The Breakdown

Favoritism (James 2.1)

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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 is your favorite Thanksgiving food? Least favorite?
    2. Have you ever been subjected to someone else’s favoritism? How did it make you feel?


      3. ENCOUNTER

      At the beginning of chapter two, James talks about the sinfulness of favoritism. There are several passages throughout Scripture that say “there is no favoritism with God.” But one of the most clear happened early in the life of the Church.

      Early in the life of the Church, Jews ostracized Gentiles because of their Jewish beliefs. But in Acts 10, God made it clear that he has no favoritism by incorporating Gentiles into the Jewish church. After spending time with the Gentile, Cornelius, Peter begins to proclaim the Gospel.

      Read Acts 10:34–48 and find out what happens.

      1. In verses 34–35, what is it that makes someone acceptable to God?
      2. According to verses 36–42, how does someone obtain peace with God?
      3. What does verse 43 say is the result of faith in Christ?
      4. Verses 44 to 48 is where the rubber hits the road. In verses 34 to 43, salvation is summarized. But immediately after salvation, God gifts believers with his Holy Spirit.How did the Jewish believers respond to God saving Gentiles?


        5. TRANSFORM

        The Gospel is the opposite of favoritism. God only sees two types of people: forgiven and unbelieving. The world today, however, constantly places us into different categories and tempts us toward favoritism..

        1. How can the world’s favoritism influence how we treat one another in the church?
        2. How can our growth group be more welcoming to people from a different status or stage of life?
          3. ...more
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          The BreakdownBy Soteria Church