Reflection Questions:

• What is the outcome of God's saving work in Jesus? What is God achieving and what is the part God intends for us in that?
• How (if at all) is Jesus' announcing of the coming of God's kingdom related to his death on the cross? What might this mean for our living now?
• John states that In Jesus' death and actually in Jesus' person, God broke the power of Sin from "inside" human nature? This means that those who belong to Christ no longer need to live under the domination of satan, sin and death. How might this "work" in the way we live as followers of Jesus?

Questions for reflection:

1. Some theologians believe God’s hands are tied in the relation to the events of the world unless we pray. How might this change our attitude to prayer if this was true or untrue? 

2. Recognising that the spiritual powers want to block prayer – because of its effectiveness - can revolutionise the way we pray. How does this affect your thinking and practice?

3. Read Eph 1:19-23, 2:6 and 6:10-12 – how do these verses shift how you view our world, our struggles, the spiritual authority in our calling?

Reflection Questions for home groups.

1. Was there anything that particularly impacted you from Wayne’s reflection?

2. Was there anything he said that raised a question or caused you distress? 

3. If you can, give some thought to what might be involved in following Jesus’ example and ‘giving your life away’ in your present circumstances?

4. Can you think of an example of where, in your journey following Jesus, you have already experienced a measure of ‘true joy, true peace, true life’ as a result of ‘dying to yourself’?

5. Reflect on the idea that to follow Jesus will involve suffering. 

You may like to begin by reading Psalm 51, John 8.31-36

1. What stood out to you from this talk? What questions did it raise for you?

2. Scripture often describes sin as a "breaking of trust with God". When we do not trust God and when we resist our fundamental dependency on God, we look to ourselves and the things  around us for security, control and a sense of identity. In what ways does this picture of the human condition fit your experience?

3. Sonya described sin as "something we are in, not just something we do". How might this understanding of sin inform our prayer/repentance?

4. Psalm 51 speaks of God's unfailing love and endless compassion, and it assumes God desires our restoration. When have you experienced God working to restore you, or working to bring you into a fuller relationship with himself? 

5. When have you experienced confession and repentance as liberating, or the beginning of something new? 

Reflection to finish: What might God be saying to you today? How might you respond?

1/3/2025