The Phil Files

Okay, I confess it. Last week, I was a bad blogger. I had a bunch to blog about, just no time to share it. I hope to share some really good video clips from Corbett and Crew from Southern Hills over the next week. The ones this week will focus on Groups and the importance of our having them.

Today, however, I want to give you a place to respond to my weekly post on Heartlight.org — “Captured by Grace!” — I try to explain the principle of redemption ethics and show how God’s grace has reached us and we respond to that grace out of appreciation and not obligation. So here are some discussion questions coming out of that post:

• So what is your reaction to the idea of “redemption ethics” — recognizing that God has acted first and given us his mercy, grace, and forgiveness before he asked us to share those with others? (For examples of this, seek passages like 1 John 3:16-18; Colossians 3:13; Ephesians 4:32.)
• Why is it so hard to “go first” and love, forgive, or serve when we have been wronged by someone or they don’t seem to deserve the gift we are going to give them?
• How have you tried to “earn” the cost of God’s grace given to you in Christ?
• What difference does it make to respond to God’s grace rather than trying to live with a sense of obligation that you have to earn it (Ephesians 2:1-10)?
• Paul describes God’s love and grace as well as our condition before that love and grace (Romans 5:6-10 — powerless, ungodly, sinners and enemies). Which of those four terms best describes your walk with God before salvation in Jesus? How has God changed that in your life?
• Who is someone to whom you need to extend mercy, grace, forgiveness or service?
• Why do you think it is so hard for us to get both God’s character and God’s compassion together in our lives? (Seems like we get one right or the other, but both seem to be hard for all of us to put together, yet we see it powerfully demonstrated in Jesus!)

I’d love to get your input into all of this discussion.