ST NICOLAS, NEWBURY

HOME GROUP QUESTIONS

GOD'S GRACE RECEIVED

For home groups that would like them, here are some questions based on Sunday's teaching material. There's no need to answer them all - just tackle the ones you have time for. You don't need to stick to the areas mentioned here - feel free to discuss any other issues that arise for you.

1. In this month's church magazine, Lesley Park is one of several who write about the recent pilgrimage in the steps of the Celtic saints. Here's what she says about a visit to one of the chapels in Ripon Cathedral: "...we had a time of silence. God was so close - it was definitely a 'thin place'. We were surrounded by holiness. After what seemed an age, and yet no time at all, Janet Ruckman led us in the song 'Be still and know that I am God', a very fitting choice..." Do you relate to what Lesley means by a 'thin place'? Where have you found 'thin places' in your experience? What makes them so?

2. On Sunday I suggested that we are called to be 'thin people'? What do you think this means? Do you know of people who are particularly 'thin' in this sense? What makes them so?

3. Please read Ephesians 3:2-3 and 3:7-9. And while you're about it, how about Romans 12:6 and 1 Peter 4:10 as well... What is the relationship between God's grace and the gifts he gives us? What light does the illustration of a family feeding the ducks shed on this?

4. What was the particular shape of the grace given to the apostle Paul for him to share with others?

5. Now turn to Ephesians 4:7. It isn't just Paul! What particular expressions of 'grace' do you think Christ has 'apportioned' you? How do you know?

6. How do we grow in our capacity to pass the grace of God onto others? How, in other words, do we become 'thin' people? Talk about this together for a few minutes.

7. A good starting point is hinted at by the apostle John in 1 John 4:19: 'We love, because he first loved us'. So how much does God love us? Have a look at Ephesians 2:1-10 to see...

8. How do you respond to the description of the human condition without Christ that Paul sets out in verses 1-3?

9. Can you spell out the effects of God's 'great love' on this situation from verses 4-7? How does this make you feel?

10. "The more we feast on God's grace, the 'thinner' we shall become. The more we come to terms with how much God loves us and realise how much he has done for us, the more we will able to pass that grace onto others." Please take some time to pray for the life our church in the light of this truth.

David Stone
8 September 2008