you explain the reason it was necessary? If the “message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18), how do people today come to recognize their dire situation and need for God? Think of someone you know who is not a Christian. Would you start with their need for God, or take another approach? How are both love and justice satisfied by Jesus’ death on the cross? Why are both necessary? What happens when we focus on all love and no justice? All justice and no love? Define “repentance” in your own words. Is it a one time thing, or an ongoing posture toward God? How is this posture viewed by our culture? What happens over time to a person who can’t admit they need to change direction? What good comes from maintaining a tender heart toward God?
RESPOND
How do we maintain a healthy repentant posture toward God? Is there anything about such a posture that is lovely, winsome, or attractive to those who don’t know Him? What is that?
Next Step Set aside time before Easter to ask God to show you areas of your life that need to be redirected toward greater faithfulness to Him. What needs to be repented and discarded? What needs to be received and adopted? Share with a faithful friend what the Lord leads you to do. Reflect When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Romans 5:6
Before Christ
After Christ
