Introduction: This painting in entitled “The Scream.” The author was filled with anxiety and dread when he envisioned doing this work. What do you see? How do you think this paints a picture of despair as the absence of hope? (Please don’t critique the painting, ask what might have been in the artist’s heart.)
Q1: Why is it so important to understand our need before we can really make sense out of the Gospel, God’s provision?
Read: “That man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave; that all the labors of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and that the whole temple of man’s achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins . . only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul’s habitation henceforth be safely built.” Bertrand Russell.
Q2: Critique his thoughts. What flaws do you see in his statements/ideas? What contradictions are in his ideas? Again, please don’t just say, “That’s dumb!” Ideas like this have impacted people. Remember, we are discussing ideas, but these ideas represent real suffering for real people, both in time and eternity. Be sober minded in your discussion.
Read: Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:17-25 (NIV 84)
Q3: What does it mean to live in “reverent fear” of God, who is an impartial judge? How does the fact that we have been redeemed (ransomed) by the blood of Christ help you understand what this means for the Christian?
Q4: How is “purifying yourself by obeying the truth” different than “redeeming yourself through obedience”?
Q5: Terry talked about the convergence of God’s grace gifts and human grit coming together to bless others. How does this work in this passage?
Q6: What are some of God’s grace gifts in your life (in addition to your salvation)? How does your obedience to God’s word help make these grace gifts operational? In other words, how does the convergence of Gift and Grit lead to your life being a blessing to others? Gift+Grit=Good
Q7: Discuss some “great” people from the past who would have been widely known, feared, or followed who are now dead. How do the ones who seemed to live with fame in some level of humility differ from the ones who seemed to let their fame “go to their heads”?
Read: Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Ps 90
“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. 1 Peter 1
Q8: How has the word of God helped shape your values? How has it helped you see your own life and the lives of others with right perspective?