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It’s
Not About Being Perfect
Luke 18:9-14
Lesson
Purpose:
This lesson is designed to open the eyes of sinners to the grace
of God. We may be inclined to get all cleaned up before we come
to God. However, God doesn’t work that way. This section
of scripture helps us to see His grace. Jesus invites us to come
with all of our flaws and sins to receive His forgiveness and
love.
Scripture:
To some who were confident of their own
righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told
this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray,
one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee
stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you
that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or
even this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth
of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a
distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his
breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather
than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone
who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself
will be exalted.”
(Luke 18:9-14) |
Icebreaker:
Invite the group to make a list of definitions for these two words:
Humility and Perfection.
Life
Connections:
Use these questions to help your group members to begin to open
up with one another and to think about their own lives. The answers
to these questions need not be spiritual in nature. The intention
is for practical real life responses.
1) What are you really good at? My job; raising
my kids; water skiing; making people laugh.
2)
What are you really terrible at? Singing; cooking;
organizing; driving.
3)
How do the things we do well and the things we do poorly
make us feel? Proud and foolish; happy and sad; pleased
and disappointed.
4)
How do you feel when someone else brags about something
they do well? Angry; annoyed; I roll my eyes at them.
5)
What does it mean to be humble? Not to brag;
to let other people walk all over you, to do things well without
wanting anyone to praise you for it.
Scripture’s
Answers: Luke 18:9-14
In this section the Life Connection questions are now related
to the passage of Scripture being used in this Bible Study. The
answers to the following questions should come from the text as
well as out of the individual’s hearing and understanding
of what they have heard read.
Have a member of the group read the Scripture passage aloud for
all to hear. Make sure extra Bibles are available so everyone
can follow along.
NOTE:
In this lesson the Scripture passage is broken into two sections.
At this point in your group discussion have a member read only
Luke 18:9-13.
Introduction:
Jesus is teaching about common occurrences in His day. Going to
the temple to pray was something both Jews and Gentiles did multiple
times each day. Some would pray about their goodness so others
could hear. This is what the Pharisee is doing in this story.
The Pharisees in Jesus’ time tended to be very proud of
their ability to follow the law and in so doing believed they
pleased God. We must remember that not all Pharisees were like
this one in Jesus’ story, but some of them did have wrong
attitudes about other people. The Pharisees were well known members
of society as is the other character in this story, the tax collector.
Commonly in Jesus’ day people made assumptions about these
two individuals; the righteous Pharisee and the sinful tax collector.
Jesus uses these assumptions to explain how God views people.
We find He views them much differently than we do.
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Teaching
Time:
Say
to your group: “We need to first understand
who the Pharisees and tax collectors were in Jesus’
day. The Pharisees were a religious group who tried their
hardest to obey the law given in the first testament of
the Bible. They had all kinds of rules to govern the way
they lived. They believed because they were following these
laws they were obeying what God was calling them to do.
The tax collectors, on the other hand, were considered some
of the worst members of society. All too often they took
more than the taxes they were required to collect so they
could live extravagantly. The Pharisees were generally looked
upon with favor in society. The tax collectors were generally
despised.
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6)
If you were in the temple, how would you feel about what
the Pharisee was saying? I would think he thought a lot
of himself; I would ignore him; I might agree with him.
7)
Why would it be acceptable for the Pharisee to talk about
himself in this way? Because he follows the law; because
he is better than those he listed; because he is doing what God
wanted him to do.
8)
How do you think God feels about the Pharisee? Proud
because he is following the law; He probably agrees with the Pharisee
that it is better not to be like the robbers and evildoers.
9)
How would you feel about what the tax collector was saying?
I think he would need to ask for forgiveness; I would wonder if
he were sincere; I would think that he was hoping to feel better
about himself; I would feel sorry for him.
10) How do you think God feels about the tax collector?
Angry at what he is doing to people; probably sad that he isn’t
following the law like the Pharisee; I bet He isn’t even
listening to the tax collector.
Teaching
Time:
Say to your group: “Let’s read
the whole passage of Scripture. Without the last verse we
really miss out on what Jesus was teaching the people.”
NOTE: Invite
someone to read the entire passage again and include verse
14.
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11) How does this last verse change what you thought about
the situation? I thought the Pharisee was right and the
tax collector was wrong; I didn’t think God would have listened
to such a bad person; I am surprised, it wasn’t what I expected.
12)
How has this changed your perspective of God?
He cares about more people than I thought He did; He doesn’t
like it when people give themselves compliments; He even listens
to sinners.
13)
When people talk about coming to church or accepting Jesus
what do you think they expect of you? That you will be
perfect; that you are a good person; that you won’t swear
or drink.
14)
How does this passage of Scripture challenge those concepts?
God doesn’t expect you to be perfect; anyone can
come to God, even bad people.
Teaching
Time:
Say to your group: “Some people believe
that to come to church or invite Jesus into their hearts means
they have to be good already. Sometimes we can be convinced
that God only wants us if we are perfect. But we see in this
part of Scripture that the person who thought he was perfect,
the Pharisee, was confused. God doesn’t want us to come
to Him and proclaim how good we are, because in reality we
aren’t good. He wants us to admit that there are things
in our lives we don’t really like, habits that aren’t
good, and actions hurtful to ourselves and others. Why? So
He can help us. God doesn’t expect us to fix ourselves,
He expects us to come to Him so we can be changed by His great
love. |
Reflection:
Invite the group to take a moment to reflect silently on the questions
you are going to ask. These questions can be answered or you may
choose to allow the members of the group to think about them.
15)
Have you imagined God would never love you because of
something you did in the past?
16)
Did you know God loves even the worst person in the world
and wants that person to come to him?
17)
What in your life is holding you back from coming to God
and asking him to change your life?
Optional
Activity Time:
As a way to make the reflection more meaningful in the lives of
group members there are two activities to engage in. First, give
the group time to write the answers to the reflection questions
in a journal they can keep throughout the study time and the week
to come. Second, send each group member home with these questions
to think about and write about in a journal during the week. When
the group gathers together the next time, break the group up into
smaller groups and give them the opportunity to share what they
have been thinking about since they last met.
Conclusion:
Take time to pray together before the group leaves. Allow group
members to share insights and ask questions they may have.
Teaching
Time
Say to your group: “We all have choices
to make in our lives. Will we choose to remain in the place
we now are or will we move forward? God is inviting us to
move forward to be with Him. Will you make the decision to
follow Christ, knowing He does not look at you differently
because of what you have done in the past? He is waiting for
you to come to Him so He can forgive you and fill you with
His love.” |
Possible
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
Thank You that we don’t have to be all cleaned up
and perfect to come to You. Thank You for Your love and
forgiveness. We thank You for accepting us no matter what
we have done. Help us to be willing, like the tax collector,
to ask for and receive the mercy You so freely give.
Amen. |
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