By Amber Bruce
As a way to help us understand and live out the character trait of just and righteous, we have chosen a movie suggestion and provided discussion questions for each of the 6 weeks of the Go: With God campaign. You can watch and discuss the movie with your friends, small group, or family as you seek to understand justice, worship God for his justice, and become more just in your own life.
To “do justice” means to render to each what each is due. Justice involves harmony flourishing, and fairness, and it is based on the image of God in every person – the Imago Dei – that grants all people inalienable dignity and infinite worth.
-Ken Wytsma, Pursuing Justice
Just & Righteous
This week’s selection is Amazing Grace: The Story of William Wilberforce. With a 2.4.2 rating on Kids In Mind, Amazing Grace is recommended by the Dove Foundation for ages 12 and up.
Amazing Grace is a 2006 biographical drama film directed by Michael Apted, about the campaign against slave trade in the British Empire, led by William Wilberforce, who was responsible for steering anti-slave trade legislation
through the British parliament.
Discussion Questions:
- What did you think of the movie? Do you have a favorite scene or quote?
- Wilberforce sacrificed his health and his career in the relentless fight for justice. What do you think motivated him?
- Discuss the following quote: “We understand you’re having problems choosing whether to do the work of God or the work of a political activist…We humbly suggest that you can do both.”
- How does Amazing Grace demonstrate the truth of the biblical understanding of human beings: that being made in God’s image we are capable of extraordinary good, but being rebels against God we are also capable of extraordinary evil?
- Wilberforce worked to end the Trans-Atlantic slave trade in the British colonies. Would you say he changed the world?
- In his book, Pursuing Justice, Ken Wytsma writes, “If it is impossible to change the world, God wouldn’t have told us to try. We know what is required of us. To act justly. To love mercy. And to walk humbly with God.” Discuss if you think the world can be changed or not.
- If so, what part is God calling you to play in doing that?
- Pitt asked William, “Do you intend to use your beautiful voice to praise the Lord… or change the world?” What abilities, connections, or skills has God given you to change the world?
By Amber Bruce
This is the final sermon in the series Go: With God, looking at the character of God revealed in Exodus 34:6-7, and examining how Jesus lives this out in the gospels. This week, special guest speaker Clayton Butler of Agape International Missions preaches on the justice of God from Mark 5:1-13.
1. Read Exodus 34:6-7. What in this description tells you that God is just?
If you’ve already read the article mentioned in question 2, you’ve seen that the biblical idea of justice is connected to the idea of wholeness, flourishing, shalom. Exodus 34:6-7 clearly shows that God is interested in restoration and wholeness in that he is slow to anger and quick to forgive, compassionate, gracious, and faithful in his covenant love. It also shows that He will not neglect the punitive side of justice, but will punish those who do not repent.
2. Before coming to group, read the article, “The Beauty of Biblical Justice” in the toolkit.
a. Summarize the author’s description of biblical justice.
A few quotes from the article to focus your thoughts:
“Behind the biblical idea of justice is the rich concept of shalom. … We translate it “peace,” but in the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight. It describes a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts are faithfully and fruitfully employed, all under the arc of God’s love. “
“In the West, when we think of justice, we think of individual rights. We think justice means freeing individuals from the constrictions of the group, freeing them to do whatever they want regardless of what the group says. Biblical justice has a different trajectory. Biblical justice means interwovenness, interdependence, bringing individuals to see that our stuff isn’t just ours.”
“We do justice when we go where the fabric is breaking down, where the weaker members of society are falling through, where the interpenetration and the interdependence isn’t happening.”
A summary of this could be: Doing justice means working and sacrificing to restore flourishing, wholeness, and delight to all of society, weaving our lives into the lives of others in a way that builds up all.
b. Share any insights or questions.
c. Review the last two paragraphs of the article. How does this motivate you to live justly?
“Jesus Christ plunged Himself into our lives. He took all the threads of His glory, at infinite cost to Himself, and threaded Himself into our lives, saving us from falling through.
That’s the beauty that will get you out of yourself.
When you see what He did for you, your fear is gone. He died for you – what’s there to be afraid of? When you see what He did for you, your pride is gone: He had to die for you, so what makes you think you’re anything but a sinner?
When your fear and pride go away and all we see is the beauty of what He’s done – then we can love Him just because He’s beautiful. Because of all He’s given me, I don’t have to do anything to get anything; I just want Him. I can love the poor for the poor’s sake. I can love God for God’s sake – that’s the beauty that will change your heart. That’s the beauty that will get you out of yourself forever.”
3. Read Mark 5:1-13.
a. What was significant about Jesus going to the Gentile region of the Gerasenes?
His ministry is to all people, Jew and Gentile. The Gentiles were often avoided by the Jews.
b. What did people know about the demon-possessed man?
