20th June Sermon Discussion - Consider the Goodness and Severity of God

Scripture: Romans 11:21, 22

INTRODUCTION

• Take a moment and think through what God is like. Now try and put a picture to what God is to you.

• Is God like an old gentle man floating up on the clouds giving out gifts and love to everyone

OR

• Is God like an angry giant up in the heavens looking down in anger waiting to zap everyone with lightning?

• God may or may not be either one but to know God as who He truly is, we need to know God and see Him completely.

MESSAGE

• The truth is that God is good and loving, but at the same time God is severe and fierce.

• God’s goodness is always popular but people usually don’t want to talk about God’s severity.

• In order to truly know God, we need to see every part of Him and not just choose the parts that we want to see.

Question: Based on Romans 11:21-22, what do you think will happen if you only choose to see God’s goodness and not His severity?

• We need to see and understand God’s severity before we can understand God’s goodness.

• If we choose to see God in an incomplete way, then we will end up falling away and rejecting the truth – Look at the book of Jeremiah!

• We need to see God fully and complete! He is not 50% gracious and 50% severe – He is 100% gracious and 100% severe!

How then shall we live?

#1: We need to be overwhelmed by the grace of God

• We are all imperfect and have sinned and because of that we actually deserve to die and not live another second. But take a look at Lamentations 3:22-23.

• God loves us so much that’s why He doesn’t consume us! And He demonstrated that love in Romans 5:8!

• We all actually do not have the right to live and have any form of blessings in our lives. But because of God’s grace and mercy, we can live a life full of blessings.

#2: We must not take His grace for granted

• Hebrews 12:29 tells us that God is a consuming fire.

Question: Take a look at another verse, Hebrews 10:26-27. What do you think will happen if we always say that it’s okay to sin because God will always forgive us?

• Always listen to the voice of God and do not harden your heart (Hebrews 3:15).

• If your heart is hardened, your reject the word of God and because of that you cause yourself to stop receiving God’s grace, mercy and love.

APPLICATION

• The way to always be overwhelmed by the grace of God and not to take it for granted is to walk closely with God.

• The question is, how is your quiet time? Do you spend time with God?

• Choose today to walk with God every day. Do your quiet time every day. As you obey God and spend time with Him, you will learn and see God in His completeness. Don’t choose parts of God that are better for you. Choose God for all that God is.

MEMORY VERSE

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV) “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”