The Breakdown

Faith According to Paul (James 2.3)

Listen Later

Welcome to The Breakdown, the weekly podcast designed for growth group leaders at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Soteria Church⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in West Des Moines, IA. Each week, we provide time-sensitive announcements to keep you in the loop and walk through the sermon study to help you lead meaningful discussions. Whether you're preparing for your next group meeting or looking to deepen your own understanding, The Breakdown is your go-to resource. Tune in and stay connected!


REFLECT

    1. What was your first experience of death? Maybe it was a pet, a neighbor, or a family member.
    2. How did you wrestle with that experience? What did you learn? How did it affect you?


      3. ENCOUNTER

      In Ephesians 2, the Apostle Paul makes an audacious judgment–“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient” (vv. 1–2).

      And lest you think he’s only talking about a few people, Paul drags everyone into this state when he says, “We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also” (v. 3).

      But that isn’t the end of the story. As a growth group, read Ephesians 2:4–10 and ponder the great news of the Gospel.

      1. Even though we were dead in our sins, what was God’s attitude and demeanor toward us in verses 4–6?
      2. Verse 7 gives us the reason why God did this. What was that reason?
      3. According to verse 8, how is all of this accomplished? How is God’s life-giving grace and mercy applied to us?
      4. What doesn’t contribute to salvation (v. 9)?


        5. At this point, James and Paul seem to contradict one another. Paul says salvation is, “not from works.” James says, “faith, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). However, Paul and James actually agree with each other.

        1. How does Ephesians 2:10 fuse faith and works?


          2. TRANSFORM

          1. How have you seen God’s grace empower you for good works over the past week? 
          2. In what ways do you think we can cultivate gratitude for our salvation in our daily lives?
            3. ...more
            View all episodesView all episodes
            Download on the App Store
            The BreakdownBy Soteria Church