Questions about our Sin Nature

Text:  Ephesians 1:3 – 5, Colossians 3:12 – 25

1.  (Lead-in) Can you think of a time where someone’s hypocrisy frustrated or angered you?  Please refrain from using specific names.

2.  (Eph 1:4, Col 3:12) God is intimately aware of our sinful and hypocritical thoughts and actions before the Creation of the universe, yet still chooses to love us.  How should we approach ours and other’s hypocrisy?

3.  (Eph 1:4, Col 3:12) Discuss the difference between “Jesus died on the cross because He loves us” and, “Jesus loves us so much that He died on the cross.”  Is there even a difference at all?

4.  (App) Why does God clean up our sin lives, when He knows we will never be perfect?

5.  (Col 3:12) Through Paul, God calls us chosen, holy and beloved despite our imperfections.  How are we bestowed with such unworthy titles?

6.  (Col 3:12 – 25) What particular characteristic(s) in Colossians 3: 12 – 25 strike you as the most difficult as an individual or as a community?  (We will be investigating these in more depth in future weeks.)

7.  (App) Our sin nature tempts us away from commitment.  What reasons and excuses do people, including us, make to avoid commitment and accountability?

8.  (App) When we refuse to let Christ in our lives, we choose to commit to ourselves and not to a community of believers.  What is the consequence of that choice?