Sunday Discussion Questions

1.  What do you think makes someone a good person?

2. Have you ever had someone hold you to a standard you didn’t know existed? How did you feel/respond?

3. What’s a decision you made that seemed good at the moment, but turned out bad?

4. “The reason we’re bad at knowing what’s good is because apart from God, we’re not really good at all—on our own.” Do you agree/disagree? Why?

5. Galatians 5:22 indicates we don’t produce goodness on our own, but rely on God to bear the “fruit” of goodness. What do you think? How does that make you feel?

1.  What would you say is the main difference between being nice versus being kind?

2. What type of situation or relationship makes you hesitant to be kind?

3. Think of a time when your kindness was misinterpreted as consent. How did you respond? How do you wish you had responded?

4. Jesus “bent down” (demonstrating grace), then “straightened up” (communicating truth). Which is easier for you? Which is harder?

5. We often have a hard time separating people from what they’ve done. Do you have a relationship that could benefit from you separating the person from what they’ve done? What is a tangible way you could do that?

1.  In what area of your life do you find yourself consistently losing patience?

2. “Our culture is programmed to develop impatience.” Where do you see this to be true in general? Where do you see this play out in your life specifically?

3. To develop patience, how can you implement these two best practices?

• Before you can see the fruit, you have to develop the root.
• Patience will require you to operate out of what you know, not what you feel.

4. What is a tangible way you can practice patience when it gets hard?

1. Where would you place yourself on a scale between "extremely anxious" and "fully at peace?" What makes you say that?

2. What does it mean to entrust your worries to God?

3. What is an ongoing thought pattern of yours that needs to be replaced? What does it need to be replaced with?

1. When was the last time you felt overwhelming joy?

2. Where and when will you meet with God in the busyness of each day?

3. How does it feel to look for joy even when your circumstances aren’t ideal?

4. How can you cultivate more joy in your life this week?

1. How would you differentiate between spirituality and maturity?

2. Have you encountered people who are vocal about their spirituality but who lack maturity?

3. Which of the following, if it characterized you, would be most noticeable to those closest to you? “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”