TENSION: GOD Is Good and You Should Do GOOD.
Ice Breaker: If you had the resources and ability to solve one big problem in this world, what problem would you seek to solve and why?
- What does God is good mean? (Mark 10:18; Psalm 100:4-5; Psalm 119:68, and excerpt from 1 Packer, J. I. “Good.” Ed. D. R. W. Wood et al. New Bible dictionary 1996: 424–425. Print. (below)
“God is good: for he is morally perfect, and gloriously generous. The acknowledgment of God as good is the foundation of all biblical thinking about moral goodness. ‘Good’ in Scripture is not an abstract quality, nor is it a secular human ideal; ‘good’ means first and foremost what God is (‘he is good’, Ps. 100:5, et al.), then what he does, creates, commands and gives, and finally what he approves in the lives of his creatures…. The biblical position is that God, and God alone, is good without qualification (Mk. 10:18); and he is the arbiter and judge, as he is the norm and standard, of creaturely goodness. Man is good, and things are good, just so far as they conform to the will of God. Woe, then, to those who invert the divine scale of values, giving the name of good to what God calls evil, and vice versa (Is. 5:20).”
2. In what ways is God good in his creation and to us?(1 Timothy 4:4; Psalm 25:7-8, 84:11; Romans 8:28) What should be the effect of his goodness? (John 16:13; Romans 2:4,)
3. How has God been good in your life? What has been your response to his goodness?
4. What does it mean to be good (for humans)?( Amos 5:14-15; Matthew 5:38-48, 22:37-40)
5. Why are good works for God impossible for human beings? (Psalm 14:1-3; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 4:22; Romans 7:14-18)
6. How does God provide for us to produce good works? (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:11-13; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Colossians 1:9-10; 2 Tim 2:19-21, 3:16-17)
7. What is the tension between the two concepts– God is good and you should do good? What is the importance of this tension?
Sermon Point 1: If you don’t fight for the tension, you set others up to reject what is true because of what they will experience.
8. If being good doesn’t help me get God’s approval or help me to go to heaven then why should I do good? (Ephesians 2:10; Heb 13:16; Galatians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 6:17-19)
9. How does being good demonstrate God’s goodness? (Matthew 5:16; Colossians 4:5-6; 1 Peter 2:12)
Sermon Point 2: Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.
10. What keeps us from doing good or doing good for the right reasons? What can we do to overcome the tendency to enjoy God’s goodness, but avoid from doing good or serving others?
11. How can a big problem keep us from action? Can you give an example where you met the need for one even though you wish you could meet the need for all?
Sermon Point 3 & 4: The modern miracle is awakening people of faith who are silent, and getting them to speak and act. Religious people will criticize the freedom and miraculous work of God in your life. Act anyway.
12. What can Christians do to address the helpless and harassed? (Matthew 9:35-38; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
Sermon Point 5: When you ask God to send workers into the fields, God works in your heart to do good in your field.
Sermon Series Summary: Here is the list of tensions addressed in this series.
You can KNOW God – God is a MYSTERY.
God has an IDEAL – God uses BROKEN people.
The Bible is all true and everything true about life is not in the Bible.
You can know God in a MOMENT & It will take FOREVER to figure it out.
Your beliefs matter, and people matter more.
You should Enjoy CHURCH – You should enjoy living in the WORLD.
TRUST Leads to Stronger Faith & DOUBT Leads to Stronger Faith.
God is Good, and you should do good.
13. Which tension/s discussed in this series resonated with you the most?
14. How does understanding that there are tensions to manage rather than just problems to solve, help us in our Christian walk and our relationships with others and God?
15. What changes have you made or intend to make in light of the series?