Opening:
1. What comes to mind when you hear the word grace?
2. What is the difference between mercy and grace?
3. Can you think of a time that someone (other than Jesus) extend irrational seeming grace to you or someone else you know?
Prevenient Grace:
4. Read Jeremiah 1:5 , Ezekiel 34:11, 16, John 12:32 what do these verses tell us about what we call “Prevenient Grace” or grace that goes before us?
5. Look back at your life, can you think of specific ways that God was at work to call you to him before you even knew him? Maybe even before you were born?
Justifying Grace:
6. Read Ephesians 1:7, Titus 3:7, and Romans 5:21 – Do you have trouble believing God justified all of us on the cross? That he forgave you? That he forgives others?
7. Read Ephesians 2:8 and James 2:14-26. How would you explain the balance between faith, works, and grace in salvation?
Sanctifying Grace:
8. Read 1 Corinthians 6:11 and 2nd Corinthians 5:17 – After being Justified – or made right with God, there is another work of Grace, called “Sanctification” or being made Holy by God. Have you ever heard of this word, what does it mean to you?
9. Read Matthew 5:48. (if you have time read all of Matthew 5 beforehand) At the end of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, after talking about all the ways his followers should live he hits us with this. But don’t freak out just yet. Read Matthew 6:33 what does this tell us about how we can be made Holy and Righteous?
Application:
10. How can you live into God’s grace this week? Is there someone you need to show grace to? Are you seeking his Kingdom first?