Friend of Sinners

Tips to get most out of the series:

• Everyone in small group takes notes during the sermon.
• Everyone in group come prepared to answer the question, "What was most impactful or convicting from the sermon?"
• Read the recap questions before group and come prepared to answer.
• Consider having different members take turns leading the discussion each week.
• Reminder: The purpose of this discussion is to reflect on the true message of the sermon, not to critique its delivery.

May 18th- Larry David > Ted Lasso

What kind of moral difference does the Spirit make? Are we sinners who are just forgiven, or saints who just occasionally sin? Romans 7:14-25 has a complex interpretive history, but reveals the deep moral struggle we all feel, and reminds us we never progress past being sinners who need the gospel.

*Note: this could be a great night to split up guys and girls.*

Questions/Discussions:
1. Read Romans 7:14–25. Paul talks about doing what he hates and not doing what he wants. How have you experienced that internal struggle—this “doubleness”—in your own faith journey?
2. Read 1 John 1:8–10. No matter where we are in our faith journey, we are all still sinners, and our only hope is the mercy of God. Therefore, we should not be ashamed to confess our sins. Is there sin you would like to confess and seek freedom from?
3. Do you believe the Holy Spirit is making a difference in your life right now? Why or why not?
4. Austin talked about the mark of a mature believer being their ability to extend the mercy of God. How can your life better mediate God's mercy to others this week?
5. What’s one area of your life where you need to stop trying to “be good enough” and instead rest in God’s mercy?

Action Step: Remember you never progress past being a sinner who needs the gospel.

May 11th- A Theory of Relativity

Jesus tells a parable exposing the silliness of making moral comparisons, and the radical relativity of all human righteousness. Once we opt out of the righteousness rankings game, and stop being so disappointed in the sinfulness of sinners, we're freed up to instead find ways to show our fellow sinners mercy.

Questions/Discussions:
1. Read Luke 18:9–14. What is the difference between the two men’s postures in this story?

2. How are pride, comparison, and the “righteousness ranking game” distractions from the Gospel and God’s mercy in your life?

3. (a) How do you respond when you're disappointed with someone?
(b) Jesus wasn’t chronically disappointed with us (sinners), but He was disappointed with those who couldn’t see their own sin. Are you chronically disappointed with others? Why might the problem actually be with you?

4. Is mercy winning in our small group? How can we be less disappointed with each other in this group?

5. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4–5. How do we manage the tension of holding each other accountable and calling people higher, without letting judgment and legalism triumph over mercy?

6. Confess this together (Read Aloud Together):
“None of us are fully sane or healthy. We are committed to treating each other as broken people, with enormous kindness and imagination—when we can manage it. We are all broken. We have all been idiots, and we will be idiots again. We are all difficult to live with. We sulk and get angry, blame others for our mistakes, have strange obsessions, and fail to compromise. We are here to make you less lonely in your failings. We’ll never know all the details, but we understand.”

Action Step: Repent of being chronically disappointable.

May 4th- Low Anthropology

Scripture contains a complex anthropology wherein humans are creatures of great dignity, but also great depravity. How does this complex picture interact with the high anthropology of modern culture wherein humans are seen as easily optimizable algorithms of improvement, goodness, and development? And why is it important we always remember Jesus was known as the friend of sinners?

Questions/Discussions:

1. How did you answer Austin's questions, "do you think humans are mostly bad, mostly good, or mostly a mixed bag?"

2. How do you personally wrestle with the contrast between Scripture’s affirmation of human dignity in Genesis 1:26–27 and Psalm 8, and its repeated descriptions of human sin and brokenness in passages like Genesis 6:5–6 and Romans 3:10–23? What does this tension reveal about our need for God?

3. What is dangerous about believing God's mercy AND our righteousness saves us? Do you struggle with legalism or how has legalism impacted your faith journey?

4. Read Luke 5:27–32. What stands out to you about Jesus' teaching in this passage, and why is it significant?

5. What does it look like to honestly accept what Scripture says about our brokenness—not with shame or guilt, but with freedom—because Jesus is the friend of sinners? How does that change the way we see ourselves and our need for Him?

Action Step: Make a habit of confession.