He could not be controlled or helped; he was dangerous, there were many demons. The important thing to note is that what they “knew” was only half true: He could not be controlled or helped by men. He could be helped by God and given self-control through the power of the Holy Spirit.
c. How did the demons respond to Jesus?
They recognized Him and were afraid.
d. How did the people react to Jesus’ healing of the man and the destruction of the pigs? Why?
They were upset and afraid because their livestock had been destroyed, the status quo had been disrupted, and the great power of Jesus was evident.
4. Think of the Tri-Cities.
a. What are the places you tend to avoid or you are told to avoid?
Perhaps downtown Pasco or East Kennewick, maybe certain parts of town at certain times of the day or night.
b. Why should Christians go to these places rather than avoid them?
Read Ezekiel 34:16. Because we are the hands and feet of Jesus, who came to seek the lost (Luke 19:10), heal the sick (Matt 10:8; Luke 10:9), and meet the needs of the poor and needy. It is the sick who need a physician, not the well (Matthew 9:12).
c. What ministry should we have to these places?
Following Jesus’ example, we should meet physical, psychological, and spiritual needs. Providing medical clinics, teaching skills to empower others to live healthy, productive lives, offering treatment for addiction recovery, offering shelter, clothing, and showers to those without are examples of meeting physical and psychological needs (see James 2:14-17). While these needs are met, we should be teaching and preaching the gospel of salvation, redemption, new birth, and hope in Jesus Christ .
5. Do you feel powerless in the fight? Do the needs seem overwhelming? How do both the sermon and the article encourage you?
Break into gender groups to discuss the following:
6. Are there people you believe are too far gone or beyond God’s reach? Why do you believe you’re better than them? What does God believe?
If I believe a person is “too far gone” for God to help, at the root of this is the belief that their problems are worse than mine. My problems are small and easy to fix, but their problems are impossible. Maybe God can save those people, but He probably won’t.
The reality is this: there is no person beyond God’s reach. We should say with Paul “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Tim 1:15) Jesus gives mercy to sinners to display his perfect patience (1 Tim 1:15), and grace for the weak to display His perfect strength (2 Cor 12:9-10), and chooses the foolish to display His perfect wisdom (1 Cor 1:18-27). God chose what is low and despised in the world… so that no human being might boast in the presence of God (1 Cor 1:28-29). No one is beyond His reach.
7. Are there “pigs” (things that you need to sacrifice in order to bring justice and wholeness to others) that are too precious to you to give up? Look at the examples below:
- Time
- Talent
- Money
- Comfort
- Personal
- Other
Why do you value them above people? Take time to pray together.
I hear these statements frequently about various ways to be faithful to God: “I could never do that.” “I don’t have the patience.” “I don’t have the time.” “It takes a special person to be able to do that.”
The truth is: I could never do that without the power of the Holy Spirit working in me. I don’t have the patience for that without the power of the Holy Spirit working in me. I don’t have the time unless I re-prioritize my life and rely on the strength, endurance, and perseverance of the Holy Spirit working in me. It takes a special person to do that: the person of the Holy Spirit working through God’s people.
I want to be very clear: we are all commanded to seek justice (Isaiah 1:17, among many others), but we are not all called to seek justice in the same way. The way I live out justice in my life will look different from the way you work out justice in your life. There are many gifts, but the same Spirit; varieties of service, but the same Lord; varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. (1 Cor 12:4-6)
So there are some things I do that you will never do, and things you do that I will never do. But never underestimate the power of God, not only to go to the places that most people would avoid, to transform the people who are “too far gone,” but to empower you to do more than you ever thought you could, to value your “pigs” less and people more, and to turn you into that special kind of person who relies on the power of the Holy Spirit in all you do.
By Amber Bruce
As a way to help us understand and live out the character trait of forgiveness, we have chosen a movie suggestion and provided discussion questions for each of the 6 weeks of the Go: With God campaign. You can watch and discuss the movie with your friends, small group, or family as you seek to understand forgiveness, worship God for his forgiveness toward us, and become more forgiving of others.
This week’s movie night selection is October Baby. Recommended by the Dove Foundation for ages 12 and up, this movie is available for streaming on Netflix.
October Baby
October Baby is a 2011 American Christian-themed dramatic film directed by Andrew and Jon Erwin and starring Rachel Hendrix in her film debut. Wikipedia
Discussion Questions:
- What does forgiveness mean?
- Does forgiveness always result in a restored relationship?
- Does forgiveness have limits?
- How was Hannah changed by forgiveness?
- If you were in Hannah’s place, do you think you would be able to forgive your birth mother?
- How does the Gospel give us power to forgive in all situations?
- Think about a person or situation that has hurt you. Share if you feel comfortable:
- Have you extended forgiveness in that situation?
- If so, share how forgiveness has changed you.
- If not, pray as a group for the grace to forgive.
