Grace- 20/20 in 2020 Life Group Question

Galatians 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all.
Galations 5: 6 The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Grace doesn’t seem practical to us intuitively. It can feel unnatural and unjust. Mercy is not getting what we deserve but grace is getting what we could never deserve. Grace is getting goodness when we don’t deserve it. Paying back feels necessary to us because it’s more satisfying to our mind and ego. Often grace is communicate in the church as a loan and not a gift. But true grace is knowing every day is new.
To clarify, showing grace to other people does not mean living a life without boundaries. There are people that are not safe and we cannot give them access to our lives but that self protective stance doesn’t produce change in them.

Grace is the thing that produces change in us. Knowing it is safe to fail before God we can move forward in faith and this journey will change us in every way.

1. A real question people face is, “If I extend grace to this person what will motivate them to change?” How do you deal with the internal conflict that comes from knowing that scripture teaches that only grace can produce internal and lasting change and the fact that it’s hard to the person in front of us will change if we give them grace?

2. How are you at extending grace to your self in your “self talk” throughout the day?

3. What would help you remember to pause and consider grace in a moment that triggers you and you feel shame? What would help you remember to pause and consider grace in a moment where you want someone else to pay for their error?

4. Before you close. Take a moment of silence and ask God to speak to you about any area you need to invite grace into today. After that you can pray together or close.