Discussion Questions

Rochelle says, “The most important thing about a person is what comes to their mind when they think of God,” and that our perceptions of God affect “everything, everything, everything”; looking at the five descriptions you initially wrote down, what do they reveal about the “story” you’ve been living in, and what do they predict about how you’ll respond to temptation, suffering, and obedience? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Looking at the five words you wrote about God, what kind of “story” are you living by? How do those views shape how you handle temptation, suffering, and obeying God?

Rochelle describes years of doubting that God loved her personally (not just “the crowd”), and then being “bowled over” by realizing Jesus took punishment for her “whole personal individual list of sins”; what parts of the gospel do you mentally affirm but emotionally keep impersonal, and what would have to change for you to say, without strain, “He knows my name”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What parts of the gospel do you believe in your head but still feel are not really “for you”? What would need to change for you to truly say, “Jesus knows me by name”?

She argues that “doing right for right’s sake is ultimately too feeble a motivation,” but love makes pleasing God desirable; where does your current obedience seem driven more by principle, fear, image-management, or control than by love—and what does that suggest about what you think God is like? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where does your obedience come more from fear, looking good, or staying in control than from love? What might that show about what you think God is like?

In her Genesis 3 retelling, the snake’s strategy is to cast doubt on God’s generosity (“God isn’t really as generous as you think… you have to look out for yourself”); where do you recognize that same suspicion operating in your own decision-making (money, sexuality, bitterness, boundaries, calling), and how does it reshape what you call “wisdom”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you hear the lie, “God won’t really take care of you, so you must protect yourself,” in your choices about money, sex, bitterness, boundaries, or calling? How does that change what you call “being wise”?

Rochelle highlights that in Abraham’s call and in Exodus at Sinai, “grace precedes obedience” (“I brought you out… so now do this”); how does that ordering confront common evangelical instincts about assurance (“I obey, therefore I’m safe”) or discipleship (“I must fix myself first”), and where do you subtly reverse the order? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Rochelle says God gives grace first and then calls for obedience—how does that challenge the idea, “If I obey, then God will accept me,” or “I must fix myself first”? Where do you still flip that order in real life?

She says the ancient Near Eastern “other gods” were “vicious and cruel,” and that idolatry wasn’t God being “snippy” but a call away from oppression and injustice; what modern “gods” function similarly—promising life while training you in cruelty, self-protection, or exploitation—and how would “be holy like I am holy” directly oppose them? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What “modern gods” promise a better life but actually train you to be harsh, self-protective, or to use people? How would God’s call, “Be holy like I am holy,” push back against them?

Discuss Exodus 34:6–7 as Rochelle frames it: God’s self-description as “tender and kind, patient, completely loyal, and faithful,” and the asymmetry of consequences (3–4 generations vs. 1,000 generations); what does that imbalance reveal about what God “loves to do,” and how does it clash with the way you instinctively expect God to respond when you fail? JumpstartAnother way to ask: In Exodus 34:6–7, what does God’s focus on mercy for 1,000 generations (and judgment for 3–4) show about what God loves to do? How is that different from how you expect God to treat you when you fail?

Rochelle says fear of hell and love of God are “two roots that grow into very different trees,” and that “it’s the kindness of God that leads to repentance”; what “tree” has fear produced in you (scrupulosity, hiding, performance, judgment of others, spiritual exhaustion), and what repentance would look like if kindness—not dread—became the root? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What has fear (like fear of hell) produced in you—hiding, trying to be perfect, judging others, or burnout? What would repentance look like if it grew from God’s kindness instead of fear?

She connects Exodus 33–34 to John 1, arguing John presents Jesus as the visible “glory… full of grace and truth,” the true “tabernacle” where God dwells with humanity; how would early Christians hearing John’s language understand Jesus’ identity and mission differently than a modern “Jesus mainly helps me” framing? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If early Christians heard John call Jesus God’s “glory” and the true “tabernacle,” what would they think Jesus came to do? How is that bigger than thinking, “Jesus is mainly here to help me”?

Rochelle rejects a “hunker down… waiting to escape the mess” narrative and uses D-Day/mop-up imagery for the kingdom invading a rebel world; in your daily rhythms (home life, relationships, church involvement, use of time), what would actually change if you believed you were participating in God’s ongoing “kingdom operation” rather than managing a private religious life? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If you believed you were part of God’s ongoing kingdom work, not just living a private faith, what would change in your daily life—at home, in relationships, at church, and with your time?