Romans 5:1-8
Eric Henderson, Senior Associate Pastor, erich@churchbcc.org
Before any of us go about trying to fix the world or live into our callings, or to simply survive in the midst of pandemic and social unrest, we must first understand that we are deeply loved by God and have been invited to peace with God. We have been offered shalom within our very spirits and today we are going to understand together why we need this shalom of spirit, what it looks like, and how we receive it.
- Why Shalom of Spirit?
- What even is it?
- Give me some of that!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Discussion Questions
Before questions, attempt to give the group a bit of a summary of the main points of the sermon and then choose a few questions that fit your group’s needs and style. We don’t intend for you to use all of these. Three to five questions may be a good number.
- What family practices did you have while growing up that allowed for time to learn about history, language or culture?
- Read aloud the following prayer from Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who’s life and work we honor this week:
- ...Eternal God, out of whose absolute power and infinite intelligence the whole universe has come into being. We humbly confess that we have not loved thee with our hearts, souls and minds and we have not loved our neighbors as Christ loved us. We have all too often lived by our own selfish impulses rather than by the life of sacrificial love as revealed by Christ. We often give in order to receive, we love our friends and hate our enemies, we go the first mile but dare not travel the second, we forgive but dare not forget. And so as we look within ourselves we are confronted with the appalling fact that the history of our lives is the history of an eternal revolt against thee. But thou, O God, have mercy upon us. Forgive us for what we could have been but failed to be. Give us the intelligence to know thy will. Give us the courage to do thy will. Give us the devotion to love thy will. In the name and spirit of Jesus we pray. Amen.
- How would you describe “shalom of spirit”?
- Why should we care about this shalom of spirit?
- Read Romans 5:1-2 aloud as a group.
- Pastor Eric reminds us that before we can lift a finger to do good in the world, we must understand that all we do is through Jesus. Why is this important? (ex. There is a propensity to try and earn what’s already been given.)
- What does the shalom of spirit look like in a person’s life?
- Why is it so important that we see ourselves (individually and as a community) as beloved children of God?
- How does the view change our daily actions?
- Review the list of Identity Truths; can you pick one to meditate on in the coming week?
- Who is your neighbor that has antithetical thinking to you?
- How might you love them AND learn from their point of view?
- If you find yourself, possibly in an echo chamber, where no one thinks differently than you, is there a healthy way to engage in conversation with others “on the other side” with the perspective of God’s love for them?
- What is the significance of Keshia Thomas’ actions? (Consider the significance in her own life, the life of the man and the life of the community.)
- How are “peacemakers” and “peacekeepers” different? (ex. peacemakers understand that justice and repentance preceded unity).
- Why is the object of our faith more important than the amount of our faith?
- Knowing that thought there is an enemy attempting to woo you away from God’s team, break into prayer partners and pray over each other a reminder that you fully belong to the good King and that his ultimate victory is your victory, your calling as beloved.