Discussion Questions

The speaker compares God’s “open secret purpose” to the Allies’ D-Day planning and invasion; what does that analogy suggest about God’s patience, strategy, and intention to “push sin out” and restore true human life, and where does the analogy break down or risk misleading us about how God works? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does the D-Day example say about how God waits, plans, and means to drive out sin and bring real human life back? Where could this comparison give the wrong idea about how God works?

The teaching says God’s purpose is to display his “manifold wisdom to every being through us, his church, by reuniting everything together in following King Jesus”; what does that claim reveal about how God wants to be known (through a people), and how does it challenge individualistic versions of Christianity that mainly focus on “me and my salvation”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If God wants to show his wisdom through the church as we follow King Jesus, what does that say about God being known through a people, not just individuals? How does that push back on a “just me and my salvation” kind of Christianity?

Using the temple illustrations (Biltmore, Lincoln Memorial, Corvette Museum, stadiums, Country Music Hall of Fame, banks in skylines), the speaker asks whether people who encounter the church should say, “Wow, that’s what God made people to be like”; if your congregation is a “temple,” what do outsiders actually learn about your god from the way you relate, speak, and prioritize—what “god” would your habits unintentionally advertise? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If your church is like a “temple,” what do visitors learn about your god by how you talk, treat each other, and spend your time and money? What message might your habits preach without you meaning to?

The speaker says Paul’s commands are not mainly about “getting in trouble” or “going to heaven and living in la-la land,” but about joining God’s rescue operation; how does that reframe obedience, and what modern evangelical assumptions about grace, freedom, and assurance get confronted by that mission-centered view? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does seeing Paul’s commands as joining God’s rescue mission change the way you think about obedience? What common ideas about grace, freedom, and “I’m saved no matter what” does that challenge?

The lesson emphasizes “endeavoring… sweating until we fall over in a faint to keep unity” and then ties that to “each part does its share”; what would “sweating” for unity look like in concrete conflicts (misunderstandings, preferences, offenses), and how do we distinguish that from superficial peacekeeping that avoids truth? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What would it look like to work hard for unity during real disagreements and hurt feelings? How can we tell the difference between true unity and fake peace that avoids hard truth?

The speaker’s explanation of “Gentiles” includes a worldview of nations placed under fallen angels/demons after Babel; whether or not people in your group are comfortable with that framework, how would early Christians in Ephesus (surrounded by Artemis worship and imperial power symbols) have heard “do not walk as the Gentiles walk,” and what “powers” does modern Western Christianity tend to ignore or downplay? JumpstartAnother way to ask: In a city full of Artemis worship and Roman power, how would Christians in Ephesus have understood “don’t live like the Gentiles”? What kinds of spiritual or cultural “powers” do Christians today often ignore or play down?

In unpacking “futility/vanity of their mind,” the speaker quotes C.S. Lewis: “an ever-increasing craving for an ever-diminishing pleasure” and adds that the devil wants “to get a man’s soul and give him nothing in return”; where do you see that pattern working plausibly in respectable, non-scandalous sins (comfort, entertainment, consumerism, image-management), not just the obvious vices? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you see “always wanting more but enjoying it less” showing up in normal, respectable sins like comfort, entertainment, shopping, or managing your image? Why do those things promise a lot but give so little back?

The teaching describes darkened understanding and “calluses” of conscience—becoming “past feeling” by repeated resistance; what specific exposures or repeated compromises most commonly create spiritual calluses today (including what we laugh at, stream, normalize, or excuse), and how can a church practice “grieving” sin without becoming performative or harsh? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What repeated choices today most often make people numb to sin (things we joke about, watch, excuse, or call normal)? How can a church take sin seriously and grieve it without being fake or harsh?

The speaker defines “truth in Jesus” not mainly as correct facts but as “the real way humans were made to live,” a life that never needs to be “stopped” by judgment; how does that definition of truth confront a Christianity that treats doctrine as the goal while leaving character and habits largely unchanged? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If “truth in Jesus” means the real way humans are meant to live, how does that challenge a faith that focuses on right beliefs but doesn’t change how we act? What would it look like for truth to reshape our habits?

The speaker insists on real human responsibility—“put off the old man” and “put on the new man”—and even says many people “don’t like to hear… there’s works involved,” then illustrates with Corrie ten Boom choosing to act before she felt love; where does your community subtly teach the opposite (waiting to feel changed before obeying), and what practices would actually train you to choose obedience first while depending on God to “join you” and change your desires? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where does your church or group teach, even quietly, “wait until you feel changed before you obey”? What habits could train you to obey first while trusting God to meet you and change what you want?