Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 1
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?
Another 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?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, your five words for God likely reveal which “narrative” you believe you’re living in—either God’s rescue-and-restoration story or a rival story where you must protect yourself. Those descriptions will predict whether temptation feels like “wisdom,” whether suffering feels meaningless, and whether obedience feels like earning or like love.
- Rochelle says, “The most important thing about a person is what comes to their mind when they think of God,” and that our perceptions affect “everything, everything, everything.”
- She contrasts narratives: God created a good world, evil damaged it, and “through Jesus, [God] launched a rescue mission… that neither hell nor high water can thwart.”
- She explains that in Genesis 3 the snake reframes the story: God is not generous, so “you have to look out for yourself.”
- Her own shift (believing God loved her personally) unexpectedly produced stronger obedience: “when you’re in love… pleasing the one you love” becomes the desire.
- She warns that “dark notions of God… keep us aloof… and keep guilt instead of gratefulness as the driving force.”